The Booklender of Zondi & Other Stories

There are not many places in Soweto, let alone in the area around Zondi, where you can lend, buy or even just sit and read (or rather stand, there is a shortage of chairs) books, let alone a collection of 30 000 books of all kinds and creeds.

The Soweto Book Café in Zondi, the handiwork of Thami Mazibuko, is therefore a shining light in the sprawling township.

    The visiting Rotarians with Thami Mazibuko and Mbali Zulu at the Soweto Book Café

The Soweto Book Café is in a house on a side street in Zondi and open to all comers. If you're not a member, you pay R20 to borrow a book for 2 weeks and if you want to keep a book, Thami will name the price.

Thami says his biggest need is for a table (already pledged by Lucille Blumberg) and chairs for people to sit and read, especially children. Wi-Fi is also a pressing need.

                                           A few rules for bibliophiles

Thami says he keeps a register of everyone who borrows books, their names and contact numbers as well as their age, and which books they have taken.

On Fridays and Saturdays the children can learn chess and Chinese Checkers. There is also a need for other board games such as Scrabble and Monopoly, as well as puzzles, he says.

Thami lived in Hillbrow and Yeoville until 2013, where he came into contact with writers and other artists and learnt a love for reading and books. He says he started with 15 and now gets books from all over the world.

Last year he organised a book festival in the area and plans to do it again in November this year. They also invite writers for book launches.

    Rotary fellowship at its best at a curry evening in Parkview

It's been a busy month in typical Rotary fashion of matching fellowship with service and a striving to fulfil the ideals of Rotary International.

July ended off with a delightful curry evening organised by Helene Bramwell and the team at The Taste of Punjab in Parkview following Paul Channon's talk on the Alexandra Education Committee and their often incredible achievements the previous Wednesday.

                                      Paul Channon

Paul reminded the meeting that unemployment in Alexandra, a mere few kilometres from Sandton, the most well-to-do area in South Africa, stands at a whopping 60% and that the six high schools that serve the township are wholly inadequate with classes of 60 children, making a decent education extremely difficult.

He says the nearby old Model C schools are also not always faring as well, trying to manage the numbers of people.

The AEC provides bursaries for talented pupils to attend functioning schools and covers school fees, transport, learning aids such as laptops and books and school uniforms as well as support for the families of bursary children to give them the best possible advantage in completing their schooling. This costs in the region of R60 000 per pupil per year.

These alumni in their turn are encouraged to give back by mentoring the newer crops of bursary holders. 

"We're all about finding, in Joburg terms, the nuggets of gold in these communities," Paul said. 

                    Honorary member Carl Chemaly was amongst the guests who came to learn about the AEC

Dates to Diarise: There's an online board meeting tomorrow (contact President Jankees or Judy if you want to join in) followed by the meeting where the TV producer Carol Shore will be the speaker, talking about her award-winning film Making Righteous Blues. The following week Genevieve Sligcher will be talking about her work as a TV producer in the UK.

Also, don't forget about the club assembly on 6 September to discuss a 3-year succession plan for the club, among other topics.

On 10 September DG Angélica Salomåo pays us a visit. and on 19 September it's the annual golf day. Please remember to bring booze for the barrow, to sell as many raffle tickets as possible (a minimum of a sheet of 15 numbers, please). Most important of all, contribute to the prizes and invite your golfing friends to join us.

A Thought for the Weeks Ahead: The business of the poet and novelist is to show the sorriness underlying the grandest things and the grandeur underlying the sorriest things. - Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)

Welcome Back, Mr President

With Inyosi Julian Nagy leading the way, the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn welcomed PDG Jankees Sligcher as the new president for the Rotary year 2025/2026.

This is the third time since New Dawn was established in 2009 that President Jankees has held this office, as well as being District Governor for Rotary District 9400.

                   Julian Nagy in the guise of a Zulu praise singer

                    Julian strutting his stuff                  

                    Past District Governors Senosha, Sligcher and Callard together for the induction

Julian, himself a past president, got the ball rolling for the induction with an impromptu appearance as a Zulu imbongi or inyosi, a traditional oral poet and historian. He praised the virtues of the incoming president and his contribution to Rotary over the years, much to the surprise and then delight of the meeting and perhaps disproving the theory that old white men can't dance.

The induction was attended by a number of dignitaries and friends of New Dawn such as Immediate Past District Governor George Senosha and PDG Frances Callard. PDG Frances was accompanied by PDG Ann Janet Callard.

                     IPDG George Senosha with two more recent members, Yasmin Shapurjee and Avril Naidoo

Minenhle Majola, currently president of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg, the oldest Rotary club in Africa, also attended. Minenhle is a previous president of the now defunct Rotaract Club of Johannesburg, a joint venture of the Rotary Clubs of Johannesburg and Johannesburg New Dawn. The two clubs have pledged mutual support in the year to come.

Other visitors were Rotarian Fred Waldeck from the E-club of Southern Africa, joining for a taste of Rotary fellowship, something that is difficult to achieve with online meetings, and Nazia David from the Rosebank/Killarney Gazette, who attended with her husband, Daaiyan.

                      Rotarian Paul Channon and President Minenhle Majola

President Jankees thanked his board members for their willingness to serve and stressed that he is not in office to be served by fellow club members, but to serve them in all their endeavours and to ensure that any potential new members understand the value and values of Rotary.

He also stressed the value of building a three-year plan during which members can shadow the board to eventually be able to take over in running the club.

                        PDG Francis Callard pinning on the pin of office 

PDG Francis Callard emphasised the importance of membership not just to the club, but also to District 9400, which at the moment is facing a possible redistricting because of dwindling numbers. Rotary needs people of integrity, people with a good business reputation, and who are willing to serve others in the community and all around the world.

He also said fellowship is at the heart of Rotary and without it, service becomes sterile and without it Rotary becomes just another social club, but that Rotary is and must be selective in approaching membership without being elitist.

    The Kasango gang: Felicity, Michael and Rotarian Paul

At the previous meeting (9 July) club member and past president Paul Kasango re-introduced his son and daughter, Felicity and Michael, to club members.

Michael is studying in China in the city of Hangzhou (not far from Shanghai) towards a degree in data science and data cloud technology and told how exciting and pioneering it is to work close to people in a city known for tech startups.

He said the South African spirit is alive all over China and the expat community often get together to watch Springbok rugby matches with boerewors and biltong and other favourites.

South Africans are held in high regard in China because of Chinese involvement in Africa and his ultimate goal is to be able to act as an intermediary between South Africa and China in the tech field.

Felicity is studying at a university in Florida. She said the university town has a strong community of Rotarians. She has an on-campus job selling tickets to big sports events and enjoys doing that and the financial independence it brings.

She said her goal is to eventually return to South Africa to work in the financial sector, but would like to first get experience in a place like Wall Street.

Proud Dad Paul, who says his main task now is looking after the house and three dogs, spent most of his childhood in exile with his family, so knows all the joys and sometimes pitfalls of a life lived abroad.

Dates to Diarise: Next week Paul Channon will be doing a presentation on the Alexander Education Committee, which he heads up. On 6 August there is a visit to the Soweto book club after the morning meeting. Pencil in the dates of 18 August (online board meeting) and 6 September (possible club assembly).

On 10 September the new District Governor, Dr Angelica Salamoa, will visit the club.

The annual New Dawn Golf Day follows on Friday 19 September.

A Thought for the Weeks Ahead: The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. - Pablo Picasso (1881-1973)

A New Dawn Rising

Even as Spring starts giving way to the Highveld Winter, the signs of a re-awakening at the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn are bountiful and plentiful.

It's been a busy month, starting with a talk by Honorary Member Nick Bell and culminating in honorary membership being bestowed on Past President Julian Nagy via the Bridge Drive.

The Rt. Rev. Nick Bell has already left the country again after a three-week long stay, much shorter than he and wife Hillary's normal stay with their daughter and her family in the South African winter.

                    President Jankees Sligcher and Gertrude Miyaka with Nick Bell in Soweto, with the new fence

Nick spoke to the club about the generous donation of more than  R20000 by the Rotary Club of Luton Someries in Luton, England, to help Gertrude Miyaka and her School of Hope put a fence around her nursery school in Soweto to safeguard it and the new toilets installed there by Donate a Loo and New Dawn.

Nick, who now lives in Northumberland and is a member of the Rotary Club of Holt, was vicar of St. Mary's in Luton for 20 years and as a member of the Rotary Club of Luton, was instrumental in establishing the Rotary Club of Luton Someries. He still has many friends in and connections to, the club, which was founded in 1990.

                                                   The new toilets at the School of Hope

Both Luton and Luton Someries have expressed interest in tackling new projects with New Dawn, which could culminate in proposals for new Global Grants. Hold Thumbs and watch this space.

                                                   Brenda Sakellarides

The annual Bridge Drive this past week was a great success with a projected income of around R30 000, up from the R20 000 raised last year. The money has been pledged to the National School of the Arts and Brenda Sakellarides was on hand to explain to the bridge players (more than 50 of them) that the morning was not just about playing bridge and enjoying lunch, but also about helping the NSA to help pupils in need.

The NSA is a state school, but relies heavily on donations to help the roughly half of its pupils who cannot afford school fees and all the other activities that these talented pupils take part in.

                                             The Bridge Drive lunch table

"Sometimes the golden key to success is a pair of shoes, a bus ticket, a lunchbox; knowing that getting to school is no longer a problem and buying lunch will mean that you can concentrate and achieve better marks," she said.

The players responded both by playing, buying raffle tickets and taking part in a quick auction. There was even an individual donation to help one of the NSA pupils to see through her Matric year.

                                               Julian Nagy becomes an Honorary Member

      The gathering at Giles Restaurant in Craighall Park after the Bridge Drive on Thursday

Thursday was rounded off with a social function at Giles in Craighall Park where club members could let their hair down (those that have any left) and spend some quality friendship time as Rotarians, prospective Rotarians and guests.

There has been a lot of discussion around club business in the past few meetings as New Dawn prepares for the Club Assembly on 17 May at Twickenham Guest House. Be there if you care about the future of your club, and remember that there is no meeting next Wednesday, 15 May because of the assembly.

A Thought for the Weeks Ahead: But man, proud man,/ Drest in a little brief authority, Most ignorant of what he's most assured, / His glassy essence, like an angry ape,/ Plays such fantastic tricks before high heaven/ As makes the angels weep. - William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

 

Trump-ing America's Spotlight

South Africa's problems with America predate the Trump administration, Barnard Beukman, ex-editor of the now defunct daily newspaper Beeld, said at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn on Wednesday.

The country's relationship with Iran had America questioning our participation in the Agoa project before Donald Trump was swept into office for a second term on a wave of populism and economic grievances.

Trump has aimed an uncomfortable spotlight on South African foreign policies that are seen as acting against the interests of the Western world and even before the Republican victory questions were being asked if this qualified the country to be a beneficiary of the Africa Growth and Opportunities Act.

                                    Barnard Beukman addressing the club

Beukman edited the Afrikaans daily for six years before it was shut down in December last year along with a number of other titles in the Media24 stable. He has since retired, but remains active as a consultant, he told the club. This was his third visit to New Dawn.

Trump, he said, became USA President by leveraging legitimate grievances of a diverse electorate, not just those of right-wing Republicans.

People were and are fed up with career politicians who make the same promises over and over. He and his team knew how to exploit that. How people rate the success or otherwise of the delivery on his promises, will reflect in the mid-term elections in two years' time and at the next presidential election four years from now.

            Mike Vink, Barnard Beukman and President Jankees Sligcher at the meeting

A negative fallout of the tariff wars and other Trump administration initiatives is that it is forcing people to the extremes. Ironically, the tyranny of woke-ness help create the atmosphere in which he thrives; one where there is no middle ground left. The far left or the far right become the only choices left. You're either for Trump or you're against him.

South Africa's woes are not just related to America; the government of national unity is presently split over the budget. The ANC itself is divided because of a strong component who never wanted to go into government with the DA and people like Deputy President Paul Mashatile are becoming more vocal in wanting the DA out.

                           President Jankees with Amina Frense

There was a wasted opportunity because if all the other parties had stood against the ANC about a VAT increase, they would have been able to vote the proposal down.

South Africa remains a good place to invest and is seen as such overseas, he said. Even though there are problems with the implementation of economic empowerment policies, which are often seen as barriers to investment in South Africa, he still believes that people who do not have the benefit of centuries of wealth, need to be given opportunities.

All in all, he believes there is still a lot of good news to hope for in South Africa, Beukman said.

                 The fence at the Word of Hope school in Soweto is going up

In other news: Work on the fence around the Word of Hope School in Soweto, run by club member Gertrude Miyaka, is in full swing. Costs have been kept to a minimum by sourcing mostly second-hand material.

The fence is being funded by the club and a generous grant of GBP1000 from the Rotary Club of Luton Someries in the UK. Getrude has commandeered locals, including hostel dwellers, to help erect the fence and to safeguard it and the children going forward.

                             Rev. Nick Bell

Honorary member Nick Bell, who attended the meeting, was instrumental in setting up the contact between the Rotary clubs of New Dawn and Luton Someries. Nick and his wife are visiting South Africa, where their daughter lives, for Easter.

Speaking of Easter: Judy Symons is coordinating an Easter Egg collection for the Woodside Sanctuary, another one of New Dawn's signature projects. There's still a week to go, so please help Judy with donations either in the form of cash or bring Easter eggs to the meeting on Wednesday.

Housekeeping: After a long absence, this blog resumes as a monthly exercise. When events require, it will appear more than once a month.

A Thought for the Weeks Ahead: Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves. - Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)

 

Facing the New Dawn Challenges

It was all business at the club assembly on Saturday, called specifically to address club issues, most importantly the more streamlined integration of new members into club structures.

The mediator for the day, Grant Daly, a past district governor of D9400, under whose auspices New Dawn falls, started off by saying that New Dawn is now the second largest club in the district with more than 50 members.

    Grant Daly and the assembled members

He said that with the rapid recent growth, there are bound to be growing pains, especially because the club is barely 15 years old. Recent growth has added greatly to New Dawn's diversity in terms of race and to a lesser extent gender and age.

One of the challenges is that newer members don't fully realise that the Rotary International culture is all about membership and is very people-centric as opposed to being results driven. Rotary exists because of the Rotarian and because of the club, not because of Rotary International.

    President Mbali Zulu hands Grant Daly a voucher as a token of appreciation after the session

Rotary is not a hierarchy, he said, it is flipped upside down with the clubs being paramount and district, zones and regions being administrative tools, much as RI itself.

Without the members and clubs there is no service.

Some 25 members attended the assembly, just on half of the club. About the same percentage of members filled out the short online survey that formed the basis of the assembly.

            Fellowship after the hard work with Paul Channon, Joan Donet, Julian Nagy and Helene Bramwell

The main finding of this incomplete sample of people was that about a third of members are not entirely happy or for the glass half full crowd, that two thirds of members are mainly happy with the way things are done and are going.

PDG Grant said the survey was aimed at ways to enhance the club experience. From conflict, he said, comes solutions.

              Nyami Khanyile and Zena Kimaro in a relaxed mode

The most important four messages to take out of the assembly, he said, are:

1. Tweaking the structure of the club: an example of this would be that during every presidency there is a president, the immediate past president, a president-elect to follow the president and at the latest by December of each year, a nominee president for the year after that.

For this to work, the club needs multiple volunteers for president, so start putting up your hands. The alternative is stagnancy.

2. Mentorship of new members. He emphasised that the best mentor is the person who introduced the new member in the first place.

                     PDG Grant Daly and PDG Jankees Sligcher

3. Strategic planning in terms of the scope and number of signature projects and forging a shared vision; also gaining consensus on how and on what club funds should be spent every year. This also includes the public image of the club, an important tool in raising funds.

4. Membership enhancement, he said, is very important in making members feel they are contributing something real. He included setting up a Rotary Community Corps under this point, knowing that New Dawn is very interested in the opportunities in Soweto.

The next step is to summarise the findings of the survey, put into action as many of the necessary steps as possible and as soon as possible so that New Dawn can live up to its name of being a New Dawn in Rotary.

For that to happen, more people are going to have to put up their hands to help in running the club. Without that, we don't have a club.

This Week: It's a business meeting on Wednesday where the main points of discussion will be Donate a Loo, The Link and feedback from the education committee.

A Thought for the Week: A somebody was once a nobody who wanted to and did. - John Burroughs (1837 - 1921)

 

A Rotary Woman of the World

Born in Portugal, raised in Angola, a resident of South Africa for the best part of the past 20 years and during that time becoming a citizen of the world; that just about sums up the life journey of Weza Solange, TV personality, actress, producer, public speaker and wearer of any more hats than just those.

Weza was the speaker at the meeting this week and told the club that her parents, went to Portugal for her birth, like many other Angolans of means did during the Angolan civil war. Angola had become independent from Portugal back in 1975, but that was followed by 30 years of war.

                             Weza addressing the club members

She says her father, Angolan police commissioner,  was a very stern man and strong in his beliefs, something he passed on to his children. He was heavily involved in politics and one of his tasks was to receive "troops" from South Africa, train them and send them back to fight the apartheid state.

After he was assassinated, her mother fled Angola with the family to the relative safety and superior education offered by South Africa. Weza was 13 years old and couldn't speak a word of English.

She attended Dominican Convent in Johannesburg, where she taught herself English.

       Weza with Joan Sainsbury, Nola Ostle, Babette Gallard, President Mbali Zulu and Paul Chinn

"The idea was always to get a degree and then go back to Angola. I wanted to get into politics, but my mother said no ways, you'll get us all killed."

She studied business management and along the way became involved in TV. Her whole family, these days spread all over the Portuguese speaking world, favour the professions such as medicine and law and looked down on her career choice, she said.

At university she started earning money and could finish her degree in marketing, but the TV bug had bitten and she decided to stay in South Africa.

"The best invrestment my mother ever gave me was a good education. She wanted her children to be good citizens wherever they are in the world."

             Weza with fellow new Dawn members Jacinta Opany-Agbara and Amina Frense

She said South Africans reminded her of Americans in the sense that South Africans knew very little about the rest of Africa, especially in the past. This ignorance easily leads to xenophobia. "I believe xenophobia has its roots in people not understanding each other."

These days she travels all over Africa and is passionate about networking, about getting people together who have a common purpose, whether it is socially or in business.

"I'm here because someone gave me a good education. I'm here despite the trauma of the way my father died."

About Rotary Weza said: "I didn't know there are people out there who are doing good without expecting anything in return. I truly believe that in Rotary the feeling is to help communities who need it."

She said Rotary is like a business and should be run as a business and that the club should become far more focused on social media.

                                 Francis De Jongh-Marchant and Francine De Clerq, prospective members

Next Week: There is NO MEETING at the Parkview Golf Club on Wednesday. This is because of the Club Assembly on Saturday (4 November) at Twickenham Guest House, from 11 am to 3 pm. This is an important meeting to discuss club issues in a less rushed atmosphere, so do try to be there.

A Thought for the Week: Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up. - Pablo Picasso (1881 - 1973)

Changing the Shape of Breast Cancer

Her passion has always been about people who don't have access to decent medical care, Professor Carol Benn, renowned breast disease specialist and surgeon, told the members of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn.

Prof Benn spoke to the club as part of Breast Awareness Month in October. She said she firmly believes that access to healthcare should be a fundamental tight for everyone.

                                      Prof Lucile Blumberg, Julian Nagy and Prof Carol Benn

She admitted that she had woken up at 4 am on Wednesday and had already performed four surgeries before arriving for her talk. Once she'd finished answering questions, she left to go back to the operating theatre.

Prof Benn heads up the Breast Care Centre of Excellence at Netcare's Milpark Hospital.

In introducing her, Prof Lucille Blumberg said she takes a holistic approach to health care and has helped to turn breast cancer from what was an untreatable disease into a journey that often has a good outcome.

    Club members and visitors turned the Parkview venue into a sea of pink

Prof Benn explained how she had left Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto because of frustration at not been allowed to establish a breast clinic within the state system.

She left for the Johannesburg Gen (these days the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital) where she was met by what she describes as a "butchery of chopping off breasts."

     Prof Benn addresses the club    

"My worst word in the world is ignorance," she said. Only about 25% of people screen for breast cancer, something she doesn't understand.

"Breast cancer is not a little shop of horrors," and there is usually time to consider all the options and to get a second or if necessary even more opinions. "Don't put professionals on a pedestal," she said. "The only thing you can do on a pedestal is fall off."

"If you demand excellence, people will have to deliver."

                      Francine Declerq was a visitor and is a prospective member

                     Debbie Nagy and Ivone Vosloo added to the pink theme

Especially because sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest incidences of breast cancer in the world, people mustn't get rushed into making decisions on how to proceed.

"Consent means I need time to make a decision, I need to know what the costs are and I have a right to a second opinion."

"Never make a decision in doctors' rooms."

                     Lawrence Ruele in pink mode

The pink theme at the club was not only because of Breast Cancer Awareness month, but also in anticipation of the birth of Lawrence Ruele and wife JoJo's daughter, who subsequently turned out to be a strapping boy, born on Thursday.

Club Assembly: A questionnaire has been circulated in order to collate club attitudes ahead of the club assembly on Saturday, 4 November. It will be held from 11 am to 3 and the moderator will be PDG Grant Daly. The venue is Twickenham Guest House, 66 Twickenham Ave, Auckland Park and the proceedings will include lunch and drinks to facilitate fellowship.

A Thought for the Week: The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently. - Friedrich Nietzsche (1844 - 1900)