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)

All Clean On Cleanup Day

For a day at least the section of the Braamfontein Spruit running through the Parkview golf course was pristine with wild ducks swimming in the ponds, all thanks to World Cleanup Day last Saturday, 16 September.

About 50 volunteers from Greenside High (they came in a busload), the Greenside Residents' Association and members of Johannesburg New Dawn tackled the spruit at the golf club, successfully dodging flying golf balls in the process.

                          Pristine after the cleanup last Saturday

This was all thanks to the efforts of Babette Gallard and Paul Chinn, who started the Cleanup last year, concentrating on the Braamfontein Spruit and its tributaries.

This year cleanup efforts were extended to Soweto to the north and Alexandra to the south and a whole lot of river space in between.

                            President Mbali Zulu, Babette Gallard and Paul Chinn in Soweto

Paul and Babette report that more than 100 organisations took part this year, with more than 2000 volunteers getting their hands dirty. They estimate that 25 tons of waste was removed from Johannesburg's streets, parks and rivers on the day.

    There was no shortage of volunteers to help pick up rubbish in Soweto

    Pupils from Greenside High after their Cleanup session

The cleanup confirmed that community power can literally move mountains and transform trash-filled landscapes, says Babette.

"We must safeguard the natural environment and strengthen our city's response to the waste management problem. United with local communities, we believe we can make a meaningful difference, leave a legacy of hope, and sustain a cleaner future for generation to come," said President Mbali.

                         Brad Neille and one of his  daughters, Suzy

One of the visitor volunteers at the Parkview Golf Club was Brad Neille, our speaker from last week and a resident off Parkview, where he is an estate agent.

Brad spoke to the club about his experiences as a Rotary exchange student in Brazil, a programme he had learnt about from a Brazilian boy who had joined them at St John's College in Johannesburg as a Rotary long-term exchange student in 1995.

                        Brad with Joan Sainsbury and Barbara Angove at the meeting

The following year Brad set off for Brazil to a world where nobody else around him spoke English and he could immerse himself in a new culture. He says he was the only "foreigner" in his first home village, about 4 hours south of Sau Paolo.

There he founded an Interact club, which is still going strong after 27 years.

While at the University of Pretoria he formed the Rotaract Club of Hatfield, in 2001 and said he'll be willing to talk to other Rotary clubs about forming and maintaining Interact and Rotaract clubs and about spreading the word about the value of exchange programmes.

Meeting: The meeting tomorrow will feature feedback on Donate a Loo and on the World Cleanup Day.

A Thought for the Week: If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. - William Blake (1757 - 1827)

                        

The DG Came, Saw and Was Conquered

There's a new energy in Rotary of recent, District Governor Riana Pretorius of the Rotary Club of Pretoria Capital said in  her address to the club during the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn held at the National School of the Arts in Braamfontein on Wednesday.

"I find such a good vibe at the moment. It's as if everybody is suddenly waking up after Covid."

"There's a new energy for projects, many in new directions such as tackling environmental issues, developing entrepreneurs and others."

     DG Riana Pretorius addresses club members in the Beethoven music room at the NSA

She emphasised the value of training in Rotary, the importance of paying your dues, of the Rotary Foundation and of sustainability in projects. With regard to sustainability she pleaded for the establishment of economic hubs in townships. "We meed to show that we can work together. Rotary can play a huge role here."

She said not enough members attend training sessions such as PETS (training for Presidents-elect and club officers), pointing out that ordinary members are also allowed to attend these as well as courses on global and district grants. Not enough people do the myriad online courses available on the My Rotary website either. Members should follow these and revisit them regularly, as the organisation changes every year.

     President Mbali Zulu, Weza Solange and Joan Sainsbury at the New Dawn plaque at the NSA music rooms

After a stirring organ recital by an NSA pupil, the focus moved to the seedling farm run by Frolinah Malaza and Mpho Mphatse of Lemang Fresh Table, who explained to DG Riana what they're doing, how they're doing it (both seem to have become accomplished seedling farmers) and what their aims are going forward in terms of the sustainability of the project.

Frolinah, who also addressed New Dawn at the previous meeting at Parkview Golf Club, said then that they had increased production from 16 000 seedlings to 60 000 seedlings a month and explained that they accept orders for seedlings, plant the seeds and have them ready for delivery according to the orders.

They also sell surplus produce at markets and have been in a position to donate seedlings.

                       DG Riana, PP Ian Widdop and Mpho Mphatse in the seedling tunnel

Frolinah said their next step is to supply schools in the Braamfontein area close to the NSA with seedlings and advice on how to plant them and tend to them, to overcome the logistical problems of transporting the seedlings over long distances.

The two entrepreneurs agreed that they now need a proper business plan to map out the way forward and Glen Meyer has indicated that he's willing to help them do this.

                       Glen Meyer, Frolinah Malaza and President Mbali with the moringa seeds

Glen also handed over a whole sack full of moringa seeds, a so-called superfood rich in vitamins and antioxidants worth about R1600 that had been donated to Lemang Fresh Table, much to the delight of Frolinah. These seeds are apparently quite easy to grow and thrive even in poor soil,

Moringa trees grow all over the world and are found in most provinces in South Africa, most commonly in Limpopo and the seeds, leaves and bark have been used in traditional medicine for centuries.

      Frolinah, DG Riana, Mpho, district secretary Alice Meyer, and President Mbali

The next stop on the way to the monthly board meeting, was at the Izwe Lethemka Day Centre in Soweto where Donate a Loo have installed toilets for the children and staff.

A bus full of New Dawners left the NSA bound for Lebo's Backpackers for the board meeting and visited the day care centre on the way there, where they were met by Helene Bramwell, fellow club member and founder of Donate a Loo, one of the beneficiaries of the Golf Day last month, and IPP Julian Nagy.

                                   Paul Kasango testing one of the new loos

This is a project close to the DG's heart as she has pledged to help 120 schools with decent ablution facilities in honour of Rotary International's 120th birthday in February next year.

The DG told the club that apart from support from our own district, D9400, many other Rotary bodies have become involved in this effort, amongst them D9370, the district that includes the Western Cape, the UK-Southern Africa Inter-Country Committee and Rotary International itself.

"How can you have dignity, whether you're male or female, if you have to 'go' in the veld," she said.

Fundraising: With a number of late payments now in, the total income from the Golf Day has risen to R150 000, making it a new record. Well done, everyone!

If there's still anybody who doesn't know why we're so proud of our club, read through President Mbali's excellent Club Overview 2023 powerpoint presentation to the DG. It covers a lot of ground on our most important efforts and yet somehow only scratches the surface of all the myriad efforts big and small that New Dawners get involved in. It was emailed to all members.

A Thought for the Week: Leap, and the net will appear. - John Burroughs (1837 - 1921)