Rex van Olst, an Associate Professor of Telecommunications Engineering Research in the School of Electrical & Information Engineering at the University of Witwatersrand, is a member of Benoni Aurora Club and heads up "Ambassadorial Scholarships" on the District Rotary Foundation Committee. He is our guest speaker this week and has asked if we are prepared to host an ambassadorial scholar. It will be interesting to hear what it entails.

We have a speaker who is used to getting up early in the morning to go to Rotary!


I spent the weekend in Vryburg as a hanger-on at the Inner Wheel District Conference. The new District Chairman is from Vryburg Inner Wheel and it was great fun meeting people again who I only see once a year including the Bloemfontein contingent where I used to live. One of the benefits of Inner Wheel is that as a mere partner we are entertained by the Vryburgers whilst the women have their conference. We just had to turn up for the opening party and the formal dinner on the Saturday night. We were fed so much steak that we ended up having fish for lunch on the way back on Sunday!

Many thanks to those who supported the soccer. Here is a letter from Beth Thomas:

Dear Rotary friends A huge thank you everyone who assisted on making this a very special day on Saturday 28th May at Milpark Sports Centre, Johannesburg. Special thanks to the clubs who came to support their teams and bring the refreshments, for those who contributed towards the T shirts; the photographers and sound system all organised and supplied by clubs, the help with transport and encouragement, the tickets donated and the soccerballs and kits. For the 12 clubs involved the good news is that you will also receive a large supply of soccer balls quite soon to distribute to other schools and organisations you are working with. Roger thank you for the huge supply of e'pap which you most generously contributed also and which will be used for the events during the school holidays which are being organised for street children to keep them occupied and safe. All the coaches, drivers, staff and caregivers were provided by organisations working with street children in programmes off the street and we would not have been able to put this event together if it was not for their hard work as well. Special thanks to Sam, Patrick, Connie, Tahiyya, Martha, Aubrey and others who are involved in the daily lives of the children. When we have received all the photographs from Roger and from Ivan's great photographer these will go to the website. I am attaching a report on the total exercise just to let you all know how special this programme was. The Chairman of National Alliance has asked if Bev and Ivan could please repeat their presentations and if we could video these so that they can be shared throughout the country at our Child Participation conferences, This message is also going to a Rotarian from my club who is presently in Sudan! Just to let you see what you've been missing JJ!! Everyone of you have made an impact on the lives of the children who attended on Saturday - a HUGE THANK YOU from me. Sincerely Beth
Our soccer team this week is The Netherlands as Bert will be back for the Induction Dinner on Friday.

Don't forget to book with Mike Vink for the Induction Dinner on Friday Evening. We will also be inducting two new members, Tilly Michaels and John Paisley.

Lucille Bloomberg and our AGM

Lucille gave us such an interesting presentation on Polio and Rotary International's efforts to wipe out the disease which naturally spilled over into diseases that had been eradicated such as smallpox. She forwarded this letter to me last week and I forgot to publish it:

Dear Dawn Rotary Club of Johannesburg

I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thank to you and appreciate your contribution to my son. Your assistance means so much to me but even more to the boy, because he can move anywhere he want and being close to the family everyday.

Our child was involved in a car accident, both his legs were operated as such could not walk. We needed a wheel chair to take him home and you were there for us. Your efforts did not go unnoticed. May the Almighty be with you.

Thank you for your generosity and quality chair.

Sincerely

Tsakani Nkuna (Mother & the Family)

This week is our AGM and all reports have been forwarded to you so we will get through it very quickly and have a pleasant social time.

Australian Rotarians send aid to Chile
By Ryan Hyland
Rotary International News -- 21 May 2010



District 9750 (Australia) Rotarians load relief supplies for Chile. Photo courtesy of the Rotary Club of Bondi Junction


Australian Rotarians have been pitching in to help communities in Chile devastated by the February earthquake that killed hundreds and caused an estimated US$30 billion in damages.

A 40-foot cargo container arrived in the country last week at a port in San Antonio, filled with medical and school supplies, including 63 hospital beds, two humidifier cribs for premature infants, dozens of boxes of clothes and school uniforms, and student desks. The Rotary Club of Bondi Junction, New South Wales, loaded and shipped the container.

"We used every inch to pack as many supplies as we could," says Russell Paine, club president-elect and project coordinator. "Good things were going into that container -- lifesaving equipment."

The club paid $5,000 to secure the shipping container from Maersk Line. The supplies were contributed by Australian Rotarians through the Donations in Kind program , a project of Rotary Australia World Community Service Eastern Region. Clubs in District 9750 helped load the container.

Paine reached out to Blas Martino, past governor of District 4320 (Chile), shortly after the earthquake to ask what Australian clubs could do to help.

"They contacted me immediately to offer their assistance," says Martino, whose district has worked with Bondi Junction Rotarians and other Australian clubs on past projects. "The truth is, we need all the help we can get to assist all the people who are now homeless because of the earthquake."

Cristina Gutierrez, a native of Chile and a member of the Rotary Club of Maroubra, New South Wales, worked on projects with Martino in 2006 and says it was important for her to get involved in helping quake victims.

"It has been heart wrenching to see my fellow Chileans enduring such devastation," she says. "As a result of our previous projects in Chile, we have developed a good working relationship between Rotarians in Chile and ourselves."

Martino, who is coordinating the distribution of the supplies, says his district has allocated an initial $10,000 to recovery efforts. Bondi Junction club members aims to raise another $10,000 to help in the end-to-end delivery of this shipment.

"I felt very emotional after seeing the magnitude of the devastation," says Paine. "We needed to help them as our brothers and sisters, not as people who are begging for our help."

The Rotary Foundation has established a Chile Disaster Recovery Fund to help those affected by the quake.

Bring & Braai, Lucille Blumberg & Peter Rolfe.

Our speaker this week is another one of our members, Lucille Blumberg...in the pink, on the left! She'll be talking about "Polio and the Rotary International Contribution".

These are some of the photos of the Bring & Braai Chez Donet on Saturday evening. It was a great social evening evening and in the centre bottom row is Mike Vink in characteristic pose, braaing away with a large glass of red wine to hand. Our grateful thanks to Graham & Joan Donet for hosting the evening and making it such a success..

And here's another collage of the evening. In the middle, Peter & Bridget Rolfe. He was our speaker last week and here are a couple of photographs of his talk on his experiences in Iraq. It was fascinating hearing a very different story of Iraq from someone who had been their as a Private Soldier involved in an Intelligence Unit.






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Rotary Foundation Ambassadorial Scholars always impress, but Roxana Saberi, who left the United States for Tehran in 2003 as a foreign correspondent, has become an international celebrity and a face for human rights in Iran.

The former political prisoner, released from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison in May 2009, sat down for a Q&A luncheon at the Union League Club in Chicago on 13 April. Her national tour served to promote her book, Between Two Worlds: My Life and Captivity in Iran , published 30 March. Saberi recalled the many lessons she learned from fellow female political prisoners, the events that led to her freedom, and her life before Evin.

After the Iranian government revoked her press pass in 2006, Saberi stayed in the country and began writing a book for American readers that profiled the diversity of its people.

Eleven days after U.S. President Barack Obama’s inauguration, she was kidnapped, questioned, and detained in Evin Prison for 100 days, accused of using her book as a cover to conduct hundreds of interviews with Iranians and spy for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Using nonviolent “white torture” (extreme sensory deprivation) techniques, Saberi’s interrogators forced her into making a false confession by guaranteeing her freedom if she admitted to espionage. Without knowing she would be released in a matter of days, Saberi recanted, setting in motion a sham trial that resulted in an eight-year sentence, her own hunger strike, and a successful appeal.

“Unfortunately, a lot of Iranians are falsely accused of crimes, including espionage,” she said. “It made me wonder, do they knowingly falsely accuse people to tighten their grip on society and to silence people?”
Road to Iran

In Evin, Saberi met many of these silenced political prisoners and members of marginalized groups like the Baha’is. Their stories strengthened her will to recant.

“Sometimes through suffering we can have an opportunity to become stronger,” she said. “And even when you’re imprisoned, you still have power to control your attitude.”

Saberi’s road to Iran included a stop at the Miss America competition, where she finished in the top 10. Her talent was playing the piano, a gift she would later put to use as a diversion while in solitary confinement at Evin by tapping her fingers against the wall. She used her scholarship money to attend Northwestern University’s Medill Graduate School of Journalism, and furthered her education with the help of a 1999-2000 Ambassadorial Scholarship, obtaining a second master’s degree in international relations at the University of Cambridge in England. She has written for ABC Radio, Feature Story News, the BBC, NPR, PRI, and Fox News.

“I felt like I had the journalism background, but I didn’t have the foreign relations background,” she said. “My aim was to become a foreign correspondent.”

For now, Saberi’s future plans are unsure. Since her return from Iran, she has completed her book and has been relaxing with her parents in Fargo, North Dakota, as well as participating in a number of human rights gatherings after the Iranian election. She cowrote a film, No One Knows About Persian Cats , with her longtime boyfriend and award-winning Iranian-Kurdish director, Bahman Ghobadi. While Saberi hopes to eventually return to Iran, she says she has been too outspoken to ensure a safe visit.

“Often I get worried about the Iranian people,” Saberi says, “but I know they’re very courageous, and I admire them. In the long run, they can prevail.”

And another World Cup team. This time it's Bafana Bafana, our own team.

Peter Rolfe on his time in Iraq and the Bring & Braai.

Not having any Business Meeting pictures I thought a poster might brighten up the page!

This week our guest speaker is one of our members, Peter Rolfe, who served with the British Army in Iraq. I'm sure it will be a fascinating talk as we tend to think of him as the website and domain expert!

Don't forget the Bring & Braai on Saturday at the home of Graham & Joan Donet. Please make sure you let them know that you are coming.

The Rotary Year is definitely winding down and my year as President is coming to an end. Less than a month to go to Graham's Induction Dinner!



What a great idea to abandon Black Tie and wear Soccer Shirts. I've been battling to find a Danish strip to wear. Everything else seems to be available, even Sweden who the Danes knocked out of competition to get here! I'll put a different team on the blog each week and we'll start with Denmark because I am prejudiced. Just let me know on Wednesday which Team should appear next.


Rotary Peace Fellows are leaders promoting national and international cooperation, peace, and the successful resolution of conflict throughout their lives, in their careers, and through service activities. Fellows can earn either a master’s degree in international relations, public administration, sustainable development, peace studies, conflict resolution, or a related field, or a professional development certificate in peace and conflict resolution.

Simphiwe, Membership and Jankees in Surinam.

Jankees and Judy Sligcher eventually did get on a plane to the Netherlands. Here's Jankees swopping one of our banners in Surinam and here is his email:

Hi Peter,

This is just the unambiguous proof, I handed over our banner at the Rotary club of Paramaribo in Suriname!

Judy and I feel incredibly privileged to be here, as all Surinam people remember Judy's surname Gonggryp as her grandfather was head forester here and got his name assigned to a very important piece of forest.

We are treated as one of their own Surinam people, which makes this trip extra special.

We were rewarded with their very special banner and may even expect some of their members to visit us in due course!

We cannot wait to tell you enough about the achievements this club has made, the example they have set in the Caribbean area and the way they have done it!

Best regards,

Judy & Jankees

Last week Simphiwe Ngwenya spoke to us about her achievements since we saw her last as a McCauly House Interactor. What a delight to hear how much she has achieved in a such a short time, a scholarship to the States, a bursary to Wits and yet she remains the same pleasant unassuming young woman we first met, yet bursting with self-confidence!

What a successful membership event Allan Beuthin organised and Graham Donet hosted at the SA Chefs' Association last Friday! About 25 people came and roughly 10 of them were potential Rotarians. Ian Widdop gave a very short presentation about Rotary and our Club and then we all chatted. Everyone had a great time socially. Congratulations to everyone who was involved...the snacks were a meal in themselves and the wines were delicious. A black mark for the Blogger as he forgot to take any photos...maybe it was just as well!

This week it's the monthly Business Meeting.