Richard Cock, Handbags & the Drought in the Horn of Africa.

This week our speaker is well known musician and conductor, Richard Cock.  Richard Cock has made a significant contribution to music in South Africa since returning in 1980 from an 8-year sojourn in the United Kingdom.  

During those years he studied at the Royal School of Church Music and then gained experience in church music and education ending his days abroad as assistant organist and Director of Music at the Cathedral Choir School in Chichester.

The Conductor Since returning to South Africa he has been an SABC producer, Director of Music at St Mary’s Cathedral, Director of Chanticleer Singers and Symphony Choir of Johannesburg, and a conductor of note.   Having gained experience as Personnel Manager of the NSO in the eighties, Richard Cock became Artistic Director of that Orchestra from 1991 - 1999.  Previous to this he had been Director of the Transvaal Chamber Orchestra from 1987 - 1991 and this orchestra ceased to operate when he became Artistic Director in 1991. During that time the symphony concerts grew in popularity and scope and Richard managed to take the orchestra out of the concert hall to varied venues, from Cape Town to Cairo.   They truly became the National Symphony Orchestra performing both in small towns and large cities throughout South Africa and its neighbouring territories, as well as making a memorable tour to Cairo He continues this work throughout South Africa – in particular with the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra, and, with his irrepressible and ebullient nature, to bring music to tens of thousands of people and to make converts to the cause of orchestral and choral music in particular, and of ‘music’, in its broadest sense, in general. Richard is equally at home making music with children in a classroom, with leading soloists of the day in the concert hall, with choirs in churches, or with the orchestra in Tulip fields, amongst others he has worked with Julian Lloyd-Webber, Lynn Harrell, Joshua Bell, Florian Uhlig, Lesley Garrett, Zoe Beyers Corinne Chapelle and Patricio Buanne. He has also worked closely with Pavarotti and the 3 Tenors on their South African Tour.

Our speaker last week was Alta McMaster of The Jes Foord Foundation who spoke passionately about the need to assist rape victims.  This gave great encouragement to those involved in the Handbag Project.  Here she is introduced by Sue Beuthin.

We had such a good turnout that we had to squeeze in extra seating at tables!


Next week is the 5th Wednesday when we have an evening meeting.  Watch this space!


We were all relieved to see Jenine Coetzer back safe and sound from Mogadishu.  She will be talking about her experiences and showing pictures at our meeting on the 2nd Wednesday of September.  I am also delighted to have our official photographer back!  Many thanks, Jenine! 

District 9200 delivers famine relief to Kenya communities gripped by drought

By Ryan Hyland
Rotary International News -- 19 August 2011
 

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Top: Geeta Manek, District 9200 governor-elect, plays with children during a visit to the village of Kaikor in the Turkana district in northern Kenya on 25 July. Photo courtesy of District 9200

Rotary International on Facebook

Drought-stricken villages in northern Kenya received desperately needed aid this week from District 9200 (East Africa) and the Red Cross, which delivered more than 18 tons of food and water.

The hunger crisis plaguing the Turkana district in northern Kenya is a "stark example of what is happening to people in East Africa," says Geeta Manek, District 9200 governor-elect. The Horn of Africa's worst drought in 60 years has sparked famine conditions in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.

Manek, along with three Rotarians and the secretaries general of Kenya Red Cross and Canadian Red Cross, visited the village of Kaikor on 25 July.

"We witnessed horrific scenes of starvation and unimaginable poverty," says Manek, a member of the Rotary Club of Muthaiga, Kenya.

The drought in Africa has affected more than 12 million people including 3.7 million who are at risk of starvation, according to the United Nations. Tens of thousands of people have died in southern Somalia, including 29,000 children under the age of five. Hundreds of thousands are fleeing Somalia to seek aid in Ethiopia and Kenya.

While many international relief agencies are at the southern border of Kenya and Somalia, Manek says the nomadic villages of Turkana, including Kaikor, have received little aid.

"There are so many areas that have been totally forgotten, and Turkana is one of them," says Manek. "We [Rotary] must act quickly."

District Governor Eric Kimani says there is an alarming rate of malnutrition among children in Turkana.

"We are stunned by the scale of this devastation. The exodus of malnourished children to feeding centers is shocking," Kimani says. "A rapid increase in emergency aid is required to stave off catastrophic starvation."

Kimani is appealing to Rotarians worldwide to help the district secure food and water for thousands of people still at risk in Turkana.

"While the entire region [Horn of Africa] has experienced prolonged drought, the situation has been exacerbated by political instability and climate change," says Kimani. "But we as Rotarians must find ways to address the hunger crisis first."

In response to the crisis, The Rotary Foundation has established the Rotary Horn of Africa Famine and Refugee Relief Fund, which will support recovery projects in the affected areas.