Member 30, Jenine in Mogadishu, Handbags for All, Dr Cecille Cilliers & Generation Y.

We have met our membership target, 30 members by the end of June 2012!  Here PP Graham Donet is inducting Trish Heslop as member number 30.  Welcome Trish...she is the one on the right.

Our Speaker last week was one of our members, Jenine Coetzer, who had just come back from her second trip to Mogadishu.  Her photographs were a sobering experience for many of us.  As she said, we might be horrified but you quickly become immune to the sight of starving children and accept as normal having to travel in armed convoys with guards armed to the teeth.  I suppose we are immune to beggars at robots, our own security systems and not being able to walk to the restaurant at night....it's all a matter of degree!

Malaria Project
Last Wednesday, Steve Du Plessis, Amina Frense and myself represented the Club at the breakfast for Kingsley Holgate latest foray into Africa packed with mosquito nets and Captain Morgan Rum.  Unfortunately we don't have any pictures yet.

Handbag Project

The Handbag Project has really leaped ahead with Sue Peiser managing to enlist support from HSBC.  This is what they have to say about it:

HSBC and the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn join forces to assist the Jess Ford Foundation

Diversity falls into one of HSBC's four pillars of Corporate Responsibility and for the month of August which is National Woman's Month we hosted The Handbag Project at our branch. HSBC strongly believes in staff voluntary programmes, we have had unanimous responses from staff members as well as external parties who have come together to make this a successful project.
Thank you to the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn for helping bring the Jess Ford project to HSBC and in turn the HSBC values to life; we are connected to our customers, communities, regulators and each and we are dependable and do the right thing.


Speaker
Thanks to Linda Vink we have a very special speaker this week, Dr Cecille Cilliers, the well-known Afrikaans academic, an explorer of Spirituality and a former columnist for Die Beeld who, with Bridget Oppenheimer, started "Women for Peace" in 1976:

Cecile Cilliers  is as nooi Pretorius in Franschhoek gebore.  Sy matrikuleer op Montagu,  en behaal die BA met tale (Afrikaans, Engels, Duits) aan UP.  Sy trou met John Cilliers, geoloog, en leer deur sy reise die  land goed ken.  In 1961 vestig die Cilliers’ hulle in Johannesburg, waar hulle drie kinders groot maak.

Cecile is sedert 1995  weduwee, en aldrie haar kinders woon in die buiteland - Amerika, Engeland en Australië onderskeidelik.   Sy het ses kleinkinders, drie dogters en drie seuns.

Cecile het die BA van UP,  die BA Hons van Wits, en die MA (cum laude)  en

D Litt et Phil van  RAU.  (Nou UJ).

Al die grade is in Afrikaans/Nederlands.

In 1976 stig Cecile saam met Bridget Oppenheimer die organisasie Vroue vir Vrede met as hoofdoel  ‘gelyke geleenthede vir almal’.  In Vroue vir Vrede kon  vroue van alle bevolkingsgroepe mekaar leer ken om sodoende diskriminasie teen te werk.  Uit hierdie werk het ‘n leeftyd van openbare redevoering gespruit.

Alhoewel dit nou hoofsaaklik tot ‘n einde gekom het, spreek sy nog soms leeskringe toe en kry soms die geleentheid om te preek.

Want kerk is nog een van Cecile se belangstellings.  Sy was die eerste vrou om op die Moderamen van die NG Kerk in Suid Transvaal te dien, en die eerste vrou op die Algemene Sinodale Kommissie van die NG Kerk  Totdat sy  na die Kaap verhuis het, was sy leier-ouderling in haar gemeente (die Andrew Murray-gemeente) in Johannesburg.

Cecile skryf sedert 1981 ‘n gereelde rubriek vir Beeld,  en resensies en artikels vir koerante en tyskrifte.   Van haar kortverhale en essays is in versamelings opgeneem, die mees onlangse in As almal ver is, saamgestel deur Danie Marais en deur Tafelberg uitgegee.    

Boeke wat uit haar pen verskyn het,  is oa  Ma’s het engelvlerke, Begenadigde vroue, Jy’s veelkantig, Vrou !, Magspel en etlike Bybelse dagboeke.  Al hierdie publikasies het by CUM verskyn.   Versamelings van haar Beeld-rubrieke  (Kokkewiet op Donderdag en Reënboogmense, reënboogland), het by Lux Verbi verskyn, en ‘n versameling van haar De Kat-rubrieke (Katswink), is deur Tafelberg uitgegee. 

Cecile het deel gehad aan etlike televisieprogramme, oa op CNTV, waar sy paneelbesprekings oor godsdienssake gelei het, en op Kyknet, waar sy een van die twee Boeksusters was.  Sy het ook al heelwat radiowerk gedoen.

In April 2002 het Cecile na die Kaap verhuis, waar sy na aan eie familie is wat vergoed vir die verlange na haar kinders.

Cecile is lief vir mense,  poësie, enige wildtuin (veral die Nasionale Kruger Wildtuin) en reis graag – die bestemmings deesdae gewoonlik Engeland, Amerika of Australië…

The secret to reaching Generation Y

By Ryan Hyland
Rotary International News -- 21 September 2011

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Michael McQueen is a leading authority on youth trends, a best-selling author of two books on bridging the generation gap, and a member of the Rotary Club of Crows News, New South Wales, Australia. He recently spoke to RI News about bridging the gap with Generation Y. Rotary Images/Alyce Henson

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Michael McQueen is a leading authority on youth trends, a best-selling author of two books on bridging the generation gap, and a member of the Rotary Club of Crows News, New South Wales, Australia. He recently spoke to RI News about bridging the gap with Generation Y.

RI News: How do you define Generation Y?

McQueen: Numerically, Generation Y is between the ages of 12 and 30. But culturally, they are globally minded. Through online social interactions, many members of this generation have networks of friends around the globe who are only a click away.

RI News: How can Rotarians best reach out to Generation Y?

McQueen: Start small. Rather than approaching young people by asking them to join, engage them with short-term projects. Build relationships with them so they get a sense of Rotary’s DNA. When Rotarians are asked about Rotary by younger people, often they answer with how Rotary works -- the rules, traditions, and rituals. Rotarians need to explain the “why” of Rotary. Generation Y is outcome focused. Have a clear answer on why the outcome of projects is important.

RI News: What kinds of benefits can Generation Y bring to Rotary?

McQueen: The next generation represents an enormously exciting opportunity for Rotary. There are three reasons why. One, having grown up with the Internet and being so interconnected, young people are acutely aware of global issues and concerns. They believe that such a small world really can be changed. Two, they are socially engaged. Recent studies have shown that 70 percent of Generation Y actively volunteers on a weekly basis. Not only does this group feel it can make a difference, it genuinely wants to. Three, they are ambitious. Young people today are desperate to get ahead in their careers and are looking for mentors and networking opportunities.

RI News: Generation Y seems to be very busy, perhaps busier than previous generations. How can Rotary overcome this challenge?

McQueen: Yes, the demands on their time, energy, and attention are enormous. But when young people say they don’t have time for Rotary, they are stating a priority rather than a fact. Young people simply perceive Rotary as a lot of restrictive rules and time-consuming work. Rotary’s challenge is to communicate to young people the compelling reasons and benefits of joining Rotary.

RI News: How should Rotary be using technology to its advantage to attract young people?

McQueen: Use more multimedia. For instance, nobody under the age of 35 really knows what polio is. Their parents do, and they can be told how crippling this deadly disease is. But that only means young people will be intellectually pulled in, not emotionally. Use video to educate them about polio. Also, more clubs should have websites that engage young people.

Jenine Coetzer on her return from Mogadishu and a New Approach to Rotary.

Last week I gave my stock gap talk on really how military requirements changed the way food was preserved during the 19th century.  I'll just include my favourite poster from the presentation!

The most important breakfast event was the presentation of pharmaceutical books to Zeenat Bikhoo of Trinity Health Services so that the pharmacy is a step closer to being functional.  Top left Lucille Blumberg is about to make the presentation and is thanking our guest, Lee Baker of Amayeza Information Centre, for her help in acquiring the necessary books

 Our speaker this week is another one from a member.  Jenine Coetzer has just returned from her second trip to Somalia in a month.  She'll show us pictures and share her experiences with us.  We are all delighted she is back safe and sound as Mogadishu is not the safest place in the world!

Here she is in her Somalia outfit!  She went with Gift of the Givers Foundation.

Judging by her fascinating talk on her return from Haiti after the earthquake it's not to be missed.

1. In the period 31 July 2011 to 16 August 2011 Gift of the Givers flew 6 planes into Mogadishu carrying 112 tons of emergency supplies.
2. A 20 member South African medical team provided medical care from 1-8 August 2011treating in excess of 5000 patients, mostly malnourished, dehydrated children and saving many lives in the process.  Every child was given R1300 of life saving nutritional supplements to take "home" to prevent onset, or arrest further deterioration, of severe malnutrition.
3. In excess of 5000 families were provided with dry food rations.
4. In the period 18-31 August 2011 three ships carrying 1500 tons of supplies were on the way to Mogadishu.  An additional 240 tons of supplies depart in the next 48 hours.
5. Preparations are being made to load several hundred more tons of supplies that are pouring into our warehouses; all new loading of containers will take place between 6-9 September 2011 so those wanting to send their contributions are most welcome to do so.

Dr Hashi, Gift of the Givers representative in Mogadishu, has set up four Feeding Centres in different districts feeding a nutritious "wet" meal to 20 000 people per day.  In addition, everyday, in different districts, 300 new families are given "dry" rations to try to stave off hunger in areas where we don't have feeding centres yet.  Several hundred patients, mainly children, have been treated by Dr Hashi, with antibiotics, nutritional supplements and intravenous fluids, amongst other treatment modalities whilst awaiting the arrival of our new medical contingent.

Young Rotarian advocates a new approach to Rotary

 
Rotary International News -- 13 September 2011 
 

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Katie Ischkin, past president and founder of the Rotary Club of South Metro Minneapolis Evenings, Minnesota, USA, talks about attracting younger members to Rotary. Rotary Images

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Katie Ischkin, past president and founder of the Rotary Club of South Metro Minneapolis Evenings, Minnesota, USA, believes in a new approach to Rotary.

Her Rotary club, chartered in June 2010, has already grown to more than two dozen members, including 12 new Rotarians who were recruited in a three-month period. The club has signed up for its first Matching Grant and international service project and has participated in more than 10 community service or hands-on volunteer efforts.

Ischkin recently shared her ideas on how to attract young professionals with RI. As a "proud, young, female Rotarian," she is among only 2 percent of club members worldwide under the age of 30, and only 11 percent under 40.  

"We need to focus on generating interest in young people for the future success of Rotary," she said. "We are faced today with the need to grow not just for the sake of numbers but to create strong, young, global leaders who are going to help continue the success of the Rotary organization."

Ischkin advocates a new outlook on membership and a different approach to club structure. As a change management consultant, she said she understands people's fear of change. But she stressed that her approach doesn't mean altering the core pieces of the organization or losing what Rotarians hold dear.

"What does change are what I call surface-level elements," she said. "The pieces that individual clubs have the power to shift and redesign, such as meeting times and locations, program structures, club member involvement, and committee formats."

Manage expectations

Ischkin's club meets in the evening and lowers costs by not having meals. And it doesn't hold a traditional meeting every week: The third meeting of the month is a happy hour/networking event at different locations in the city, and the fourth meeting is a hands-on volunteering opportunity.

"We’ve also accepted that, with a younger membership, we have a higher rate of turnover, mainly because some members aren’t quite settled on the city or their career," she says. "We can’t be afraid of inviting members who may leave."

Ischkin added that it's important to understand the mindset of the new generation and manage expectations accordingly. Younger people are "always on the go and truly connected," she explained, whether it’s through social networking, text messaging, or other means. They face a lot of pressure to be involved in multiple endeavors and to balance work and personal life. As a result, they may be "on call" with their careers, but they are no less dedicated to service.

"When you’re trying to recruit younger members or even sponsor and start a New Generations Rotary club, take time with your club and committee to outline what your expectations are and whether they will align with the younger generation you are trying to attract and work with," she said. "Not every Rotary club can quickly shift gears to attract younger members; it takes time and baby steps."

But for many clubs, she said, "all it takes is opening up your minds and starting to think differently about the future of your club's membership."

"This new approach to Rotary, accomplished through such small changes, can help draw younger members, who will view Rotary as an attractive and worthwhile addition to their ever-growing list of commitments and interests."

The Business, the Lecture, Rotary at 9/11 and a Stand In.

 Our Business Meeting needed quite a lot of coffee to get us through, as you can see!  It's good to see that we are on track for POB status!
Our sponsored lecture was a great success.  Many thanks to the Rotarians who attended.  I tried to count the number there and I think it was roughly 100.  Judge Zac Yacoob gave a thoughtful lecture on the natural tension between the Constitutional Court and Government in a Constitutional Democracy.  He did not point out particular points of departure though he made oblique references to situations that were known to most people.  He did feel that government's
complaints about referrals to the Constitutional Court were understandable as governments wanted no check on their perceived authority but such referrals were healthy in a democracy such as ours.

The recipient of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn Scholarship put the whole evening together and there is nothing more satisfying than listening to a lecture whilst sipping a glass of red wine.

Our thanks to Michelle Williams (in green and smiling!)  of the Dept of Sociology at Wits for finding such a good and eminent speaker and being so open to our suggestions and also to Don Lindsay for suggesting the Dept in the first place and for all his help in liaison.  Let's hope that this is the start of a lasting relationship with Wits and let's hope that we may be able to find some overseas funding that will help us make this a worthwhile scholarship in the future.

This Week's Talk



It's stop-gap-me as we have had to move talks around and couldn't just swop them!  Our stop-gap speaker hasn't come back to me so I will give a talk, that a couple of you have asked to hear, (only a couple) on Baron Professor Doctor Von Liebig's famous invention. He is part of the 19th century improvements in food preservation techniques that were driven by military requirements.

Pillars of strength

By Helen Reisler

On the 1st July, 2011 I was installed as the Rotary Club of New York’s first female president. The club was about to celebrate its 92nd anniversary, and it made a big production of my installation. A group from the New York Police Department marched me in, singing “New York, New York”; I announced my agenda for the coming year; everybody toasted. And we thought that would be the historic event of the year.

The morning of 11 September, I was in my Brooklyn apartment getting ready for a club meeting. My daughter called and told me to turn on the television. I watched as the second plane struck, and it dawned on me that I was on an island. My family was not there: My husband was in the suburbs at our home, my children were scattered. I worried that some of the members of my Rotary club were at the World Trade Center – a fear that was later confirmed. I’d never felt so alone.

Then I turned on my computer. Messages from Rotarians all over the world were pouring in – from Lebanon, England, Israel, France. Club presidents were asking, “How can we help?” I spent days at my computer trying to keep up with the messages from people in different time zones. I hardly slept. The checks began coming in. I called our club’s executive director and asked him to work with the chair of our club’s foundation to open a special account. Then I called an emergency club meeting.

We had 185 members at the time and were fortunate not to have lost anyone in the attacks. I remember thinking it was important to keep the members feeling safe and hopeful. I worried that those who didn’t live in Manhattan might be afraid to come to the meeting. But everyone showed up. I recalled how, as a child during World War II, I’d participated in air-raid drills at my school. As the children were hiding their heads in their hands, my music teacher had asked me to run down the halls singing “Home on the Range,” just to give them some hope. After 9/11, I felt the same call to inspire the members of my club.

At every meeting, we played patriotic songs. I invited firefighters and others who’d been injured to attend. I invited people who had lost loved ones: a widow and her child, a father who had lost his son and who continued to attend meetings. I made the club a haven for those who had been affected by the attacks – not only to support them, but to motivate the members of my club.

I often was up until 3 a.m. coordinating the teams I’d organized. That was one of the most important things I did: make personal contact with members, organize and motivate them, give them hope. I had an Internet team to spread the word. We used the Internet to explain to donors what we were doing with their money and to show them the reality of the situation in New York. Another committee organized members to head to ground zero to volunteer their skills. All of our members have unique skills. One is a forensic dentist who helped identify victims in the days after the attacks; one is an officer in the New York branch of the American Lung Association who tested the air quality at the disaster site; another, who owns a courier service, used his van to bring bottled water to the volunteers. We also had an 85-year-old member who helped Salvation Army volunteers serve food.

Then there was a committee to identify people who needed emergency funds. Some of the committee members weren’t even Rotarians, but they later joined. I made applications to hand out to people who needed assistance. Team members traveled on foot to churches, synagogues, firehouses, and police stations. Everything was personal and well organized. We went to meetings of the Better Business Bureau and various charitable organizations to find out where the need was greatest. We found individuals with touching stories who needed our help. Some had lost their adult children and suddenly found themselves the sole caretakers of their grandchildren. Another man lost his daughter, who had been helping him pay rent and maintain his home.

When Rotary clubs in Michigan volunteered to assist children who had lost a parent in the attacks, I formed another committee to coordinate that effort. In all, the Michigan clubs adopted eight mothers and their children. For an entire year, the clubs sent the families money for expenses, along with letters of support. The committee also organized a way to give back to the first responders who worked day and night at ground zero in the months after the attack. Volunteers offered firefighters and police officers weekend family getaways at vacation rental homes in Nantucket. We even sent a firefighter and his new wife to New Zealand and another couple to England; the host clubs and districts welcomed the New Yorkers as if they were their own. One firefighter told me he cried when he got the application for his vacation.

Every year, we honor the firefighters and the police, and every year, I receive a phone call from one of the men and women whom we helped. Last year, I invited John Jonas and his crew to speak at our club. Dubbed the Miracle of Ladder Six, they are a group of firefighters who were inside the World Trade Center on 9/11. The crew recounted how, as they were running down the stairs of the north tower, each carrying 100 pounds of gear, a woman they were helping collapsed from fatigue. Though the building was crumbling around them, they refused to leave her and, as a result, became trapped in the stairwell. Hours later, they were able to escape with the woman. But had they not stayed to help her, they said, the entire crew would have been killed in the collapse. When they finished telling the story, Jonas thanked his men for their bravery. Everyone in the room was clearly moved.

People often remark how terrible it must have been to be the president of the Rotary Club of New York on 9/11. I say just the opposite. I thank God I was in that position. I’m grateful to have used my skills of coordination and my ability to inspire. One of the greatest compliments I received was when one of the men in my club said, “You know, Helen, we were talking about what you did after 9/11. We looked around and asked, ‘Who, out of all these men, could have handled that?’ No one.” I did it for myself and to open doors for other women. Many women have joined the club since then, many of them young. Somehow, I’ve set myself up as a mentor (that’s what the members of my club call me, anyway). And I love it. I love to inspire them. I love to help them feel proud to be Rotarians.

Mantra, a Business Meeting, The District Seminar & Our Lecture!

About 24 of us descended on Mantra for dinner on the 5th Wednesday in August.  Unfortunately my camera batteries were flat so you will probably be relieved to know that you won't see yourselves all over again!

Instead a couple of ancient Rotary Cartoons that are still relevant!

Many thanks to Allan Beuthin for organising the whole thing.

This week is a Business Meeting so the second cartoon is particularly apt!  I am sure that the title "In the Club" is not intended as a double entendre!

District Seminar (Central) Saturday 17th September @ Leriba Lodge, Centurion


Mike Vink will obviously be collecting names for this and it is important that the Club is well represented.

The Club pays the fees for members to attend as we really want to encourage as many members as possible to go.  Here is the official invitation from PDG Shirley Downie:

 Good day everyone

On behalf of DG Anton Meerkotter, we extend an invitation for you and your fellow club members to attend the first of four Foundation, PR/Comms, New Generations and Membership Seminars which will be held on 17 September in Centurion at the Leriba Lodge - an exceptional venue and there is plenty of parking.

All Rotarians and Rotary Anns/Members of Inner Wheel can attend the seminar. However, it is advisable that Rotarians who chair your various club committee should attend. We also suggest that your incoming President, Secretary and Treasurer also attend.

Attached is the registration form and the map to the venue. (Mike has these.)

Please ensure that you fax the deposit slip to PP Peter Soester with all your club details and your contact name as it is often difficult for him to reconcile due to lack of information in respect of the payments.

In the instance of the Leriba Lodge, we need to pay upfront so please ensure that you pay the fee in advance. We would prefer not to have to collect cash on the day. We will however make the odd exception.

We look forward to hearing from you.

See you at Leriba Lodge. 

Best wishes

Shirley

Don't forget the Rotary Lecture on Wednesday!  

The Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn Lecture in association with the University of the Witwatersrand Department of Sociology.

When: Wednesday 7th September

The Lecture will be on

"The role of Civil Society in a Constitutional Democracy - a Judge's view."

The Lecture will be delivered by Judge Zac Yacoob of the Constitutional Court of South Africa.

Wits University, Southwest Engineering Building, Ground Floor, Room 10.

Safe Parking at Yale Road, Wits

5:30pm for 6:00pm

Enter Wits Main Campus via the Yale Road entrance (off Empire Road). Drive up Yale Road and you will come to a robot. The venue is the old building with columns that is in to the left at these robots (South West Engineering building). You cannot drive directly in but you should have no trouble finding parking on the road. If by any chance there is no parking here, drive further up Yale Road and you will find a car park on your right, just outside the Origins centre.

New Generations programmes (September is New Generations Month)

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Learn about Rotary's programs for New Generations, and find out how your club can benefit from involving youth and young adults in Rotary.

Every year, thousands of talented and dedicated young people, ages 12-30, have an incredible experience in a New Generations program.

As Rotaractors and Interactors, they serve in communities at home and abroad. Through Rotary Youth Exchange, they explore new cultures. And as Rotary Youth Leadership Awards participants, they learn skills that will help them succeed as future community leaders.

New Generations is Rotary’s fifth Avenue of Service. Learn how your club can get involved in An Introduction to New Generations Service (735).