A Sabrage, Malaria Bracelets, George Washington (I do not tell a lie!) and the UN.

Julian Nagy really entertained us last week with his talk on Champagne and a demonstration of Sabrage!  It happened to be his birthday so we all had Krone Borealis to drink, the Cap Classique that I think is closest to Champagne and also ages well....if you can keep it long enough!

Julian suddenly produced the sabre from behind the Rotary Flag.  We all thought he was going in for the kill and New Dawn would be on the front page of the Sunday Times as opposed to our usual back page position!

The NICD Choir...see if you can spot Lucille!

Lucille Blumberg has been telling us about the Choir she has started at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, the NICD Choir!  I went along to their first public appearance during the staff's lunch hour.  What a lot of fun!  And how good they were!  The audience were amazingly enthusiastic and I'm sure there'll be a lot wanting to join after that.  The choir manager who is reported to be "very strict" is our potential member, Nathi Ndlovu.

And here they are again in a Traditional Dress number!  Look for Nathi.

Nando's have asked us to buy Malaria Bracelets from Cape Union Mart.  They have been in there for a few weeks and all the money paid for them goes to the Malaria Project.  Nando's just want to prove to them that people will buy the bracelets and it is worth Cape Union Mart supporting their sale.

Our Speaker this week is another member, Ann Bourdin.  I heard her speak to the SA Military History Society on "A Callow Youth - George Washington in the Seven Years War".  I knew you would all enjoy it.


Here is George Washington in heroic pose...obviously not a callow youth!

Rotary, UN celebrate special relationship

By Ryan Hyland
Rotary International News – 9 November 2011
 

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Michel P. Jazzar, RI representative to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, and Richard S. Carson, RI representative to the Organization of American States, confer between panel presentations during Rotary-UN Day, 5 November in New York City. Both spoke on an RI representatives panel. Other panels focused on health, water, literacy, and youth. Rotary Images/Alyce Henson

       

More than 1,000 Rotarians, UN officials, Rotary youth program participants, and guests celebrated the special relationship between Rotary and the United Nations on 5 November. 

Rotary-UN Day, held annually at United Nations headquarters in New York City, included panels on health, water, and literacy, highlighting Rotarian projects that advance the goals of the UN and improve lives around the world.  

Kiyo Akasaka, UN undersecretary-general for communications and public information, commended Rotary for its ongoing collaboration with the United Nations to improve the health of children worldwide, and for its contribution to polio eradication.  

"Our shared vision for a safer and better world is what brings us together here today," Akasaka said. "It's your model of Service Above Self and your sterling results in improving health that makes Rotary one of the most important partners of the UN." 

Peace and justice

Both organizations are striving to create a more peaceful and just world, noted RI President-elect Sakuji Tanaka. 

"If you were to seek the one idea, the one goal that is at the core of Rotary, you would find the same goal that you find in the charter of the UN: to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbors," Tanaka said.

Timothy E. Wirth, president of the United Nations Foundation and Better World Fund, stressed the importance of partnerships. 

"Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recognizes that every problem the UN faces cannot be [solved] by the UN alone," he said, adding that Rotary's "understanding and commitment to partnerships will make so many of these goals we share possible."  

Partnerships

Rotary is committed to partnering with organizations like the UN, said John Hewko, RI general secretary. 

"Rotary is learning by experience that it can accomplish more in concert with others than it might on its own. Working together multiplies our success: one plus one equals three," Hewko said. "This new formula provides a unique opportunity to enhance humanitarian service, which is what Rotary is all about. It helps build understanding and peace -- the mission of Rotary and the UN."

Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, head of the Division of Women and Child Health at Aga Khan University, discussed the strategic partnership between the university and Rotary, and the challenges of promoting maternal and child health in developing countries in Africa and parts of Asia.  

More than 300,000 women die each year from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, Bhutta said. "Our biggest challenge is reaching these poor women, families, and infants to give them adequate health care." 

"I believe we are at the beginning of the journey with Rotary International to improve child and maternal health in the hardest-to-reach places in Central and South Asia and Africa," he added.  

Other panelists during Rotary-UN Day included Jacob Kumaresan, executive director of the World Health Organization, New York; Paul Edwards, senior adviser for UNICEF on water, sanitation, and hygiene; Ginny Wolfe, senior director of U.S. communications for the ONE Campaign; Philippe Kridelka, director of UNESCO, New York; and Ron Denham, chair of the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group.

Rotary, which has a 66-year history with the UN, holds the highest consultative status offered to any nongovernmental organization by the Economic and Social Council, which oversees many UN agencies.