A Business Meeting....Angelique Kidjo

Last Week turned out to be the Business Meeting that should have taken place the week before as President Joan and Graham Donet were busy marrying a daughter off in Montague and many others couldn't be at the meeting the week before.
There was a lot to talk about, especially the Rotary Family Health Days and the Cycle Tour.

As you can see members took the meeting seriously and judging by the look on our treasurer Mike Vink's face,he was taking it even more seriously than most because we have to sort out the project with Hotel Hope and they are not easy to pin down!  We have our own money plus the money from the Rotary Club of Delft and their District.
If we do get a District Grant it will almost certainly not be enough to complete the project of building an extension to one of the Hotel Hope orphan homes.

We had a report on PETS from Steve du Plessis which was well attended by the club.

This Week
Is a Social Meeting as the supply of speakers appears to have dried up.

GLOBAL STAR ANGÉLIQUE KIDJO CHAMPIONS ROTARY’S EFFORTS IN NEW SONG

Grammy award-winning singer Angélique Kidjo speaks to Rotary staff at the RI Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, on 10 February.

Photo Credit: Rotary Images/Monika Lozinska

In her new album, “Eve,” Grammy award winner Angélique Kidjo honors the women in Africa, and pays tribute to Rotary’s work to end polio worldwide.

The singer and activist from Benin chose to include Rotary in the soon-to-be-released video of the album’s signature song, “Eva.” Rotary’s presence in the video is no coincidence. The relationship between the singer dates back to 2011, when she joined about two dozen celebrities, including Jackie Chan, Jack Nicklaus, and Jane Goodall, in Rotary’s “This Close” polio awareness campaign.

“I am the cherry on top of the cake,” says Kidjo in an exclusive interview with Rotary News. “The important work is done by the people in the field.” With the voices of Kidjo and collaborator Nigerian signer Asa as a backdrop, the video shadows a young girl as she wanders about in an old novelty shop. The curious girl turns on an old TV and sees the singers on-screen, followed by footage of a Rotary Family Health Day project in South Africa.

She finds old photos and album covers of Kidjo and Asa and later, photos of polio survivors and polio immunization activities. The girl also finds a polio vaccine cooler used in immunization campaigns, and focuses on an "End Polio Now pin. 

In addition to Rotary’s prominent role in the video, Kidjo has lent her voice to the “This Close” campaign, and authored a 2011 World Polio Day op-ed and also attended a ceremony that illuminated the “End Polio Now” message on the New York Stock Exchange Building. She was also the keynote speaker at the 2012 Rotary World Peace Symposium and Rotary International Convention in Bangkok.

“It’s great for Rotary to have Angélique Kidjo as such an engaged supporter of polio eradication,” says Petina Dixon-Jenkins, Rotary’s PolioPlus communication manager. “When she talks about helping others -- particularly girls and women in Africa -- it’s clear that everything comes from the heart.”

‘POSTER GIRL’ FOR POLIO ERADICATION

During a visit on 10 February to Rotary’s World Headquarters in Evanston, Illinois, Kidjo spoke passionately and candidly to Rotary staff about the importance of vaccinations, her experience as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, her motivation behind “Eve,” and her recently released autobiography “Spirit Rising: My Life, My Music.”

Kidjo told stories about her mother’s insistence on sanitation and proper hygiene. This diligence included getting her children vaccinated against polio.

“I’m a poster girl for the End Polio Now campaign,” says Kidjo. “I am from a generation who has witnessed the devastating effects of polio. When I discovered how close we were from eradicating polio, I was very motivated to be a part of this movement. It is so rare when you can accomplish something so spectacular.”

Kidjo says that a good education must first start with good health.

“The lack of information makes vaccination campaigns very dangerous for women,” says Kidjo. “It’s up to the men in Africa to show women and children that vaccinations are crucial for their family’s health. This isn’t being done in many countries.”

For more than 10 years, Kidjo has served as a UNICEF goodwill ambassador and traveled throughout Africa as an advocate for health care and education. UNICEF, along with Rotary, is one of four spearheading partners of the Polio Global Eradication Initiative.

She says the most gratifying part of being a UNICEF ambassador is meeting amazing people with the passion and strength to be able to change their communities.

“People are not just numbers on a spreadsheet,” says Kidjo. “Try to involve the people you are trying to help in the decision making. The solution is never going to come from the outside.”