The Polio Effort Gets a Monumental Boost

It's not easy being a delegate at the Rotary International Convention in Atlanta, says Jankees Sligcher, the next District Governor for District 9400.
     Jankees and Judy are amongst the more than 42000 delegated Rotarians at the convention and were on their way to listen to the presentation by Bill Gates on the End Polio Now campaign when we spoke.

Bros with their mo's! DG Grant Daly and his successor, Jankees Sligcher, show off their facial trimmings.

     He described the atmosphere as electric and well he might have - Gates and John Germ, Rotary International president, announced that many more millions will be going to the eradication of polio.
     The Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation has already donated hundreds of millions of dollars to the campaign, and pledged to match all donations by Rotary 2-to-1.
     This they will continue doing after Rotary International pledged a further $50 million a year for the next three years, starting on 1 July. It means another $450 million from the Gates Foundation in the same time period.

The Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and (left) the actor Ashton Kutcher at the Discon in Atlanta. We await Judy's report on Kutcher with bated breath!

     In all $1,2 billion was pledged for the campaign this week. Other notable donations were from Canada ($100 million), $154,7 million from Pakistan, one of the three remaining affected countries (the other two are Afghanistan and Nigeria) and Nigeria (R134.6 million). The money will be used mainly to immunise 450 million children a year, and for surveillance in the three above-mentioned countries, but also in countries that are still considered at risk.
     By all accounts Atlanta is teeming with Rotarians and the convention is the talk of the town.
     "My only wish is that there were more members from New Dawn here," said Jankees.
     "The conference centre is hectic, very busy, but the buzz is fantastic and New Dawners would be well advised to attend one of these events in future."
     He says he and Judy will probably be booking for the convention in Toronto, Canada, next year.
     PS. Ashton Kutcher spoke at the convention on his foundation's efforts at eradicating human trafficking.
     While the incoming DG was away, New Dawn did a bit of fund donation of its own. At the board meeting this week (the last one for the present Rotary year) it was decided to donate R5000 from club funds for the Knysna fire relief efforts. The money will go to the Rotary Club of Knysna, where we know it will be put to the best possible use.

This is not Jankees collecting on behalf of Bill Gates and RI, just the normal brag
 collection at the club meeting last week!

     These last few weeks have been quite busy, notably preparing for Discon in Polokwane, but also preparing for all the changes that are coming with regard to running a club.
     These will be addressed at the meeting tomorrow, but will of course also form the subject of our club assemblies in the next Rotary year.

Carin Holmes to the Rescue
     It's always good to hear about the charitable efforts of club members outside of the club and in this respect Carin Holmes, or Major Carin Holmes when she's wearing her Salvation Army uniform, excelled this past week when she appeared in the Rosebank and Killarney Gazette not once, but twice.

Carin Holmes with a blanket donor and Jenine Coetzer at New Dawns latest blanket drive

     In the first story Carin, the public relations secretary for Southern Africa of the Salvation Army, tells of their efforts at collecting blankets for the needy and homeless, stating that they had distributed more than 900 blankets already.
     Carin was also one of the team who collected money for blankets during our recent blanket drive days at the Parkview Spar.

     In the second story she comments on the high levels of violence against women in South Africa and calls for action from the government - and from men in general of course - to counter the scourge.
     Way to go, Carin!
     A Thought for the Week: Surplus wealth is a sacred trust which its possessor is bound to administer in his lifetime for the good of the community. - Andrew Carnegie (1835 - 1919)