Cementing a Link to Literacy

This week Steve du Plessis is in all of our thoughts as a really super guy and super member battles a superbug in hospital in Hermanus.
     Apparently he is about to have his gall bladder removed, but is typically still working from his hospital bed.
     Get well soon, Steve, we're relying on you.
     Last week was a red letter day for the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn, with one of our largest donations ever.
     This consisted, in Ian Widdop's words, of a "voorskot" from the club coffers to get The Link Literacy Project going with three new schools in anticipation of further help from a Rotary Global Grant.

Ian Widdop, Tim Bashall, Megan Maynard, Carol Stier, Jankees Sligcher and Francis Callard with the big cheque; big in more ways than one

     I'll hand over to president Carol Stier, who wrote a press release on the handover.
     It reads: The Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn handed over a cheque for R100,000 to the Link Literacy Project on Wednesday.
     The money will help set up three new Link centres at schools in Primrose, Germiston, Maboneng and Fordsburg.

     “We can’t thank New Dawn enough for helping us to create sustainable growth,” said the Link’s chairman Tim Bashall, who accepted the cheque with Link co-ordinator Megan Maynard. “Megan and I are overwhelmed by this donation,” he said.

The Link banner

     The Link Literacy Project is a non-profit organisation which was started in 2010 to teach literacy and numeracy skills to seven- to eight-year-old children whose first language is not English and whose parents are often illiterate and unable to help them with homework.

     It now has 500 volunteers, who work at 11 specially equipped Link centres established at low income schools in Johannesburg, giving one-on-one help to children in Grades Two and Three – all with the nod from the Gauteng Department of Education.

     The children who take part are identified by their teachers and principals through testing and there is regular consultation about their progress.

     Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn raised the money for the donation from a Golf Day and raffle held last year, and a Bridge Drive and raffle in March.

PDG Francis Callard and DG Jankees Sligcher, driving focus behind the global grant application

Ian Widdop has been passionate about supporting The Link

Julian Nagy has been leading the fundraising drive

     It is also in the process of working towards raising even more money for the Link via a Rotary International Global Grant, in conjunction with the Toronto, Canada-based Rotary Club of Parkdale HighPark Humber.

     “We have become the link to literacy. It has taken years of tenacity,” said Rotary District 9400 Governor Jankees Sligcher, who is a member of New Dawn.

     Thanks Carol, for putting it so neatly.

     A lot of work has gone into the effort behind the scenes, especially by Ian Widdop, who has been consulting and submitting the relevant information required for global grants.

     He has been aided in this by PDG Francis Callard, PDG Greg Stathacopolous and DG Jankees Sligcher, amongst others.

     In thanking the school Megan Maynard reported that work at Sunnyridge Primary and the Maboneng school had already started and that work at Fordsburg Primary would begin in July/August.

Megan Maynard, co-ordinator and Tim Bashall, chairman of The Link, at the meeting

     Megan said she realised how dire the need for help at schools like Sunnyridge Primary is when she asked a little boy: What's your name? He gave it. She asked: What's your surname? In reply he pointed to the name badge on his blazer, clearly unable to read it himself.

    We'd no sooner finished the meeting on Wednesday when it was off to the Kruger National Park for an on-site meeting of the Discon 2018 planning committee in Skukuza, at the new Nombolo Mdhlulu Conference Centre.

Ann Roberts, Judy and Jankees Sligcher, John McCallum, Peter Oudhof (chairman), Drummond Hammond, Nic van Woerkom, Linda and I, Tony Roberts, Brenda McCallum, Louis Greeff and Janet and Francis Callard were at the Discon planning meeting

     It's a long way to drive for a weekend, but was worth it. On Friday we stayed over at White River to listen to a performance by the Casterbridge Music Academy pupils, who will be providing the music at the Discon in June.

     They're a great bunch and will definitely get the Rotarians going with their sounds from Africa.

Two of the singers for Discon

     At the meeting on Saturday DG Jankees Sligcher reported great success with the sponsorship he managed to secure from Audi to help pay for tracker dogs that Rotary will donate to the Kruger National Park at Discon.

     He said that one dog had already been sourced from the police dog training unit in the Netherlands and that there would most likely be money for a second dog. The dog's name, by the way, is Jopie and you'll be able to read more details in the next DG Newsletter.

Linda with the statue of Nombolo Mdhluli at the centre.
 He was a game ranger for more than 50 years

     At the meeting it was revealed that 43 of the 80 clubs in District 9400 had members who have registered.

     It's is going to be a wonderful occasion.

     If you've already booked your accommodation, don't forget to register for the Discon as well, as the two processes have been handled separately.

    Meeting: Frayne Mathijs is the speaker at the meeting tomorrow. She'll be telling us how vital a National Health system is.

    A Thought for the Week: I never knew of a morning in Africa when I woke up and was not happy. - Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)