Gearing Up for Discon and the Arts Event

The signs from Discon 2018 are that there could be a record attendance, despite the challenges of organising a conference inside one of the world's largest nature reserves.
     It's good to report that about a dozen New Dawn members have signed up to show support for Jankees and Judy at their last official showing as District Governor and District Governor Anns.
     That's not quite as many as the contingent from the Rosebank Rotary Club, which at last count was well over 20.
     The past weeks have been all about Discon, The Link and the upcoming Arts function in September.
     Ian spoke about the arrangements for the arts project last week and the week before that it was the turn of Frayne Mathijs to tell us about the importance of the proposed National Health System.

Frayne Mathijs after speaking last week

     We all know Frayne as one of the most devoted Rotarians in the club and a charitable person down to the last bone in her body.
     She addressed the issue of free healthcare knowing that there is a lot of scepticism about it, not because people disagree with the aims, but because they cannot see how it could ever be instituted given the corruption and mismanagement that is so typical of governments all over the world. This has of course also been part of the present state healthcare system.
     This is an issue far greater than Rotary itself, but doesn't mean we shouldn't engage in discussing and debating it and it is great to have somebody like Frayne to keep everybody focused on the main aim, which is to attempt to provide quality health care as a basic human right for every citizen.

Ian Widdop has worked tirelessly on the link with The Link and now also with
 the Arts on Main fundraiser. He's even promised to help with the Golf Day

     The September fundraiser will be under discussion at the board meeting tomorrow morning, which is being followed by a meeting with our partners in the proposed enterprise at Arts on Main.
     The aim is to get club members to visit The Canteen at Arts on Main, where the function will be held, towards the end of the month as a fifth Wednesday social gathering.
     Watch this space for details.
     More clarity about exactly how the fundraiser will work, what it will cost, how many tickets need to be sold, what food will be served, etc. will be emerging soon so that proper planning for the event itself can begin.
     The beneficiaries of funds raised will be The Link, the Educational Trust linked to the Maboneng precinct and the 5Cees, all of which answer to our aim of helping children in need through education and other means.

Louise and Peter Vale, who came to collect books at the Humanitarian Centre on Saturday

     Speaking of which, it was Linda and my turn to man (and woman!) the Humanitarian Centre on Saturday, it being the first Saturday of the month.
     It would've been a very boring Saturday morning but for a visit by Peter and Louise Vale, old friends of the club, who spent a few happy hours looking for and loading up books for the Emadwaleni Secondary School, a high school in Orlando, Soweto.
     Louise, who has previously addressed the club on the community newspaper project she runs as a joint initiative of the government and media houses, has been involved with the school for a number of years. She says the school has a library, but that the shelves are largely empty.
     Peter Vale is Professor of Humanities at the University of Johannesburg as well as Director of the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study.
     Linda cornered him to come and tell the club about the Institute, and he will be speaking soon, hopefully somewhere in June.
     The speaker on Wednesday is also an academic. Viv Spooner is senior programme manager of the Doctoral programme at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs) in Johannesburg. Her topic ties in neatly with the New Dawn ethos: Maths: Taught or Understood?

President Carol Stier officially welcoming Peta Thomas as a member of Johannesburg New Dawn 

     Academics is the name of the game these days and we officially welcomed Dr. Peta Thomas as a member of the club last week after she transferred from the e-club, mainly to help Steve du Plessis with getting the research funding project and scholarship plans off the ground.
     It is an exciting prospect for the club to be aligned with the University of Johannesburg, where Peta lectures.
     May babies: Mike MacDonald has already had his birthday (4th May) and gets better, if not more talkative, with age.
     Other birthdays this month are: Sam Donet (Wednesday, 9th) and John Vink (Thursday, 10th). After them there are no birthdays until June.
     A Thought for the Week: To err is human, but it feels divine. - Mae West (1893-1980)