A New Dawn for the Club

The meeting on Wednesday in many ways marked a coming of age for the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn.
     We hosted the new District Governor Charles Deiner in the presence of PDG Jankees Sligcher, PDG Francis Callard and DGA Colleen Deiner along with PDGA Judy Sligcher and PDGA Janet Callard.

President Linda Vink introducing the DG, Charles Deiner. From left are Janet and Francis Callard, Mike and Linda Vink, Charles and DGA Colleen Deiner, and PDG Jankees and PDGA Judy Sligcher, whose birthday it was

     The meeting was held to welcome DG Charles and for the board to meet with him afterwards for the annual review by the district governor. We were lucky to be met by a still fresh DG Charles before he embarks on his travels for the next six months visiting all of the 79 clubs in the district.
     During the meeting DG Charles also presided over the induction into Rotary of the new Rotaract club of Johannesburg, jointly sponsored by New Dawn and the the Rotary Club of Johannesburg, the oldest club in Africa.

President Linda Vink and DG Charles Deiner

     We packed quite a bit more into the allotted hour, because the newest member of New Dawn, Frank Odenthal, was inducted as a member.
     Also on the agenda, PDG Jankees Sligcher was welcomed as a Paul Harris Fellow by PDG Francis Callard for sustained giving of $1000 per year in his personal capacity.

Our newest member, Frank Odenthal, flanked by President Peter Rokitta of Kyalami and Joan Donet, club secretary for the year

PDG Francis Callard pins the Paul Harris Fellowship pin onto PDG Jankees Sligcher's lapel

     In his speech DG Charles alluded to the importance of growing membership, something he hopes will flourish with PDG Jankees as Membership chair for District 9400 for the next three years.
     He called for Rotarians to be People of Action, a theme that is being given much emphasis in Rotary.

DG Charles and DGA Colleen Deiner with Tia the bear, whose namesake is on his way to the North Pole

     He also told of the adventures of Tia the Teddy Bear, who is on her way to the North Pole. Tia is travelling by boat with Lungi Mchunu, who aims to be the first woman from Africa to get to the North Pole. The expedition left three weeks ago and aims to leave the Arctic by September before it gets iced in.
     The original Tia came to South Africa in a container from Canada to Middelburg, home of the DG's home club, the Rotary Club of Middelburg, with books, desks and chairs.

The intrepid explorer Lungi Mchunu, who has taken Tia the Bear along for her attempt to become the first woman from Africa to sail to the North Pole

     With the help of Catherine Deiner, Tia hopes to publish a children's book about her adventures to the North Pole with Lungi.
     DG Charles also promised that there will be a Teddy Bears' picnic at his Discon in Middelburg next June.
     During his meeting with the board after the club meeting, President Linda Vink introduced the new board to him and it was remarkable that he could remember each members' name.

Rtn Ian Widdop, Foundation chair for the club this year, gave a very gracious thanks to the DG for his visit to the club and being the speaker

     Board members reported briefly on their areas of interest and the DG emphasised the importance of the club applying for PBO status and pointed out the potential dangers of not complying.
     He also managed to elicit a pledge by Ian Widdop to join the district Foundation committee to put the experience he has gained in the ongoing global grant application to general use.

Charne Haak with her mother, Anita van Rensburg

    In the runup to the establishment of the new Rotaract club Charne Haak, Past President of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg, told how the original Rotaract Club of Johannesburg, of which she is a past president, fizzled out and became dormant.
     After a meeting with Steve du Plessis she decided the club could be resurrected. She told the new Rotaract members that they were joining an international network of Rotarians and Rotaracters that would stand them in good stead in the future.

The new members of the Rotaract club of Johannesburg. In the back row are Janet Callard, Alastair Billing, Peta Thomas, Charne Haak, Charles Deiner, Steve du Plessis and Graham Donet.

     Charne wasn't the only guest at the meeting. Other guests, apart from the seven Rotaract members, were PDG and PDGA Francis and Janet Callard from Northcliff; AG Peter James-Smith; President Alastair Billing of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg, President Peter Rokitta of the Rotary Club of Kyalami, PP Ivan Allen of RC Johannesburg, Dave Bradshaw, our AG last year, President Lucy Mbugua of RC Johannesburg North Central, Anita van Rensburg, a member of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg and Charne's mother; and Rtn Alfred Kalinga of the Rotary Club of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Speakers
     Our speaker for the last meeting in July was Carin Holmes, a club member as well as the head of PR at the Salvation Army. The club knows her as a passionate Rotarian and she addressed us on the work theSalvation Army does to combat human trafficking.

An arresting image from Carin's presentation

     She described the trafficking of humans, a modern form of slavery, as one of the fastest growing areas of organised crime in the world and a scourge that has not passed South Africa by. The main reasons for it are the trade in body parts for muti, child labour and of course sex slavery with 70% of people kidnapped being young girl between the ages of 5 and 15.
     It is estimated that 1.2 million people are enslaved annually, half of them in Africa.

Fascinating facts from the presentation

     Only 0.08% of people enslaved in this way ever go free. Carin said it is surprising the number of people who come forward after Salvation Army presentations to tell of experiences where family member or friends have faced capture.
     The Salvation Army helpline, 0800073728 is manned around the clock for anybody who wants to report an incident.

Shireen Hassim of Wits

     August is Women's Month and our speaker this week is Shireen Hassim, who will be talking about the importance of having an annual Women's Day.
     Shireen is a professor in political studies at the University of the Witwatersrand and a widely published author in the field of gender politics in South Africa.
     A Thought for the Week: Women who seek to be equal to men lack ambition. - Timothy Leary (1920-1996)