Rotarians, especially those in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal affected by the looting and pillaging of the past week, must be itching to find a way to help those people who have been impacted the worst.
One smallish way in which club members can help, is by donating funds to buy and distribute e'Pap in Alexandra township in Sandton, one of the worst hit areas.
Jeni Lobel has put the club into contact with Econocon Foods, where we'll buy 500g packets of e'Pap and possibly of e'Soup and pass them on to Paul Channon, who'll use his network in Alex to distribute it to the needy. Paul, who is also chairman of the Alexandra Education Committee, has pledged to match whatever the club donates with funds the AEC has received to use as they see fit, a very generous offer indeed.
All you have to do is to make a deposit into the club bank account (The Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn, FNB, 62217422609). A packet of e'Pap costs R22.50 and a bale of 20kg, consisting of 40 x 500g packets, costs R890.
Donations have already come in from the WhatsApp chat group, including a very generous contribution from Carol Stier and R1000 from the Sligchers to commemorate the birth of their first grandson. This is truly heartwarming on the eve of what would have been Nelson Mandela's birthday on Sunday.
Please don't forget our Mandela Day collection in aid of Copessa, where we're asked to donate multiples of R67 in aid of Copessa.
There's a good chance that the Rotary Foundation will, in some way or another, become involved in the crisis that has been caused by the present lawlessness and the meeting this week served as a great reminder of what the Foundation is and what it does.
The Rotary Foundation or TRF in Rotary-speak, the charity arm of Rotary International, transforms donations and contributions into service projects that transform lives, Past District Governor Francis Callard told the club at the meeting this week.
In all the chaos surrounding us, it was good to get such a full report on such an incredible organisation straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Francis is chairperson of the D9400 District Foundation committee.
He reported that the Foundation, founded at the 1917 RI convention, has received 4-star recognition, the highest level, for the past 13 years from Charity Navigator, an American organisation that rates charities around the world. One of the reasons for this is that expenses account for only 8 percent of money donated.
The Foundation was set up by the then outgoing Rotary International President, Arch Klumpf, with an initial donation of $26.50 to advance world understanding, goodwill and peace.
President Ian Widdop spoke about our New Dawn global grant for The Link Trust, the literacy and numeracy programme that provides one-on-one teaching help to primary school children, as an example of how the Foundation helps clubs in practical ways to make a difference in the world.
When The Link was identified as a project, it was shown to clubs around the world. A club in Toronto, the Rotary Club of Hyde Park Parkdale Humber, liked the idea and donated $5000, a requirement of TRF. New Dawn donated $2500 and on the strength of that, a grant of an extra $31500 was forthcoming from Foundation. That has a huge multiplier effect and it's a real pity that the programme is more or less on hold now that face-to-face meetings are not possible. But the remainder of the money lies in a separate New Dawn bank account and will be available once things get going again.
The Rotary Foundation holds assets of well over $1 billion and funds projects around the world with interest gained from investments and new donations.
Donations go to the six traditional areas of focus, which became seven in April when the environment was added as a further area of focus.
Details of how to donate, how to apply for funds and where the money is spent, are on the Rotary International website. It's a vital part of Rotary and the reason that Rotary could, for instance, play such a leading role in the Global Polio Eradication Initiative, which has already immunised more than 3 billion children and eradicated polio from all but a few outbreaks in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
A number of members used the last few minutes of the meeting to brag, a habit we've grown out of now that meetings are not face-to-face.
It was a good reminder that the cash we used to get from breakfast-and-brag every week went a long way in keeping the club going in terms of incidental expenses. A few members still diligently contribute to the brag effort, for which we thank them, but most have stopped. This is an appeal to those who can, to pay, however small the amount is, into the club account to keep it going. In exchange you'll get to brag.
One such brag this week, came from Judy and Jankees Sligcher and their brag was a big one: the birth of their first grandson, Tobias Harmen John Sligcher. Jankees says in Dutch Tobias is a stamholder because he carries the family name on to future generations.
In her brag Audrey Gatawa said she's been through a four-week recovery period and now feels fully recovered after contracting Covid. It's everywhere, folks, so stay safe, stay masked, sanitised and socially distanced.
In her regular update Lucille Blumberg said the 3rd wave has probably peaked in Gauteng. She also said that vaccines have definitely helped to keep people from severe illness and out of hospitals, but reminded us of how rapidly the current Delta variant can spread.
A Thought for the Week (from The Second Coming): Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;/Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world. - W.B. Yeats (1865 - 1939)
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.