There's light at the end of the (seedlings) tunnel, President Ian Widdop reported after the man at the helm of the Urban Agriculture Initiative, Brendon Martens, also a fellow Rotarian and club member, decided to take a sabbatical following the birth of his third child.
He left the UAI in the hands of Nick Barnes of the Johannesburg Inner City Partnership, to which the UAI is affiliated, but it is reported that Nick has taken seriously ill.
Girls at the Johannesburg School of the Arts have soldiered bravely on with the seedlings and now help has come, via a contact of Joan Sainsbury's at Leeuwkop Prison, in the form of Glen Meyer, an urban farmer and businessman who has already visited the seedling tunnels at the NSA and seems keen to both run with the project (both tunnels) and to join the Rotary Club of Johannesburg New Dawn.
May both come to swift fruition.
This already looks like another successful case of Rotary in action, making contacts and spreading the net wide to help more and more people in need.
It was a club business meeting this week and amongst other reports, it was announced that at the board meeting a proposal was put forward to make one meeting a month an evening meeting (at the Parkview Golf Club) similar to the successful Pizza evening last week.
Of the four normal meetings a month, two will be meetings with a speaker, one a business meeting and the fourth a social meeting, pending a few practical arrangements. To kick this off Gavin Atkins, interim president for April, used a system of numbered chairs to get members present to sit away from their normal tables and table partners, and also encouraged those on Zoom to form a breakaway group to have a chat and kick some ideas around.
When there's a fifth Wednesday there'll also be a social meeting as has been traditional to the club, but not then necessarily at Parkview Golf Club.
One of the visitors to the pizza evening, Jacinta Opany-Agbara, attended the meeting and also sounds very keen to join New Dawn. She was introduced to the club by Paul Kasango. She's a travel consultant, originally from Uganda, who's been in South Africa for the past more than 20 years.
The rest of the meeting was largely taken up by a short talk on Google Workspace, wherein lies the future chief production and communications tool of the club, whether we like it or not. Using it is a worthwhile skill that will stand members in good stead also outside of club activities.
Interim President Gavin Atkins, Paul Chinn and Babette Gallard are putting in a huge amount of work on this front and will soon begin getting members used to all the useful tools and functions.
Next week is the final chance to get involved with some good old fashioned charity work that doesn't operate in cyberspace when the Easter egg collection is taken by Judy Symons for delivery to Woodside Sanctuary (along with donated toiletries, where possible not plastic) and to the Christ Church Christian Care Centre.
Bring Easter eggs, cash or and EFT into the club account for your contribution to bringing a smile to people who don't have as much reason to smile as the more fortunate among us.
Next Week: Ian Atkins of Forest DAO is the speaker and he'll discuss the challenges faced by Brazilian farmers in the Amazon and how Forest DAO uses modern technology to enable investors to purchase land in the Amazon so that it can be managed and protected. Ian is Gavin Atkins' brother.
A Thought for the Week: I look at the world and I notice it's turning / while my guitar gently weeps / With every mistake we must surely be learning / Still my guitar gently weeps. - George Harrison (1943 - 2001)
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