This Week - A Business Meeting

 There's not much to say about a Business Meeting as we won't be sure what is involved until the agenda is complete.

Jim and Zen Rankin attended the Annual BirdLife South Africa Owl Awards ceremony last Wednesday.

Owl Awards are given to individuals and organisations in recognition of their valuable contributions to the conservation of South Africa’s birds and their habitats.

At the ceremony, Jim received an Owl Award in recognition of his leadership in raising R100,000, together with the Rotary Club of Knights Pendragon and his company Agfacts, towards the eradication of introduced mice on Marion Island.

In reading the citation, BirdLife South Africa CEO, Mark Anderson, expressed his gratitude to the Rotary Club of Knights Pendragon and Agfacts for their valuable contributions to this important conservation project.

Here is Jim receiving the award from Yvonne Pennington, Chairperson of BirdLife South Africa.

Last Week

Charles Hopkins, winemaker at De Grendel, gave us a very interesting talk which ranged from the history of wine farming in South Africa to De Grendel itself and ended up with him waving a grape vine stokkie at the camera and chatting about grafting.  

This box is full of grafted root stock with the graft protected by green wax.

Next Week

Martin Kobald, Honorary Past President of the SA Chefs Association, Vice President of the World Association of Chefs Societies will be talking to us.  He owns Chef MLK School of Cooking in Kempton Park.  This could be an opportunity for the Club in a number of ways.

International 

Global partnership a dream come true for clean water advocate

• Lis Bernhardt
• Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, 2000-01
• Master’s in international affairs, Geneva Graduate Institute, Switzerland, 2002
• BA, Henley Business School, England, 2012

Few people could have been more thrilled than Lis Bernhardt, a former Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, when Rotary and the UN Environment Programme announced a joint initiative this year to empower Rotary members to protect, restore, and sustain local bodies of water with technical guidance from UNEP experts.

A programme officer for UNEP, Bernhardt spent five years moving the idea for Community Action for Fresh Water forward through leadership changes at both organisations. After the agreement was revealed during Rotary’s International Assembly in January, she posted on her LinkedIn page: “A professional dream has come true.”

“Rotary has been a huge part of my working for the United Nations,” she later explained. “To be able to give back to Rotary, close that loop, and connect in a global partnership is super exciting.”

Bernhardt has held multiple positions in international development since her Rotary-supported studies at the Geneva Graduate Institute in Switzerland in 2000-02. Her work has often focused on the overlap between development and the environment. As a program officer for UN-Water in New York in 2015, she essentially “held the pen” for the UN’s sustainable development goal 6, which is to ensure the availability and management of clean water and sanitation systems. Many of her roles have had one thing in common: water.

That may have something to do with a chance encounter midway through her Rotary scholarship that altered her career trajectory.

Bernhardt arrived in Geneva sponsored by the Rotary Club of Valparaiso, Indiana, in her hometown. With her undergraduate degree in international studies from Northwestern University near Chicago, she intended to focus on conflict resolution and the rights of minorities.

As an intern with UN Volunteers during the summer between her first and second year, she was part of a programme where nongovernmental organisations and other civil society groups in developing countries could apply for online volunteer assistance for projects like building a website, translating documents, or writing a funding proposal. Her job was to vet applications, including one from the Navajo Nation in the United States.

“Their request met all of our qualifications,” she recalls. “They clearly needed access to education. They had issues with drinking water and sanitation. They were a disadvantaged group and a minority. They met all the criteria, except that they were in the U.S.,” which disqualified the group.

Though the group’s application was rejected, its plight stuck with her. She remained in contact and visited the Navajo Nation. The example became the basis for her master’s thesis that explored the disconnect between the environmental and socioeconomic tracks of development.

“In the end, all of their issues were environmental. I saw how conditions in the environment underpin all other development issues,” she says. “That’s where I shifted my thinking. Every job I have had since has been in the environmental sphere.”

After short stints with Amnesty International and as a consultant for UN Volunteers, Bernhardt joined the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change in Bonn, Germany, serving as a program officer and head of external relations. In 2009, she took a job with a UN-Water program in Bonn and later moved to UN-Water’s office in New York where she contributed to writing the sustainable development goals on water and sanitation.

As influential as that work was, she began to get an itch for the implementation side “to help make these sustainable goals a reality.” Moving to Kenya in 2016, she joined the Freshwater Ecosystems Unit at UNEP. It was there in 2018 that she was part of the reception for a Rotary International delegation, including incoming President Barry Rassin, that was exploring a partnership. Wheels were already in motion for the environment to become one of Rotary’s areas of focus.

“A couple of us, including Dan Cooney, our head of communications who was a Rotary Peace Fellow, were largely responsible for driving the idea of a partnership on our end forward,” Bernhardt recalls. “We had both been involved with Rotary and knew what a relationship could look like.”

Charles Hopkins of De Grendel Wine Estate talks about his and De Grendel's Wine Journey

 

Charles Hopkins has been at De Grendel since the very beginning of wine-making on the Durbanville farm in 2005, when Sir David Graaff lured him away from Graham Beck with an irresistible offer to head up wine-making, and to design and build his own cellar. Charles is a lifelong student of wine and even after 30 years’ experience in the industry and multiple local and international accolades, he remains always curious to learn more on his wine-making journey.

In November 2019, he achieved a major milestone on this journey, with the award of his first five-star rating in the Platter’s South African Wine Guide, for the 2017 Elim Shiraz from De Grendel – a wine that is especially close to his heart.

Charles was born in Somerset West and grew up in Bredasdorp and Strand. He did his national army service after finishing school and then studied wine-making at Elsenburg before joining the old Union Wines, now DGB, and then Graham Beck. He is passionate about the process of making wine and finds the impact of soil, climate and viticulture practices on the end product especially fascinating. His other passion is helping young winemakers on their own journeys, and he has mentored more Cape Winemakers’ Guild protégés than any other Guild member.

Charles has been involved in all facets of wine-making in South Africa and has extended his learning by working two vintages overseas, one in France and one in California, as well as regular study tours to other wine-making countries. He has served the industry as a board member of the Cape Winemakers’ Guild and various producer associations. His wines have achieved gold and double gold, and scores of 95 and more, in local and international competitions and wine ratings.

Next Week

It's a Business Meeting.  There's not much to say about that at this stage.

Last Week

Dickon Jayes gave us a very interesting talk about his entry into the Butane Gas Industry.  What was particularly interesting was how he used his experience in the distribution of print media in a completely different industry and how he saw the gap.  What was particularly interesting was his battle with the conservative attitude of gas suppliers and how he was eventually able to show them the value of his approach. Because of the interest generatedI will seek out more speakers of this type.

International - Canada

About 200 college students, faculty, and community members took turns swinging baseball bats at junkyard vehicles during a Car Smash for Charity event organised by the Rotaract Club of Vancouver-University of British Columbia. The fundraiser, held each of the past three years before final exams, “offers people a fun way to relieve stress or test their own strength, while supporting a wonderful cause,” says Sara Lee, a past co-president of the club. The event, held on the campus quad in April, raised more than $2,200 Canadian for education-related endeavours. A scrap car company delivered a Volkswagen and a Chevrolet and collected the remnants afterwards for recycling. “Our team is continually amazed at the response the event receives,” Lee says.

This Week: Dickon Jayes - Launching an e-Commerce Gas Business in Postpandemic Mzansi

 

This promises to be an interesting talk by Dickon as he was for many years involved in distribution of print media, including the Mail & Guardian.  Why gas?  Is the first question that comes to mind as it's very different from his previous occupation and it is also a product that needs to be handled with care.  It's also an industry which is very competitive and there is lots of potential for fraud.

Last Week

It was a productive meeting as we discussed the SWOT analysis of the club's strengths and weaknesses....predominantly the weaknesses!

It was felt that in general, we were addressing them, especially in terms of succession planning and the involvement of new members. Older members are stepping back from the positions they have held for a longtime and encouraging younger members to to take over.  The major concern was looking at fundraising as new projects arise and demands on our resources increase.   There was considerable discussion and Ron Smith talked about the work that was being done on the creation of Clan McCando as a potential fund raiser separate from the club but for it's benefit.  More to follow!

Next Week

Charles Hopkins, Cellarmaster at De Grendel will be our speaker.  I remember De Grendel well when it was the home of Sir De Villiers Graaff's Merino Sheep and Holsteiner Cattle. Charles is the person who has created an award winning wine estate from the word go.  I will say more about him and De Grendel next week.

International - India

The Rotary Club of Bombay Seacoast staged a concert and high tea reception in May for about 150 veterans injured on duty and their families. Club members tapped their connections with local celebrities, among them the MC, Neeta Mirchandani, the wife of club member and singer Vijay

Mirchandani. “The jawans (soldiers) participated with full joy and excitement as several kept dancing and clapping to the music, with the families of many joining in toward the end,” says Sampath Iyengar, a past club president. “Some of the jawans seated on chairs or in wheelchairs participated as a mark of solidarity, their chairs lifted by their fellow jawans who still had strength in their arms, love in their hearts, and deep empathy for their fellow ex-soldiers without limbs.”

This Week: A Business Meeting

 A Business Meeting is scheduled but it would very much be a repeat of last week's meeting, so I am sure it will be a very different agenda to last week

Handover of the Remedial Literacy teaching aids to the Agang Sechaba Remedial Solutions team.  5 sets of 8 posters each were handed over to a very excited ASRS leadership team. 

The contribution of members under the leadership of Andrew Connold was a good example of how different disciplines within the club, working together, can achieve something really worthwhile. 

Last Week

Our social meeting at Akti on Saturday morning turned out to be a great success with 17 people present.  Both food and service were excellent.

Last week's meeting was a break-away committee meeting and a "business" meeting.  I think many people expected it to be a discussion on the SWOT analysis and maybe that will happen this week.

Next Week

Dickon Jayes - Launching an e-Commerce Gas Business in Postpandemic Mzansi.

Dickon has always been involved in distribution starting with newpapers and now to Butane Gas.  It promises to be an interesting meeting as many of us use the product.

International - England

Christopher Hill was diagnosed with a heart condition at age 38. A past president of the Rotary Club of Bolton Lever in Greater Manchester, he has since become an advocate for automated external
defibrillators. In 2022, Hill’s club joined five other Bolton-area Rotary clubs to purchase a $1,900 defibrillator for the Bolton Steam Museum. “When you are out there in the countryside, you can be miles and even hours from one, but when needed," Hill says, “it is needed in minutes.” Hill takes to area trails as leader of a walking group, prompting the Bolton Lever club to acquire a portable, single-use defibrillator that Hill carries on the treks. All 33 club members have attended training sessions and refresher courses on how to operate the machines.

This Week - Committee Meetings and a look at our Weaknesses as a Club

 After the start of the meeting we will break for Committee Meetings on WhatsApp Groups and rejoin the Zoom  meeting at 19:00 to report back.  What the Membership Committee has to say about growth and an increasing reduction in the average age of membership will be of primary importance when we return to the general meeting.  

There will be a Board Meeting before as per usual though the Business Meeting is held over till next week.

Saturday 7th September, 11:30, is our social meal at Akti Mediterranean Restaurant in Bedford Centre.

I have booked for 20 people on the assumption that more couples would want to attend than usual and perhaps a few extra.  It worries me that support for these social activities will continue to be low when our Spring Braai at Modderfontein Dam will be the October social event.  It's a conundrum because of the times we live in, safety factors for evening events and a general lack of sociability except within a very small circle; initially through Covid lockdown and subsequently through changed perceptions.

These are the specials that they are providing for us on Saturday though they are normally just Monday to Friday.  The standard menu is also available.

Last Week

Justice Edwin Cameron spoke on the subject "South Africa - Peril or Promise".  He didn't mince his words when it came to the issues that South Africa faces of which we are very aware from corruption in government, social services and individuals and in every aspect of life including his own profession.  Yet his message was on balance positive with respect for the constitution amongst the majority of South Africans both inside and outside parliament.  We have a strong civil society and freedom of the press backed up by a legal system that protects both.  He saw that these factors would draw South Africa back from the abyss by the sheer will of its citizens despite the chaos that was initiated and continues from the start of the Zuma presidency.

Next Week

As I have already mentioned, it will be a Business Meeting...and it promises to be an interesting one.

International - Northern Ireland

Volunteers led by the Rotary Club of Belfast made improvements to the courtyard garden of a senior home in January. The team of Rotarians, community members, and people in transitional employment through the judicial system cleared weeds, constructed raised garden platforms, and filled them with soil. Cold temperatures scaled back their plans, but it was still a “rather back-breaking” effort, says club member Jenny Boyd. 

A District 1160 grant of about $1,250 was used to underwrite the expense. Karen Blair, a past president and project leader, recruited colleagues from her law firm to get a little dirt under their fingernails. “This project allows all members to be involved in a very hands-on activity,” Blair says. “And even those with no gardening ability can participate by chatting with the residents over coffee.”

This Week - Justice Edwin Cameron talks on "South Africa - Peril or Promise"

Here's Edwin Cameron in an academic role.  He became Vice Chancellor of the University of Stellenbosch

Cameron was born in Pretoria. His father was imprisoned for car theft and his mother did not have the means to support him. He therefore spent much of his childhood in an orphanage in Queenstown. His elder sister was killed when Cameron was seven.

Cameron won a scholarship to attend Pretoria Boys High School and reinvented himself, he says, "in the guise of a clever schoolboy".^[ Thereafter he went to Stellenbosch University, studying Latin and classics. After this he attended Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar.  There he switched to law and earned a BA in Jurisprudence and the Bachelor of Civil Law, winning the Vinerian Scholarship. When he returned to South Africa he completed an LLB at the University of South Africa.

Cameron practised at the Johannesburg Bar from 1983 to 1994. From 1986 he was a human rights lawyer at Wits's Centre for Applied Legal Studies, where in 1989 he was awarded a personal professorship in law.  Cameron's practice included labour and employment law; defence of African National Congress fighters charged with treason; conscientious and religious objection; land tenure and forced removals; and gay and lesbian equality.

In October 1994, President Nelson Mandela appointed Cameron as an acting judge of the High Court to chair a commission of inquiry into illegal arms sales by Armscor, operating as the sales arm of the SANDF, to Yemen. Cameron's report was described as a "hard-hitting" critique of Armscor's conduct, but was quickly eclipsed by myriad other allegations about the South African government's illegal arms trades.

Cameron was instead appointed to the Supreme Court of Appeal (at the same time as Mahomed Navsa and Robert Nugent), where he served for eight years.

On 31 December 2008 President Kgalema Motlanthe appointed Cameron to the Constitutional Court, taking effect from 1 January 2009. He was considered a crucial member of the Court's progressive wing.

Cameron has been openly gay since the early 1980s.  He addressed the crowd in the first pride parade in South Africa held in Johannesburg on 13 October 1990. Thereafter he oversaw the gay and lesbian movement's submissions to the drafters of the South African Constitution and was instrumental in securing the inclusion of an express prohibition on discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

From 1988 Cameron advised the National Union of Mineworkers on HIV/AIDS, and helped draft and negotiate the industry's first comprehensive AIDS agreement with the Chamber of Mines. While at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies, he co-drafted the Charter of Rights on AIDS and HIV, co-founded the AIDS Consortium (a national affiliation of non-governmental organisations working in AIDS), which he chaired for its first three years, and founded and was the first director of the AIDS Law Project.

Cameron had himself contracted HIV in the 1980s and became extremely ill with AIDS when working as a High Court judge. His salary allowed him to afford anti-retroviral treatment, which saved his life. Cameron's realisation that he owed his life to his relative wealth caused him to become a prominent HIV/AIDS activist in post-apartheid South Africa, urging its government to provide treatment to all. He has strongly criticised President Thabo Mbeki's AIDS-denialist policies. Cameron was the first, and remains the only, senior South African official to state publicly that he is living with HIV/AIDS.

Last Week

District Governor George Senosha's official visit to the club began with visits to three of our projects;  Bethany Home for Abused Women and Children, Gerald Fitzpatrick Home and Rest-A-While.  These projects are close enough to show him the three.  What we have achieved at the first two in terms of solar power and water when both electricity and water supply are erratic.  Rest-A-While is a new project and what we hope to be able to achieve there.  He was accompanied by his aide, Grace van Zyl.

He met with the Board and was particularly interested in our approach to succession planning with Presidents in place for two years ahead of this year and our approach to membership and Foundation.

Subsequently he met with the club over dinner and it was a pleasure to have him.  Instead of our usual International section I will add photographs of his visit.

Next Week - Quo Vadis Knights Pendragon?

This a special meeting for committees and a general assembly to discuss how to alleviate the weaknesses in the SWOT Analysis presented by President Andrew two weeks ago.

DG George Senosha.s Visit

  

 George Matsobane Senosha & last year's RI President Gordon McKinally

This Wednesday we welcome our District Governor, George Senosha to a social dinner at Belgravia Bowls Club in Bedfordview at 18:30.  This is not a closed event so if you wish to come and bring your partner you are very welcome.  Just drop an email to ilesh@teaandcoffee.co.za 

George Senosha has a plan for Rotary's future in South Africa which he passionately calls “Shifting the Paradigm.” His vision is to create awareness and extend Rotary’s reach into the hard-to-reach corners of communities where immense needs exist.

At the heart of Senosha’s strategy is the formation of 103 rotary community corps, a number symbolising Rotary’s long-standing presence in South Africa and Africa. The corps will serve as dynamic agents of change, strategically aligned with the first Rotary Club ever established on the African continent – the Rotary Club of Johannesburg. They will actively address local communities’ unique challenges, providing sustainable solutions that uplift and empower those in need.

Senosha’s vision is a symbolic gesture and a tangible commitment to Rotary’s “Service Above Self” mission. By establishing these corps, he aims to create a profound and lasting impact on the long-underserved lives of individuals and communities.

Jim Rankin has been busy sorting out the courses of vitamins for many of our benefactors.  We received this thanks from Cresset House.

Jim has managed to acquire R500 000's worth of vitamins for R25 000. 

Last Week

Godfrey Giles gave us a very thought provoking talk on the situation with military veterans in this country and the difficulties in applying for the pensions to which they are entitled to by law.  

The club really appreciated what he had to say, especially as a number of members are military veterans.  It was suggested that board look at anything that we  might be able to do to assist in the future.

Next Week

Former Constitutional Court Judge Edwin Cameron will be talking on "South Africa - Peril or Promise?"

He has held so many positions within the judiciary, been Chancellor of Stellenbosch University and has received so many honours form here and overseas that I am not going to list them here.

International - Colombia

In January, the Rotary Club of Cúcuta-Ciudad de Arboles purchased about $600 of school supplies and delivered 100 sets of notebooks, pencils, pens, erasers, sharpeners, and more to students in the city. It’s about 350 miles northeast of Bogotá. Club members also visited with students in the neighborhood of Las Delicias, says Dora Patricia Lobo, a past president of the club. “The hustle and bustle and joy of these students when they receive their school package warms our souls and encourages us to continue,” Lobo says. More than 1,400 students have benefited since the project began.