Captain Stefan Bulow gave us a very interesting talk on the latest developments with the SA Aghulas and it's conversion into a Research Vessel and a Seafarer Training Vessel.
Unfortunately I cannot download audio on blogger having tried all the tricks so I have attached an edited version to this email. Considerable money has been spent on making the ship seaworthy but there are even bigger plans for the future. Stefan talks initially about the problems acquiring the vessel and the support from the German government for the project. Just click on the link. In the meantime here is a video of the official handover of the vessel.
Next Week
It's a business meeting about which there is little to say.
Our club business meetings are always preceded by a board meeting so there is no delay in getting club approval for suggestions from the board. What is most important, the treasurer has already said that we can or cannot afford any proposals!
Social Meeting Saturday 11th May @ Belgravia Bowls Club
The breakfast will be at Belgravia at 9 o'clock. It will be a fixed menu at R70,00 p.p. Coffee and cappuccino will be on sale at an extra cost.
The breakfast consists of Bacon, eggs, tomato, mince or pork sausage and toast. If you have mince and pork sausage it will be R80.
Please let Ray Hewson know by Monday 6th May. Just click on his name to book.
International - Nigeria
Nigeria has one of the world’s highest breast cancer mortality rates, a statistic that has not gone unnoticed by the Rotary Club of Ikoyi. “With an incredibly scary rise of the incidence of breast cancer in Nigeria, the club became saddled with the huge responsibility of combating this scourge with every resource available,” says club member Winifred Ebiye Imbasi. The club partnered with the Sarah Ayoka Oduwaiye Foundation to conduct free breast cancer screenings for more than 500 women at Lagos Island General Hospital in July 2023 and for 400 women in the neighborhood of Obalende in December. In January, the club held a Jazz Nite concert and awards ceremony at the Alliance Française theater to raise awareness.
You will remember that last time Stefan spoke to us it seemed as if the project was not going to happen as a result of dillydallying by the minister involved would result in the ship deteriorating so much that it would be far to expensive to refurbish her. Fortunately the minister was replaced and permission granted immediately. I need to say nothing else about the project because the video tells all.
It will be interesting to hear how this all came about as we are updated on this very important project.
Last Week
It was a project meeting where most of the time as taken up by Retina SA's marketing person, Linsay Engelbrecht talking about local fundraising and social projects which we could be involved with if necessary.
Next Week
It's International Labour Day, a Public Holiday, so there will be no official meeting.
May Day, commemorating the historic struggles and gains made by workers and the labour movement is observed in many countries on May 1. In the United States and Canada a similar observance, known as Labor Day, occurs on the first Monday of September.
In 1889 an international federation of socialist groups and trade unions designated May 1 as a day in support of workers, in commemoration of the Haymarket Riot in Chicago (1886). Five years later, U.S. Pres. Grover Cleveland, uneasy with the socialist origins of Workers’ Day, signed legislation to make Labor Day—already held in some states on the first Monday of September—the official U.S. holiday in honour of workers. Canada followed suit not long afterward.
In Europe May 1 was historically associated with rural pagan festivals but the original meaning of the day was gradually replaced by the modern association with the labour movement. In the Soviet Union, leaders embraced the new holiday, believing it would encourage workers in Europe and the United States to unite against capitalism. The day became a significant holiday in the Soviet Union and in the Eastern-bloc countries, with high-profile parades, including one in Moscow’s Red Square presided over by top government and Communist Party functionaries, celebrating the worker and showcasing Soviet military might. In Germany Labour Day became an official holiday in 1933 after the rise of the Nazi Party. Ironically, Germany abolished free unions the day after establishing the holiday, virtually destroying the German labour movement.
With the breakup of the Soviet Union and the fall of communist governments in eastern Europe in the late 20th century, large-scale May Day celebrations in that region declined in importance. In dozens of countries around the world, however, May Day has been recognized as a public holiday, and it continues to be celebrated with picnics and parties while serving as the occasion for demonstrations and rallies in support of workers.
International - Macao
The Rotary Club of Macau’s meeting place — one of the world’s most profitable casinos — has turned out
to be an ace in the hole for the club. Sands China, the operator of The Venetian Macao, sponsors the club’s signature project, a Christmas party for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It supports the gala that is the club’s primary fundraiser. And in December, Sands employees were among about 200 volunteers involved in a club effort to assemble 27,000 hygiene kits destined for the Philippines. The packages were provided to an organisation that collects bath items from hospitality companies to be recycled and redistributed. Club President João Francisco Pinto says the club’s projects align with Sands’ philanthropic endeavours.
These are our two guests this week to talk on Retina SA. Claudette has been our guest before but Linsay is new to us and will talk on Retina SA's fund raising activities with which we might liked to be involved.
Claudette Medefindt, National Secretary and Head of Science
Claudette has been involved with the Retina Patient Movement since 1980. She heads the patient support division and is a trained peer counsellor. She lectures on IRD extensively and is the Deputy President of Retina International. Claudette has Dominant Retinitis Pigmentosa.
Linsay Engelbrecht
Linsay was diagnosed in 2206 with a sight condition - Stargardt. A rare genetic eye disease where fatty material builds up on the macula, the small part of the retina needed for central vision. Currently there is no cure. Linsay embraces life and makes the most of every opportunity, she chooses to inspire instead of being held back! She is a very family orientated individual and enjoys the outdoors. Linsay Engelbrecht is many things: a successful businesswoman, a proud mom, and a para-athlete
Linsay successfully co-founded Big Brand
Novelties, a leading badge and branding specialist.
She is responsible for Operations, Human
Resources, Marketing & Merchandising.
Para-athlete
At 23, she was diagnosed with a rare eye disorder
called Stargardt Macular Degeneration, leaving her with only 10% central vision.
Despite her condition she chose to embrace life and ran the Comrades Marathon in 2018 & 2019.
She was introduced to Triathlons in 2020 and never looked back. Linsay has won 5 South African Para Triathlons and has been placed in the top 10 for World & Commonwealth Triathlons.
Last Week
We had a fascinating talk on beer brewing and production by Dave Standing, former Brewing Consultant to South African Breweries. Unfortunately we ran out of time for many questions but I think it would be a good idea to have him back at some stage to talk about different beers and obviously to answer the questions!
Next Week
Captain Stefan Bulow will be updating us on the MV Aghulas Project. I am sure you will remember that last time he spoke to us the project was stalled by the inability of the minister to approve the sale of the vessel to enable it to be converted for scientific and seamanship training purposes. There was the fear that the Aghulas might deteriorate to such an extent that the project would no longer be feasible. Now everything has worked out and the project is now at full steam ahead.
International - India
Chartered on Feb 19, 1974, the Rotary Club of Neemuch, RID 3040 (Madhya Pradesh), celebrated its golden jubilee where RI director Raju Subramanian dedicated an ophthalmology mobile clinic to Nethralaya, a local eyecare hospital, as part of Project Aapka Chashma Aapke Dwar (receive your spectacles at your doorstep). This global grant initiative, partnered with RC Memphis, RID 6800, and costing ₹41 lakh, will conduct eye screening camps and provide spectacles free of cost in remote rural regions of Madhya Pradesh.
RI Director Raju Subramanian with DG Ritu Grover (L), DGN Sushil Malhotra (R) and PDG Darshan Gandhi (fourth from R) at the inauguration of the mobile eye clinic.
Over the past five decades the club has undertaken numerous services including establishing a community centre, equipment bank, food centre for the poor, and a public rest house. “Apart from providing mobility aids for the disabled, and sponsoring corrective surgeries, our club is actively promoting eye and organ donation through awareness camps,” says club member PDG Darshan Gandhi.
I recently attended a talk that Dave Standing gave on beer and I must admit that I thought it was going to be about brewing your own beer which I wasn't interested in at all. It wasn't; it ranged from the history of beer to how beer is made today and various types of beer and there was an international perspective. Dave answered the many questions and I immediately snapped him up to talk to us.
Brewing, other than tea, isthe production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast.
I am sure it will be a very interesting meeting.
STOP PRESS - Unfortunately,owing to circumstances beyond his control Alton Werrett is unable to take up the position of President next Rotary Year but Andrew Paschalides has stepped into the breach. Andrew had to cut short his presidency last Rotary Year owing to his wife's illness and so we are delighted that he can now effectively continue where he left off.
Last Week
It was a Business Meeting. There has been quite a lot of progress relating to existing projects and now the roof and guttering renovation at Bethany is about to start, weather permitting thanks to Bill Brunjes' perseverance.
If anyone has a bakkie or some other vehicle that is able to collect the 10 wheelchairs we have ordered from Northcliff Rotary Club, please contact Ron McCormack.
We are going ahead with the proposed project at Rest-a-While in Germiston though we are very concerned with the inability of the Department for Social Development to pay the grants that NGO's and institutions like Rest-a-While are dependent on for survival. We have already heard of one orphanage and a hospice that has had to close as a result and we are concerned about what happens to the people that were previously cared for.
This is a major problem and there have been meetings of affected organisations to discuss the problem. All we can do is to hope that Government does find the money from somewhere.
Next Week - Project Meeting
Much of the meeting will be concerning our increased involvement with Retina SA and possible ways that we can support them as individuals as well as Club involvement.
International - Suriname
Passing rates on secondary school entrance exams that have dipped as low as 50 percent have vexed officials in Suriname. The Rotary Club of Paramaribo Residence, whose members include several teachers or retired educators, is aiming to improve those results and reduce dropout rates. In October, the club instituted a mathematics training project for around two dozen teachers at schools serving older children. The programme includes courses on topics such as set theory, equations, functions, plane geometry, and trigonometry. “You have to use mathematics at every level of your life, and statistics show that in Suriname kids have low grades” in the subject, says club member Yvonne Mohabir. A retired school dean and Rotarian, Ewald Levens, leads the sessions, which are funded with the support of the Dutch Association of Mathematics Teachers.
There's not much to say about a Business Meeting because you will all receive the agenda anyway. Probably the most important thing is to see if our President Elect, Alton Werrett has managed to fill all the positions on the board for the coming Rotary Year as there are only two board meetings to go.
In the meantime here is something we should aim to be involved with though some research is necessary as host families in 2025 would need to know dietary requirements.
Saturday 6th April is set aside as a social meeting but there are no details available.
Last Week
Dr Anton Wolfaardt updated us on the Mouse-free Marion Project. What struck me most was the care that is taken into ensuring that the extermination of mice really does happen and that nothing else is damaged as a result. What was particularly interesting was the failure of mouse extermination programmes on two other islands and that the Marion Island project has been postponed until research has established why those programmes failed.
This is why the Marion Island Project must not fail.
Next Week
Dave Standing, former Brewing Consultant to SA Breweries, will be talking to us about beer. This is not a home brew talk, it's a talk about beer and his experience is an international one.
International - India
Monsoon rains regularly pummel Maharashtra state. With the support of a $50,000 global grant, the Rotary Club of Mumbai Down Town Sea Land oversaw construction of five check dams that will help farming families manage flooding in the Palghar district. “The majority of the rainwater runs off the surface, as the land is mostly rocky and consists of hard soil,” says member Chandraprabha Khona, who directed the project in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Colombo, Sri Lanka. A nearly $30,000 contribution from Shabbir Rangwala, a past president of the Mumbai club, was instrumental. The new concrete dams will allow farmers to expand irrigation and cultivate additional crops, as well as store water for sanitation and top up borehole wells. Khona adds that the project will lead to “an exponential jump” in farmers’ income.
