It's only a week to the Golf Day so that is obviously first on the agenda....and there is only one more Business Meeting before the new President and the new board. The year seems to have gone so quickly!
Next Week
It's the annual Golf Day so there will not be a meeting at the usual time, instead we will be meeting at the Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club for the prize giving and to be sociable It's very important that we are there to thank those who support our golf day and show them how much we appreciate their presence.
Also, next week on Saturday 8th June we will be having a Social Breakfast/Brunch at Richard Griffin's restaurant, Emzini in Westdene. It was suggested at the meeting but our Youth Committee took up the idea as they were keen on working with Richard Griffin and Debbie Cockrell and felt that it would be an advantage to bothe our Club and the Rotary Club of Johannesburg North Central.
Many of us were intrigued at their approach to the problems of Westdene and also to what they had been able to achieve in the Westdene Dam area.
Last Week
It was a project meeting when we looked at some of our existing projects and discussed new ones. Andy Stevenson had been to look at a Rotary Aquaponic Vegetable Project which he felt we should look at. There was some discussion on Aquaponics as opposed to Hydroponics. There is no prize for knowing the difference between the two.
You can see how aquaponics function from the picture of this small system.
We also discussed hearing aids for a an elderly lady at Gerald Fitzpatrick home and made some progress there and much more. A very productive meeting.
International - Japan
Paul Harris plants a tree in Japan in 1935
Rotary founder Paul Harris visited Japan with Bob Hill, then president of Rotary International, and his wife. They stopped by on their way to the 5th Pacific Regional Conference in Manila. On that occasion, Paul Harris commemorated the occasion by planting a laurel tree in the garden of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo. The tree was on the verge of dying, but an attempt was made to propagate it, and several trees fortunately took root and are now growing vigorously all over Japan as second and third generations of Paul Harris' laurel trees.
Rotary had grown steadily since the founding of the Chicago Rotary Club in 1905, but World War II put it through a major challenge. Clubs in Europe, such as Germany and Austria, were forced to disband one after another. Japanese clubs were no exception. They tried to find ways to continue, but in 1940 they finally resolved to withdraw from Rotary International. However, not all clubs were dissolved at the time of withdrawal, and many clubs continued to meet, changing their names to more Japanese names such as Wednesday Club and Thursday Club.
In 1940, the Rotary Club of Japan withdrew from Rotary International (RI), but was allowed back in 1949 after the war. On March 29 of that year, the Rotary Club of Tokyo was re-registered with RI under the old registration number 855, and on April 27, Secretary General George Means handed the charter to President Masakazu Kobayashi at a regular meeting.
Today in Japan there are 2 205 Clubs with 88 900 Rotarians. Three Japanese have become Rotary International President.
I don't know what projects are going to be discussed though no doubt the Golf Day will be paramount as it is potentially a big fundraiser. My concern is the wheelchairs that we have ordered and been billed for but we don't seem able to collect them.
Talking of wheelchairs there is a need for someone to look at the electric wheelchairs at Little Eden as some need to be repaired.
Next Week
It's a Business Meeting which will no doubt follow on from this week's Project Meeting. It's a week early because the following week is the Golf Day and a Social Meeting for those who would like to attend the prize giving etc. It's important that we have presence there over and above Bill Brunjes and his team so that we can meet the participants and they are aware of the club's interest in the event as a whole and how we appreciate their participation.
Last Week
The talk by Richard Griffin and Debbie Cockrell was inspiring because the whole concept was refreshing. I had said that I would include the presentation here but despite converting from pdf to jpg it will not accept it so, instead, I will send it as an attachment to the email.
International - Rowing across the Atlantic OceanGarreth Murrell is a member of the Tyneside Rotary Club with a decade-long military career, including tours of Northern Ireland and Bosnia. Having overcome his Post Traumatic Stress Disorder thanks to Neuro Linguistic Psychotherapy, Garreth changed careers to become a psychotherapist as well as founding the charity ‘Veterans at Ease’. To date, Garreth has helped over 400 veterans, serving personnel and their families deal with PTSD and find peace of mind. A year ago, after 45 days 1 hour, and 54 minutes at sea, Garreth Murrell completed the Talisker Whisky Atlantic Challenge as part of Team Emotive, made up of three members of his military mental health charity Veterans at Ease – Chris Harvey, Jason Watkin, and Phil Kite. It is regarded as the world’s toughest row – a 3,000-mile feat of endurance from San Sebastian in La Gomera in the Canary Islands, to Nelson’s Dockyard English Harbour on the Carribean island of Antigua & Barbuda. In completing the epic challenge, Garreth became the first Rotarian to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a rowing boat.
After three and a half years of training and fund-raising in order for the challenge to take place, all that lay in front of Garreth was nearly two months of battling the elements in one of the world’s most foreboding oceans. How did he get on? Garreth takes you through the journey in his own words.
Race Day – December 12th, 2022
Walking down to the marina is quite surreal, knowing that once we depart there is no going back, as literally after one mile out at sea, the currents and tides are so strong you cannot physically row back.
A few other rowers are also stirring and, like Chris and myself, are silently walking down to the marina one last time in quiet contemplation of what must be done and what is yet to come.
The First Week
It’s said in briefings that the worst time is the first seven days. I found this to be most certainly true.
There is so much going on that your body and mind are desperately trying not to get overwhelmed.
You have to eat, sleep, and go the loo all in the space of three single beds whilst sharing this space with three other men who are not slight in stature.
There’s the sun to keep away from, the motion of the boat and, of course, getting used to each other – how we are in the early hours as well as how we are before and after a two-hour shift on the oars. The blisters were dealt with by wrapping them with zinc oxide tape – after a few days, the skin under the tape hardened quite nicely.
Stormy Weather
The following seven days from Boxing Day were, by far, the most taxing and testing for us – the weather started to get worse, and quickly.
There is a need for a great deal of self-care in conditions like these and personal admin in dealing with soaking clothes and swollen hands due to the constant wetness. Eating and drinking enough food and fluids becomes laborious and even talking is something that, if you are not careful, drifts away.
So, when the boat gets struck by rogue waves that come out of nowhere at night, your mettle is very severely tested.
The waves at this time were at their highest at around 25 to 30 feet. Of course, the benefit of rowing hard to get to the top before they break is that you get that massive surge forward as you literally surf down the other side.
Watching the speed counter became exhilarating when you hit a new speed record and disappointing when you thought you’d got a good wave and didn’t go as fast as you’d hoped.
Raising Morale
Now the rains had stopped, and the sun had returned, this gave us time to dry our things out and once again get back to normal (normal for us anyway).
I decided that I had spent far too long eating cold food so made it my purpose to boil water every day and rehydrate everyone’s meals that they’d chosen. The first hot meal I had tasted was wonderful. It was like I’d only tasted food for the first time and every spoonful was a pure taste sensation.
That simple task of heating water to make hot food had a large influence on the morale of the crew. We began making good decisions about the course with quicker changeovers, well, Jason and I did; Phil was hilariously late and lots of laughter would happen as he took over from his manservant Chris. We didn’t call him five-star Phil for nothing!
A Rude Awakening – Phil’s Story
Around week 4 Phil and I were happily rowing in sync together and chatting where possible when Phil noticed a small green light off to our rear port side. I’ll hand over the story to Phil now…
“On my second night shift at 2am, I suddenly saw a boat’s green light really close and told Garreth who clocked that he could see it too. After only two oar strokes we could see both its navigation lights which meant it was bearing down on us, and fast!
“We had no power due to low light levels for the previous few days which meant our batteries hadn’t fully charged up, so no AIS or navigation lights were on to tell the other boat of our presence.
“Whilst the boat was bearing down on us Chris was now awake; he used his headlamp to assemble the radio. Once Garreth got the torch the radio arrived but appeared to me not to be working.
“I gave it Garreth, and I used the high-power torch to point directly at the boat – after a few long, and I mean really long, seconds the boat shone its light on us and at the same time responded to Garreth’s calm yet urgent message that they were now aware of us.
“It then sped, and I mean sped, across our stern from right to left less than 100 feet away. The captain just said we wish you luck and they were gone.”
On reflection, if we had done nothing there was a very high likelihood of a significant and catastrophic incident.
Approaching Antigua
We have been in touch with our loved ones ensuring they have everything we need when we arrive.
Two days to go and things are feeling like they are coming to a veritable whirlwind of a conclusion.
We see Antigua for the first time at night. The bright lights are a fiery giveaway.
We can now also see the lights of other Caribbean islands and I keep checking the chart plotter to make sure we are still heading for the right island.
It makes me wonder what the mariners did long ago when approaching a new island at night.
January 26th, 2023 – Challenge Completed
As the day breaks, we are in clear sight of Antigua and can see individual houses as we are now only eight miles or so away.
Our skipper is in touch with the race safety team who is telling us to row closer to the shore and then row parallel to it.
Around 11 am, the first other human beings we have seen since the race yacht incident arrive in the form of two Antiguan Coastguards.
They circle us for a few minutes, probably ensuring that we are OK. Then, just before they speed off, they shout “Welcome to Antigua”. Wow! For some reason that was a really emotional moment for me.
Garreth with the Rotary Club of Antigua President.
This promises to be a very interesting talk, not only because it's about engagement within the community which is often quite difficult but also about involvement of community members with Rotary.
Richard Griffin, the founder of Madame Zingara.
After some travelling, Richard returned home and got his break with his own restaurant in Long Street. “It was a tiny store called Serendipity and it was based on my love for pasta. After that I opened House of Serendipity and Griffin’s, sold them and went to travel some more.”
After satisfying his ever-present wanderlust he finished his degree at Le Cordon Bleu International in London before heading back home. On his return he opened the original Madame Zingara in Loop Street in 2001.
The restaurant was booked out for weeks at a time. The combination of over-the-top costumes and characters, friendly service, surprising food combinations and near-obsessive attention to detail amazed and delighted the Cape. in fact he opened a number of different restaurants in Cape Town but now he has established Emzini opposite the Westdene Dam which is the focus of the community effort.....and his particular interest is the arts which Emzini supports.
Debbie Cockrell spent 15 years in the hospitality industry but then branched out into social development.. She is co-founder of Social Impact Africa which is aimed towards creating, building and participating in the ecosystem for Social entrepreneurs and Changemakers focusing on providing solutions to societal challenges and development workshops for youth in townships and grass roots organisations.
She is Chairperson of the Toy Library Association of SA and a founding Board Member of Comm-UNITY Green Projects as well as Operations Manager and Programme Co-ordinator of the Slovo Centre of Excellence.
The Slovo Centre of Excellence and Toy Library are Non Profit Organizations which aim to provide educational support based programmes through play based learning and activities to various sectors in our community. This includes Early Childhood Development, primary school aged children as well as other areas of society such as differently abled and the elderly. Connecting resources through partnerships and collaboration with like minded entities.
Next Week: Project Meeting
Just make sure that Jim Rankin is aware that specific projects need to be on the agenda for the meeting.
Last Week: Business Meeting & Social Breakfast
I was unable to attend either the Board Meeting or the Business Meeting last week owing to lack of electricity for roughly 70 hours which meant that even my backup systems ran out of juice!
I am delighted to see that the Board were able to sort out the calendar for June and July which I had been waiting for in order to organise speakers etc.
The Social Breakfast at Belgravia Bowls Club was a great success and saw the induction of two new members.
Will McConville and Katlego Madihlaba. A warm welcome to you both! Lurking in the background are President Ron Smith and Membership Chair Andy Connold. The Club "Jewel" has just been repatriated which is why President Ron is not wearing it. Does that make the inductions invalid?????
International: Mexico
A community kitchen built by the Rotary Club of Nuevo Santander at a local school is ensuring hundreds of children have meals in low-income neighborhoods of Nuevo Laredo, a city on the U.S. border. “Most of the houses in this area do not have running water or electricity,” says Club President Jorge Tello. The club launched the $150,000 project in 2018, and the kitchen at the Comedor Santa María school began operating in August 2020; meals were first served to-go due to the COVID-19 pandemic before the dining room opened in May 2021. “Operation costs for providing breakfast and lunch for 230 children every day is $9,300 a month,” Tello says. The funds are donated by businesses and individuals. Club members supervise the operation, and Rotarians are adding solar panels to the facility.
It should be an interesting meeting as apart from the usual discussion on projects Jim Ranking will report back on Discon and the awards we received.
Our congratulations to Jim for the effort he put into explaining and advertising the Mouse Free Marion Project for which the Club received an award but in reality it's Jim's award.
The award for contribution to Basic Education & Literacy is for the Agang Sechaba Remedial Solutions Grade 4 Reading & Comprehension Project is championed by Andy Connold assisted by Cheryl Jennings. I have to admit I was sceptical about the project initially but it really seems to be working and the retired teachers involved are obviously dedicated to improving the situation with Grade 4's in their community.
Don't forget the Social Breakfast on Saturday, 9:00am at Belgravia Bowls Club. Today is the last day to let Ray Hewson know if you will be there.
Next Week
PRIDE THROUGH UNITY
“Out beyond right and wrong there is a field, and I will meet you there.” - Rumi
Our Vision
To take a historic unused space and through the power of the community
and creative industries - transform it into a vibrant hub for employment,
mental health, community well being, education, entertainment
and neighbourhood revenue.
Debbie Cockrell & Richard Griffin will be talking about the expansion of a community project both within the community and outside it. This is a fascinating project of the Rotary Club of Johannesburg North Central at the Westdene Dam. It's very interesting from two main points of view. First of all the Rotary Club itself had been in steady decline for years and had more members on paper than were active so it shows how a small club can be revitalised. Secondly, how a project can gain the support of people within the community and institutions nearby as well as the Johannesburg City Council to make things really happen.
International - Albania
In December the Rotaract Club of Durrës delivered care packages to 30 families in need in the city on the Adriatic coast. Each package was tailored for the recipients, an approach that was important to the project’s success, says Club President Geri Emiri. Rotaractors gathered information on the number of family members, their genders, and their health needs before assembling the packages, which were supplied using monetary and in-kind contributions. The club distributed food packages, along with panettone, lemonade, fruit and vegetables, hygiene goods, detergent, children’s books, toys, clothing, household appliances, and furniture. The aid “was modest and does not solve the problems of these families,” Emiri says, “but it aims to strengthen the relationships.”
.jpg)
