This Week - District Governor Maria Angélica Salomão's official visit.

 It's the District Governor's official visit to the club this week when she speaks to the Board and then subsequently attends our meeting which this week is a Business Meeting.

She will be visiting Milly Monyane's House of Self-love Youth Programme and also Cresset  House from where the Zoom meetings will probably take place.

Dr Maria Angélica Salomão lives in Maputo, Mozambique and worked at district, provincial and national levels in charge of clinical and managerial functions within the Ministry of Health system and later at regional and international level. Between 1976 and 2000, among other functions, she has been a clinician, National TB Manager, lecturer, Director of Health Services and Director and facilitator at CRDS-Maputo a WHO/Ministry of Health Public Health training institution for professionals of the Portuguese Speaking Countries in Africa

(PALOP). TB Advisor to the TB and Communicable Diseases Programmes in the Ministry of Health from 2000 to 2004, she joined WHO Country Office in 2004 and WHO AFRO from 2007 to 2013 when she took retirement and returned to the country. Experienced TB/HIV Officer, Public Health specialist and Epidemiologist worked in Africa Region, as Medical Officer for TB, TB/HIV and Health Systems assisting countries to develop policies, build capacities and strengthen health systems for the delivery of health sector response to TB and HIV through the implementation of TB and HIV recommended international high standard norms during her Afro Region period. Retired from WHO in 2013, became Independent Consultant from 2013 to 2015. From 2015 to 2018 she worked for FHI. In 2019 she joined the Mozambican College of Physicians to train Public Health specialists to facilitate and integrate the team in charge of reviewing the training curricula. In 2020 became again Independent Consultant.

Saturday saw the Spring Braai at Modderfontein Dam.  Unfortunately I was unable to attend but everyone who made it had a good time.

Last Week

Margie Kostelac gave a very interesting talk on the Santa Shoe Box Project and how it had expanded into other aspects of early childhood education.  It was amazing what she and her team have achieved.  It was also interesting that her contact with Rotary goes back a long way as she was a Rotary Exchange Student.  Many thanks, Margie, for a stimulating talk.

Next Week

Our speaker will be Konrad Kruger, President of the Land Rehabilitation Society of Southern Africa.

I imagine it's an organisation that rehabilitates open cast mines, quarries and such.

International - Croatia

The Rotary Club of Zagreb International organises regular treks for members and friends. The club, says immediate Past President Petra Pungerčar, had “noticed our members were not as connected and focused as they once were.” So the group conceived of the hikes as a way to reconnect and motivate members while also raising money for the club’s signature project, a mentoring initiative. Their inaugural hike took members of the country’s only English-speaking club through the Slapnica Valley near Zagreb in October. They walked in Budapest during a trip to Hungary, and in June they strolled beside the Kamačnik River in Croatia’s mountainous Gorski Kotar region. “Relaxed, happy, and laughing, it was an incredible experience,” the club posted on Facebook.

This Week - Margie Kostelac of the Santa Shoebox Project

 

Margie Kostelac started the project in 2006 in Cape Town with 180 shoe boxes now the project is national with over 1,3 million boxes having been distributed.

Of course there is much more to it than just the distribution of boxes because communities are involved and assisted and there is an emphasis on early childhood development.

It promises to be an interesting talk.

Last Week

Kyle Rauf touched on his trip to Morocco and various aspects of his work which had been covered in Knight & Day in greater depth.

Next Week

It's the District Governor Maria Angélica Salomão's official visit.  She has visited us before, unofficially, at President Lauwrence Vosloo's Induction. This time she will be visiting Cresset House and maybe a couple of other projects.  The board meeting and the club meeting will be on Zoom and she will probably be at Cresset at the time. 

International - Ukraine

rotary and the reality of life in ukraine (NO Pictures)

From the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Rotarians in Great Britain and
Ireland have stood shoulder to shoulder with those in District 2232 in Ukraine.

What began with emergency appeals has grown into a deep, trusted partnership, rooted in
humanity, not charity. Help has come in many forms including: financial support,
friendship, practical aid such as water solutions, ambulances, generators, medical
equipment, school supplies - and gifts comfort and friendship for children.

Despite the danger, Rotary in Ukraine has not only endured—it has grown. “People can see
the good Rotary is doing,” added Will. “It gives structure, hope, and a way to help.”

For Yulia Pavichenko, Charter President of the Rotary Club Ukraine Sunrise, the war is
brutally personal. She lives in Kharkiv, just 30 kilometres from the Russian border.

“There are no military targets near me. Still, I hear drones, missiles, and explosions every
single day,” she explained. “I sleep in the hallway on a mattress in case glass shatters from
a blast. I carry a tourniquet and bandages in my handbag. I buy bottled water because the
tap water is brown and unsafe. This is my everyday life.”

A neurobiologist and coach, Yulia focuses on Rotary mental health projects. “Mental health
is a front line that cannot be seen but often determines whether someone can get up in
the morning – or not,” she added.

“Peace is not just silence. Peace is water, food, education, warmth. Supporting Rotary in
Ukraine is building peace in real, concrete ways.”

Rotary’s work has evolved as needs have changed – from generators, school supplies, food
parcels, medical equipment, water, shelter and more. Borys Bodnar, who is based in the
western city of Lviv, is central in co-ordinating aid which pours into Ukraine from Rotary
clubs across the world.

He said: “We want to express our deep gratitude to Aquabox, Water Survival Box and
Grifaid for their unrelenting support.”

Will Jackson, Borys and Tony Preston, all members of the Rotary GB&I Ukraine Team, are
currently installing a fifth AquaSet water treatment system in a hospital - designed, built,
installed and maintained by Ukrainians for Ukrainians.

Will Jackson, who is also the Rotary District 1100 Ukraine Lead and involved with other groups and
charities helping Ukraine, lists a few impactful projects supported by Rotary:

• Orchards in rural villages for displaced and military families to grow food and regain
  independence

• Hospital and Rehabilitation support in cities like Cherkasy, Svitlovods’k, and
  Oleksandriya – ranging from medical equipment and generators, to puzzles and
  sensory toys for children

• Transport and employment – community buses, ambulances, 4x4’s, sewing machines
  and training for displaced people

• Mental health and veterans’ care including new plans for a safe, inclusive recreational
  space.

• Twinning and new Rotary clubs, including satellite clubs formed by Ukrainians now
  living in Great Britain and Ireland.