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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
The 23rd of February is Rotary International’s Birthday – 105 years this year – this is the world’s oldest Service Organization and still the good work continues.
A Wendy House store-room was donated to Chris Nissen School, painting organized for the Vermont Home, and plans are in progress for a Urology week, similar to the Ear, Nose &Throat week which has been so successfully organized by the Service Projects committee for the past years.
The Cape Town Ballet dancers are due to be hosted by our club in March, when they perform for the Knysna community.
The Rotary Club of Knysna is busy.
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FEBRUARY IS WORLD UNDERSTANDING MONTH
Landmark Lighting on 23 February (Rotary’s 105th Birthday):
- The Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Dan Plato, will be making an announcement this Thursday, 11 February, that the City of Cape Town will be proclaiming Tuesday 23 February “ROTARY DAY”. I understand this will be the first time in the world that a city has proclaimed a day to be “Rotary Day”. How about that!!
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AMBASSADORIAL SCHOLAR DAMIEN LA HOUD’S BLOG
Damien has again written of his experiences in Sweden over the Christmas period. To read his most interesting blog go to www.djlahoud.blogspot.com. How he gets around is incredible – he certainly makes the most of all his contacts and opportunities to see and do as much as possible in the time available. When does he ever find time to study? A MUST READ!
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THE ROTARY CLUB OF KNYSNA “KNOW YOUR TOWN” PROGRAMME
Report by Barbara Ikin
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By half past four in the afternoon of 28th and 29th January 2010, restlessness had started setting in. It was with tired reluctance that the fifteen Interactors climbed the stairs to the control room of the Knysna Waterworks. However, once Shane Mopp began to explain and demonstrate the sophisticated electronic system used in monitoring Knysna’s water supply, their lethargy was replaced by riveted concentration.
It was the first day of this year’s Knysna Rotary “Know your town” programme. It had been a long and intensive day, full of new information, ideas and impressions. Three Interactors (Junior Rotarians) from each of five high schools (Knysna High, Knysna Sekondêr, Percy Mdala, Oakhill and Montesorri) had been selected and spent 28 and 29 January visiting some institutions which are integral to the smooth running of our town.
On the first day Rotarian Ras Venter guided the group through the Provincial Hospital with passion and dedication, telling his audience all about the hospital, including its history and its role in district health services. The visit ended in the Haart Clinic where Laurel Giddy shared some hard facts about HIV/AIDS and TB.
At the fire station Wayne Spies impressed us with the exact professionalism of fire fighting and Interactors could practise their fire fighting skills using different fire extinguishers. The visit concluded with some pretty explosive demonstrations made from ordinary household substances. At the magistrate’s court the Interactors witnessed the meticulous procedure involved in unravelling one of Knysna’s few hijacking cases. Queen, the court preparation officer, led them to the protected witness room which is used in cases involving children as victims and witnesses. Senior Prosecutor Gavin Capes addressed the Interactors, appealing to them to be constantly vigilant of criminal danger. He emphasised that visitors were always welcome to attend court cases.
At the police station Constable Chris Spies gave the Interactors an insight into the citizen protection, law enforcement and emergency support functions of the police. In addition the police force was shown as a complex organisation with many career possibilities: in administration, law, auditing as well as in the specialised helicopter, drug, dog and diving units. Knysna had been chosen as the trial station for a sophisticated integrated electronic database system for suspects and convicted criminals. In the mortuary Werner answered some of the more morbid questions, but (un)fortunately there were no bodies to view!
Friday morning began with a visit to the municipal council meeting with the mayor and all the councillors in attendance. Here the Interactors were able to witness democracy in action, including presentations from the public. A visit to the cemetery followed. While standing next to an open grave, Lawrence Jones and John Jaftha explained the procedures involved in maintaining the cemetery and preparing graves for burial. The visit ended with a walk past the wall of remembrance where ashes are laid to rest. |
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During the selection interviews many of the learners had expressed a particular interest in visiting the correctional services and obtaining a picture of “scenes in jail behind the wall”, so to speak. Mr. Pietersen guided them through the different sections, keeping the prisoners well behind bars! The kitchen, with the preparation of food, and the cell for solitary confinement were some highlights. The Interactors came away with the distinct impression that although everything seemed neat and well-run in prison, it was not a place to visit voluntarily!
By mid-afternoon on Friday, the Interactors returned home tired, but in good spirits. The visits had provided much food for thought. Learners from the different schools got to know each other and contacts were made. To quote one of the learners: “These two days were flippin’ awesome!”
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The Rotary Club of Knysna would like to thank the organisations visited for their willingness and enthusiasm in receiving the Interactors and for so generously giving their time. The strong overall impression was that Knysna is a neat, clean, well-organised town where vibrancy and friendliness emphasise the human aspect.
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PIPE BAND EQUIPMENT RECEIVED FROM SCOTLAND (The “Power of Rotary” at work!)
In a previous newsletter we told of the generous donation of equipment received from a Rotarian in Scotland. Here is a “Thank You” letter and progress report from the Knysna Pipe Band
Dear Bob,
I met you again when the Cape Town Highlanders were in Scotland last August participating at the Edinburgh Tattoo and we came to your factory one morning for a visit and bit of a shopping spree! You may recall Charles Canning the PM, myself (the older fellow) together with a few other band members in your office and you took some time showing us your new reed design and the gadget that you were prototyping to assist in setting up a new reed. I think it was a very successful visit all round as we left with 15 of your latest Symphony chanters together with a big batch of reeds and I am very happy to report that we went on to achieving a great tone for the band which is going to stand us in great stead this year on the competition field.
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The first time I met you was when you came out to South Africa in 1983 to judge at our Pipe Band Championships. At the time I was the Pipe Major of the Cape Town Highlanders and I recall coming 2nd that year to Richmond Avenue PB and also recall playing your arrangement of Banjo Breakdown in hornpipe time! Your visit at the time was a highlight to the pipe band fraternity and our band went on to playing your chanters and reeds which they still do today.
Anyway that was a bit of background here before going on to the next topic ... I reside in a seaside town called Knysna where, just over a year ago, together with a few other lads, started our Pipe Band pretty much from scratch. We currently have a few pipers and drummers and last year decided to start a recruitment drive via the local sea cadet’s organisation. We generated a lot of interest and since many of the kids come from underprivileged backgrounds; we decided to fund this exercise and approached the local Rotarians for assistance. We assumed that the items would be acquired locally in SA from one of a few importers/stockists. Anyway within a short period of time and to our absolute amazement, the package of practice chanters, drum sticks and Shepherd tutor books arrived and were passed on to us. Actually I was told that that these items were sourced via the Aberdeen based Rotarians and assumed were purchased from a local Shepherd stockist. It was only very recently that I read in a local press release that the items were donated by a Scottish bagpipe maker and then to our delight discovered that it was indeed your good self!
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Anyway I am happy to report that we now have a group of youngsters learning both piping and drumming and I am confident that some of these learners will see it through and get to play in our pipe band.
Bob, I am not sure how best to express this, but we are most grateful for your generous donation which has given as a great kick start in getting the pipe band going. We were really most grateful to Rotary for facilitating this but were most delighted that this donation came from no other than ‘the man himself’!
With best regards and our best wishes for 2010.
Steve Collins
Knysna Pipe Band
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THE ROTARY CLUBS OF KNYSNA AND YORK HELP MASITHANDANE
The Matching Grant of the Rotary Club of Knysna and the Rotary Club of York is for the improvements and educational equipment at the Masithandane Centre in Sedgefield.
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Past President Lesley Satchel was invited to a partial hand-over ceremony at Masithandane last Thursday at a meeting of the 7 pre-schools that fall under the Masithandane umbrella.
Lesley delivered the equipment is stages as it takes a lot of storage space. She was able to hand over all the items that they called "remedial equipment" to the pre-schools: swing ball sets, soccer balls, trampoline, balancing beam, skipping ropes, palates balls, and tug-of-war ropes as well as sets of musical instruments in neat plastic containers for storage. Also the paper trimmer and CD player. They were extremely grateful to Rotary.
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The learners' workbooks and teachers' guides are on order and should be here soon. Library books in Afrikaans and Xhosa are on order at a wonderful supplier, called Biblionef, which is run by the Dutch Embassy, and specialises in good books in indigenous languages (also with suitable illustrations). The educational games and puzzles have been left until last when it will be known exactly how much money is left from the MG. The games would promote numeracy seeing that the books and posters are more for literacy. A plaque was made to go on the wall at Masithandane with the details of the two Rotary Clubs that have sponsored the equipment and improvements at the centre.
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THE ROTARY CLUB OF KNYSNA RECOGNIZED MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY |
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From left to right: Paul Harris Fellow Awards: Rotarian Gillian Carter; Past President Lesley Satchel; Owena Schutte; President of Rotaract with the new Rotaract Charter; Sister Alice Levendal; Shelly Godsell and Roger Voysey at the back
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The Rotary Club of Knysna celebrated the 105th birthday of Rotary International by recognizing members of the community and thanking them for their worthy “Service above Self”. The following people: Roger Voysey for his development of the Steenbok Park on Leisure Isle, Sister Alice Levendal for her many years of dedication to Vermont Retirement Home, Dr Laurel Giddy for her work with Aids patients at the Haart Clinic, Dr Janet Stanford for her selfless work at the Knysna Hospice and Shelley Godsell for the e’Pap programme that she introduced into the Knysna community all received certificates for Community Service at a very well-attended and special function held at the Premier Hotel on the 23rd of February.
Three people also received Paul Harris Awards, the highest award from Rotary anyone can receive, for their outstanding contributions to the community of Knysna, at the same function. They were Past President Lesley Satchel, Rotarian Gillian Carter and Owena Schutte from the local Epilepsy South Africa. |
Members of the club decorated the hall with care by putting up about half of the 140 big banners to give it a special Rotary atmosphere. These banners were collected over many years from members of Rotary clubs from all over the world, when visiting Knysna.
The Rotary Club of Knysna will celebrate its birthday on 4 May with a more informal, but festive gathering.
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THANK YOU LETTER FROM AN AWARD RECIPIENT
Dear President Ian and members of the Knysna Rotary Club,
I would like to thank you most sincerely for choosing me to receive the Rotary Community Award last night. I feel most honoured and humbled. As with all good projects there are many players who contribute to the success thereof. In our case there are the many generous donors from all our the world, the 65 wonderful volunteers who give of their time and energy to translate that money into well fed, healthy children and my most supportive committee. On behalf of all these and especially the over 3,000 very special little children we say a huge thank you.
Peter and I really enjoyed being part of your special celebration on Tuesday evening and also being able to congratulate the other most worthy recipients of awards.
We thank you for your ongoing support of e'Pap and the amazing contribution Rotary Knysna makes to our very special town.
Yours sincerely,
Shelley Godsell
Caring for the children of the Garden Route
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KNYSNA ROTARACT CLUB CHARTERS
On Tuesday evening, 23rd February 2010, the Rotaract Club of Knysna received its charter certificate. Rotaract Members present to receive the certificate included; Rochelle Fortuin, Pierre Bredahl, Jessica Kane, Stephanie Finn, Amy Brown and Ursula Bond, not present Belinda Pienaar and Morton Bredahl.
The Knysna Rotaract club would like to thank Knysna Rotary for all their support and assistance in getting the club going and we hope to work closely with Rotary on the many wonderful projects they do for the community.
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Our upcoming projects include;
- Rent a Wedding Dress: This project will be managed by Amy Brown
- Old Age Home outing to Bosuns for tea & cake: Project managed by Jessica Kane
- The club will also be embarking on a drive to increase its club membership
If there is anything Rotary would like our support and assistance with, please email us at rotaract@knysnarotaract.co.za or call 076 968 1996.
Stephanie Finn on behalf of the Knysna Rotaract Club
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ROTARY ANN’S BEAR PROJECT |
The Rotary Anns of Knysna are a very industrious group of ladies. Amongst all their other projects, they knit and make bears for the TygerBears, a part of the Tygerberg Children’s hospital in Cape Town. This part of the hospital treats abused children and every child admitted, receives a knitted bear to take home. It is an unforgettable sight to see these children, from birth to 18 years old, cuddling their bears. This organization needs thousands of bears every year.
The need was noticed when a Rotarian visited TigerBears in 2008. She was so impressed with the work they were doing, that she encouraged the Rotary Anns, Partners and Innerwheel ladies in the district to knit these bears. At the Rotary conference in May 2008, they handed 450 bears to TigerBears for the children. The Knysna Anns have another 40 bears ready to be delivered. Some bears come from as far as Pietermaritzburg, where a Rotarian’s mother helps to make them. If anybody would like the pattern to help knit bears or has left over wool, they are welcome to contact 0829312411. We will appreciate any help that that they can get.
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A group of the Anns holding some of the knitted bears fro the children of the TygerBear unit at the Tygerberg Hospital
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SUPPORT FOR FIRE-FIGHTERS DURING MAJOR FIRES AROUND KNYSNA
Last week Avis Boyd, a Past President of the Rotary Anns, was in constant contact with Knysna Municipality who had set up an office at the Fire Station and they advised her on a daily basis what was required for the 120 Fire Fighters to subsist.
The Rotary club of Knysna made R5 000 available and an amount of just under R3 700.00 was spent on stewing meat, tinned tomatoes, bags of onions and potatoes, cabbages, bully beef, sweet corn, mealie meal, Isotonic Game, energy bars, super C’s, loaves of bread, tomato sauce, margarine, jam and spices. The staff at Checkers was helpful in filling the lists of items to be procured.
Tuesday, 9 February, Rotary Anns spent R550.00 on bottled water and Rotary donated water and cool drinks from the store room. On Wednesday energy snacks and water were purchased to be consumed by the teams at the scene of the fires. That night the Lions Club fed the fire fighters and the Rotary provisions were fed them on Thursday evening.
Some of the volunteers from other areas had returned home by Friday and the remaining stock of water and provisions was used for the local team that evening. During the weekend all the teams finally dispersed and there was no longer a need to provide further supplies
THE ROTARY CLUB OF KNYSNA AND THE ROTARY ANNS WERE SINCERELY THANKED BY THE FIRE-FIGHTERS FOR THEIR GENEROUS DONATIONS
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SHELTER BOXES FOR HAITI (Extract from Time Magazine - More of the “Power of Rotary” at work!)
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In 1999 I watched a disaster unfold on the evening news. As aid workers threw loaves of bread on the ground and people scrambled after them, I asked my wife, "Why can't they hand the bread to those people? They've lost everything. Why should they lose their self-respect too?" It was as if someone hit me over the head with a cricket bat. I got out a piece of paper and wrote down what I would need after a natural disaster: shelter, warmth, comfort, dignity. (See video of Shelter Boxes being delivered and used in Haiti.)
I approached my local Rotary Club with the idea to give survivors sturdy boxes that contained a 10-person tent, blankets, pans, utensils and a stove that could burn anything from diesel to old paint. Since 2001, we've raised enough money to send 75,000 boxes to more than 100 disaster zones in places like India, Congo and El Salvador.
On Jan. 12, the alert system at our warehouse went off; within an hour we were mobilizing for Haiti. Our warehouse is like a Wal-Mart for disasters. We tailor the box contents to each crisis. A summer flood in Sudan requires more mosquito nets than a winter earthquake in Nepal. Haiti is tropical, so we put in fewer blankets and added extra water-purification tablets.
By Jan. 30, we had delivered 5,000 boxes to Haiti, and we are packing 5,000 more. All told, at least 100,000 people will benefit. The first tents that arrived in Port-au-Prince were used to house patients at a field hospital.
Our boxes don't just create tent cities. They build communities. Within an hour of the tents' going up, a mother starts hanging laundry lines and someone else sets up a minishop. Kids like the crayons and coloring books, which bring back a degree of normality.
In Haiti, people are turning the green Shelter Boxes into makeshift cribs, tables and wheelbarrows. Imagination is one resource that isn't in short supply.
See what life is like in a Shelter Box tent in Haiti at time.com/haiti_tents
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1960259,00.html#ixzz0fnsAEApR
The Rotary Club of Knysna also contributed towards the R 246 000 that District 9350 raised for the appeal for Shelter Boxes.
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THE HEART AND SOUL TOUR: Two men on an extraordinary journey for an extraordinary cause.
During a Rotary meeting, Geoff Brink arrived to pay us a visit on his unicycle. He is unicycling 1700 km from Durban to Cape Town with the help of his (non-unicycling) companion Fred Hatman. This is no small feat in itself, but their mission is much more admirable: to raise public awareness of unexploded landmines in Southern Africa, in association with The Sole of Africa, an organisation dedicated to that end. Follow their incredible tour online at fredhatman.co.za.
The Rotary Club of Knysna is also supporting this cause.
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ROTARY INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT 9350 CONFERENCE 2010
Venue: The Lord Charles Hotel, Somerset West, 14th to 16th May 2010.
See the Website for registrations: Conference.hsrotary.co.za
Registration & Information
Conference Co-coordinator: Tracey Wilson 082 887 6991 twilson@cape.waltons.co.za
Registration and Information: Maretha Higgin 072 1072 741 m.higgin@mweb.co.za
Functions include: Opening Cocktail party & Wine Tasting, Pre-conference Golf, Inspiring
Speakers, Carnival-themed DG Gala Dinner
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President: Ian Ballantine; Past President: Peter Klews;Secretary: Des Wearne;Treasurer: Rob Clark;
Club Administration: Franc Bentley;
Service Projects: Derrick Ikin; Membership: Mick Furman;
New Generations: Mendy Weiner;
Rotary Foundation: Louise Pannell;
Public Relations: Ina Thompson; Anns President: Helena Monk
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Should you not wish to receive further newsletters please email knysna@rotary9350.co.za asking to be removed and provide your name and email address to which the newsletter was sent |
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