MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT IAN BALLANTINE

Welcome to Adrian Auckland whom we inducted as a member of our club and his wife Aileen who was inducted into the Ann’s. The Auckland’s join us from the Ladybrand club, where Adrian was treasurer for a number of years. We hope they both enjoy Knysna and the Rotary Club of Knysna.

On Sunday evening the ENT team from Cape Town was welcomed by a group of Rotarians. They will spend a week working at the Knysna Provincial Hospital. This is the seventh time that an ENT team has come to Knysna to assist with reducing the backlog of operations – this worthy project was started by Ian Huskisson who chaired the Vocational committee at the time.

On Monday, eight members of the Solihull St Alphege Club, who are supporters of the Rotary Wheelchair Foundation, joined us for two days, when they visited some of our projects, and joined us with the handing over of our 100th Wheelchair.

Next week the GSE team from Bulgaria visits for 3 days and a full programme has been arranged.

Season greetings form me and the Board.

EAR, NOSE AND THROAT WEEK

The seventh ENT week is currently under way at the Provincial Hospital in Knysna. A team of ENT Surgeons from Groote Schuur Hospital are assisting our local ENT Surgeon, Dr Martin Young, in dealing with the waiting list of 40 State patients requiring ENT Surgery. They are accompanied by an anesthetist from the same institution as well as one from George, a past President of the George Rotary Club, Dr Charles McGregor. Several medical instrument makers are also represented and have offered use of their very modern instruments. On this unique occasion 20 patients have been lined up to have operations assisted by a very new flexible endoscope ( a type of telescope) and the General Manager of the Karl Storz Medical Instrument Company (South Africa), Dr Achim Simons, has come himself to witness the first usage in the country of this very helpful instrument.

For the first time the team have been housed together thanks to the generous co-operation of the new Knysna Premier Hotel, who have given very reduced rates as their contribution to this wonderful project and even this cost has been sponsored by the various medical instrument companies. Apart from the generous contribution of an evening meal by Canuti Restaurant and another by the Karl Storz Company, all meals during the week have been provided by the Rotary Club and their Anns.

Another win-win project for all concerned.


Ian Huskisson

GREETINGS FROM TENNESSEE/ RE: GREETINGS FROM KNYSNA

Good afternoon, Des,

Thanks so much for your kind note. Your Rotary club is an ongoing inspiration to our club members. You do so much for your community and I love your monthly newsletter.

Now, about the visit of Knoxville Rotary members next summer-your winter. We are planning to leave Knoxville on July 18 and fly to Cape Town and then come to Knysna. We decided it would be best to come after the World Cup, even though we will probably miss your annual bike race.

We hope to be able to stay with you and see first hand what you are doing and also to help out on a project or two. I think there will be four adults (Allen Pannell might be one of the adults) and four teenagers who belong to the Interact Club we sponsor at the Webb School of Knoxville. Two of the teens are friends of Mike and Sandy Shires. Their parents were born in SA. I am interested in seeing the Sea Cadet program that two supported a few years ago and visiting the AIDS Clinic that I have heard so much about and for which we helped raise some funds for a vehicle. After we leave Knysna, we will go to Stanford, SA and stay at he Mosaic Farm for two nights because a member of the Rotary Club of Knoxville owns Mosaic Farm and there is anew Rotary Club there. Then we hope to spend a couple of nights in Cape Town before returning. Some might stay a little longer, but details are not complete. If this rough plan sounds feasible, please let me know, or let me know if changes are needed.

I send all my friends in Knysna warm wishes and hugs. I am already looking forward to being with you each and all. After working with Joan and Lesley for many years, coming to Knysna seems like coming to visit family.

With appreciation and cheer, Townes

Good morning Frank and Townes.

On behalf of both the Board and all the members of the Knysna Rotary Club, I would like to thank you and convey to both of you sincere appreciation for all the support you have both given to a number of our projects over a number of years. Apart from the current Matching Grant for helping to equip extremely needy Grade R classrooms in our area [authorised in these very difficult financial times] we are also grateful for all the other projects which would not have become a reality without your support. These include:

a. The distribution of 800 books to impoverished pre-school children [which also helped our Club win the District Literacy Award at our recent District Conference]
b. The painting of 44 classrooms and several laboratories at Knysna Secondary School [and for which they were extremely proud to have won the Interact Award]. Our Club boasts 5 Interact Clubs in the 5 High Schools in Knysna - a fairly unique achievement for a Club in a rural area!
c. The school bus for Percy Mdala High School which enables them to visit places of educational interest as well as participate in sports matches in other areas.

We are also most indebted to you Townes for your personal contribution to our Club's Development Cycling Programme. The project won a Local Heroes Award for our Club's efforts and established the Children's Cycle Race as an integral part of the Club's Annual Cycle Races [our major fund raiser]

The bicycles have changed the lives of several young children in our town and we are delighted to hear that there is a possibility of a few of your Rotarians visiting our town and participating in one or more of the races in our Annual Cycle Races [over 2 days] - any chance of this happening next year?

Warm Rotary greetings from our Club to yours,

Best regards

Des Wearne [Club Secretary]

100th WHEEL CHAIR PRESENTED

We saw again today how powerful Rotary is. The Rotary Club of Knysna handed out the 100th wheelchair to a disabled lady at Vermont Retirement Home in Hornley.

The Chairman of the Wheelchair Foundation of Britain and Ireland, Milton Frary, was present when the Rotary Club of Knysna handed out the 100th wheelchair. The very first wheelchair the club gave out was bought by Rotarian Fotis Michalopoulos in 2002. The Rotary Club of Solihull St. Alphege in England supported the latest project financially and six members of the club accompanied Milton to Knysna for the handover.

The Past President, Ian Snelling, organised a boxing competition two years ago, in Solihull in England, to raise funds. It was a very big success when 600 spectators turned up. He decided to use the money raised for wheelchairs and the Rotary Club of Knysna benefited.

The Rotarians also visited Die Werkswinkel where the wheelchairs are repaired when needed and then joined the local club at their lunch meeting.

A very special thanks goes to Past President Ian Huskisson for all his hard work and commitment to the Wheelchair Project during the past seven years.

REVISED RI STRATEGIC PLAN GETS BACK TO BASICS: By Janis Young
Rotary International News -- 17 November 2009

The revised strategic plan includes three priorities, including supporting and strengthening clubs. Rotary Images At its November meeting, the RI Board adopted a revised strategic plan that comprises three priorities, all of equal importance to Rotary’s future.

The priorities are:

• Support and strengthen clubs.
• Focus and increase humanitarian service.
• Enhance public image and awareness.

Following a mandate from the Council on Legislation, the Board recently conducted a triennial review of the plan. This review included surveying 14,000 Rotarians worldwide about the organization’s priorities and holding focus groups to assess Rotary’s image in different countries.

In addition, the Strategic Planning Committee carried out a detailed analysis of Rotary’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges and considered its findings in relation to the organization’s mission, vision, and strategic priorities.

The revised plan, effective July 2010, reflects the results of this research. For example, survey responses clearly linked membership growth to strong clubs, and external data indicated that opportunities for service and networking are Rotary’s greatest appeal. The plan also unifies the strategic direction of RI and The Rotary Foundation by emphasizing the connection between clubs’ most popular service areas and the areas of focus in the Foundation’s Future Vision Plan.

Moving forward, the Strategic Planning Committee and the RI Board will continue to refine the goals attached to each priority and develop tactics for achieving and measuring success. “The revised strategic plan focuses RI’s efforts on the clubs and getting back to basics,” says RI Director Thomas Thorfinnson. “RI’s main role should be supporting clubs and helping them to expand their service and publicize the accomplishments of their efforts.”

4 Comments:
At 3:46PM on 20 November 2009, Paul Kiser wrote: Writing PSA's is certainly a necessary step to promote the Rotary club, but public image is about more than what appears in the media. Public Relations and public image is not about just promoting an organization. It is about creating a relationship with the public. The 2008 Focus group study done in three non-USA cities indicated that the public's image of Rotary is not what most Rotarians might think and the first step to fixing the public image of Rotary is to understand what that public image is right now. Anything we do in the media to improve our public image will be defeated if a guest walks into a club meeting and has their original image of the Rotary club confirmed. If people see us as an organization consisting of wealthy, older males (part of what the 2008 Focus Study indicates) then we need to perform a critical, unbiased, self examination of why people get that impression and then act to address the causes. All Public Relations is local. It begins and ends at the club level, which means that every member must 1) be aware of the issues we have with the public image, 2) agree to be mindful of that public image. The INTERNAL message (to members) must take into account what we are discovering about the existing public image of Rotarians and assist clubs in taking action to change/improve the EXTERNAL message and act accordingly.

At 9:52AM on 19 November 2009, KRISHNA BHASKAR AVIDI, PRESIDENT (ELECT) R.C.ELURU wrote: Definitely it is true and every Rotary Club should focus and increase humanitarian service and publicize their efforts through Media. If we enhance the public image & awareness, automatically our ROTARY MEMBERSHIP will grow. The Revised plan is simply a good move to strengthen our ROTARY CLUBS

At 10:19AM on 19 November 2009, Joe Schopen wrote: If ever there was an organization that lacked identity outside of itself - it is Rotary International. We all know the power of advertising and have no desire to 'overuse' it for Rotary but, lest we remain 'the silent giant' we need to do more to communicate who and what Rotary is to the general public - the 3rd Priority of the Revised Strategic Plan. A PR chair at the club level with standardized methods could achieve major results. Some thoughts: consistently getting major releases to local media. Lock in time with Public Service Announcements (PSA's) which are free. Developing repoire with the media so that regular releases get to press. The possibility of a 'Rotary' column detailing the community service projects in a particular area. Graphics should be a standard.

At 3:12PM on 18 November 2009, Richard j Kenney wrote: The revised plan seems to make sense. It helps to keep it simple. a good move.

As I sat in the International Departures Lounge of OR Tambo Airport and stared down at my Ticket, it dawned on me that my date of departure was the same as the date of my district interview. I was on the verge of an adventure that had been more than a year in the making!

Never in my life have I put so much time and effort towards one thing that it had taken me more than a year to prepare for it. Not to mention the countless hours in front of the computer reading and researching everything that I needed to know, typing e-mails and essays and of course phoning everybody I knew asking for advice and help. When I heard I’d been accepted it felt like a piece of a puzzle falling into place and I knew I was doing the right thing and it was all worth it.

But then the real work started. Trying to find accommodation on Swedish websites, waiting for months for my letter of acceptance, buying airplane tickets, insurance, etc. it felt as if the to-do list was never ending. Luckily there was some fun to be had with orientation weekend in Cape Town and a very interesting District Conference in Oudtshoorn and sure enough slowly one by one things started to be marked off and the days until departure became less and less until there I was standing at the airport one year later saying good bye to my family. I had learnt so much and I had not even left South Africa yet!

This was the first time I have done something all on my own from start to finish, but was I really alone? Had my councilors not been there sending me countless e-mails, or the many other Rotarians with their wise words of advice and of course my parents who had supported me every day since I first read the article in the local newspaper advertising the Scholarship, actually they were the ones who mailed it to me!

The life of a student in Sweden is so different to South Africa that I can’t decide if there is anything similar at all. I have small classes of no more than 25 students, we only follow one course at a time and more time is spent reading, in seminars and in group work than in lectures. I know it might sound strange to say, but the small groups and in depth conversations makes me feel as if I’m learning more now than in the years I spent completing my engineering degree. So far I’ve only completed one course in moral practice and ethical theory in which I got a B grade and I’m currently working on my exam assignments for my business ethics course. I will soon be starting a course in biomedical ethics.

Even though there are many differences between South Africa and Sweden there is one thing that stays the same no matter where I go, the Rotarians. From helping me with accommodation, to medicine when I had the flu or even just a home cooked meal. Everyone I’ve met has been so hospitable and friendly that I’m so glad I’m here as a Rotary Scholar because I don’t know if I would be able to do this without them.

When it comes to my Ambassadorial Duties I have unfortunately only been able to give one official presentation. After my arrival in Linköping in August I was invited to visit my host Rotary club, Linköping Aurora, on 1 September and was then informed that most clubs have already scheduled their program for the whole semester up to Christmas. I have therefore only been able to speak at my host club, but I’m busy making arrangements to give presentations and my calendar for the spring is filling up nicely. The fact that there are 7 clubs in Linköping alone really helps.

I have also started attending meetings of the local Rotaract club and will help them with a project in December. I attended the District Conference in early October where I was able to learn a lot about Rotary in the District and especially their work in Latvia, which is also part of D2410, and I plan to visit it in the not too distant future. I have made contact with the 8 Youth Exchange Students in the District and as I’m ROTEX will try and act as a mentor for them while I’m here. I have also volunteered to help with the RYLA camp in April and I’m waiting on more information. I have had the opportunity to attend a few Rotary Meetings of not only my host club, but others in Linköping as well and I have been invited to a number of events. I will also be attending the 7th Annual Rotary Ambassadorial Scholars Conference for Inbound Students to the UK, Europe and the Middle East in January in Harrow, London and was even thinking of applying as a speaker at this conference, but I have not yet decided.

I have also started working on a project to raise money for an Aid’s related project being launched in my home town of Knysna with the help of the Knysna RC. My project is still in the initial planning phase and I have not even had a chance to pitch it to the local Rotarians yet because I’m still ironing out some of the details. However, I will submit a full report to them as soon as I can.

Sweden is a very easy country to explore and I’ve had the opportunity to visit many interesting places including Kalmar and Stockholm. Natural beauty is one thing Sweden has plenty of and being a budding Scout I tried to make the most of the little summer that was left when I arrived and spent a few weekends cycling, canoeing and running in the many forests and lakes around Linköping and even went camping on the shores of one of the big lakes in Sweden. I have also found a keen interest in Swedish sports including Ice Hockey and Floor-ball.

Not being able to speak Swedish has not been a problem at all with every single person I’ve met being more than happy to speak English with me. However, I have taken a Swedish course and I’m really starting to try and speak the language even though my pronunciation leaves much to be desired. The Swedes I have met have been very friendly and I have spent many nights chatting to my housemates about all sorts of things.

Almost two months have passed since I came to Sweden and already I have done so much it is hard to write it all in a two page report. Therefore, for a blow-by-blow description of what I’ve been doing, including many photographs, please visit my blog at www.djlahoud.blogspot.com where I have been keeping a very detailed account of my adventures for the benefit of not only my family, but anyone who is interested.

In short, coming to Sweden has been the greatest thing to happen to me and I only have Rotary to thank. Rotary has been a big part of my life for almost 9 years now and I owe a lot to this amazing group of individuals working so hard to make a difference in the world. I hope to one day repay Rotary for all it has done for me by doing what I can to serve others.

Service above self!

MORE NEWS FROM DAMIEN ABOUT HIS PROJECT – from a letter to John and Lesley

Dear John and Lesley

I hope you are well and that the summer rain storms that have hit the Cape have not affected you too much. It must have really been bad because my parents were without a telephone and internet for almost two weeks because of it! We too are having our fair share of rain. It is sometimes hard to remember when last I saw the sun as it seems to be constantly overcast. It has only snowed once for a short while about a week ago, but it did not stay long and soon melted away. The days are quickly becoming shorter and it is already dark well before 16:00 in the afternoon.

However, I’m not complaining because I’m busier now than ever to notice. At the moment my classes have not been too busy as I’m almost officially the only person in the class which I find a little strange, but at the same time refreshing as it means the class atmosphere is very relaxed and informal. What has been keeping me busy is my project! It is now in full swing and our launch date of 1 December, World AIDS Day, seems to be rushing towards us. I’ve been lucky enough to convince a few of my friends to help out and we are almost a group of 18 people working on the project from all over Europe. We have been working on websites, Facebook groups, advertising, designing, sales techniques, etc. We will even be having a large themed launch party for the project at one of the local student pubs on 1 December to help raise awareness for the project.

As you know from my blog we have called the project ImPATCHit making an IMPACT through PATCHES. Patches are an important part of student life at the university because the students buy them to decorate their overalls that they wear to parties and other student events. The patches usually represent different parties the student has gone to, but this is the first time they will represent a good cause. I’m hoping the big Swedish hearts will encourage them to buy my patches so that I can not only raise funds, but also awareness of the difficult AIDS situation in South Africa, which amazingly the Swedes know very little about. The main focus of the project will be the goGogetter project.

I’ve been fortunate enough to get some substantial financial support from my host club in Sweden and they are behind the project 100%! I was wondering if it is at all possible to send a letter from the Knysna club to Linkoping Aurora thanking them for supporting me in this project. I think it would be a good way to show that I’m not just doing this on my own, but that I’m working on a Rotary orientated project. If you emailed me the letter I’d be more than happy to print it out and present it to the Club President at a meeting.

That is all from my side and I hope the weather in Knysna improves and that you will all be enjoying the beautiful summer sun soon.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kindest Regards

Damian

FOOD DISTRIBUTION FOR THE NEEDY

Every day, Woolworths removes outdated food from their shelves and donates it to organizations for distribution to people in need of help.

The Rotary Club of Knysna, a few years back, were asked to co-ordinate this process which they did. It has now become a very successful distribution scheme under the watchful eye of Rotarian Peter Oosthuizen. Peter sees to it that the food is fairly distributed each week to the various different NGO’s. In the picture, he can be seen doing his own regular round of distributing food to the Bitou Round Table Crèche.

POTENTIAL ROTARY LEADERSHIP SEMINARS (PRLS)

PDG Elwin Thompson introduced PRLS to District 9350 during his term of office last year. The first seminars started this year in our District with the support of PDG Fred Roberts and PDG Des Willis, District 9320, and have been well-received by those attending. The seminar consists of a Basic PRLS seminar followed by three Master PRLS seminars. The object of the seminars is to provide an environment for current and potential Rotary leaders to learn how to be more effective as individuals on a daily basis.

At the Master PRLS seminars in Cape Town, which both Ina and Elwin attended, Elwin was presented with a Master PRLS Award in recognition of his dedication to the furtherance of Training and Equipping his fellow Rotarians for Service in Rotary and his vision and determination to develop the programme Potential Rotary Leadership Seminars in District 9350, Southern Africa.

Ina and Elwin both received their Graduation
Certificates for the Master PRLS 1, 2 and 3
Seminars.

THE POWER OF ROTARY AT WORK

Rotary received a letter from Steve Langlands (dated 25 August) appealing for funds to purchase Chanters and Drumsticks to start a School of Piping under the leadership of Steve Collins. The letter had an attached quote for 10 sets of each from a Cape Town supplier, for the sum of R8, 700.

The letter reached the New Generations Committee in October and was given to me to action.

Some consideration was given to advertising locally but I decided to first contact Graham Holmes, District 1010 Secretary (Scotland) to ask if any of the Scots Clubs could help.

Graham passed on my request to Ken Paterson (on 27 October) - District 1010 International Service Chair. Ken passed the request on to the 86 clubs in District 1010 and by the following day had received a reply from a Rotarian bagpipe maker - Bob Shepherd - offering to donate all 10 sets of equipment.

Ken then contacted Tom Gunn, a Rotarian from Aberdeen who runs a Navigation Equipment business and who is a big customer of DHL, who arranged for the equipment to be shipped free of charge.

The equipment arrived in Knysna on Monday 16th Nov. and also included 10 instruction books by Pipe Major R T Shepherd M.B.E.

So ....within 3 weeks the Scots had sourced the equipment and had it delivered, all free of charge.
A very generous and efficient group of Rotarians!

Dereck Wheeldon