After discussions with Cornelia Basson and a

lot of emails and Rotary data, I approached

them to look at forming a satellite Club within

their work environment, to which they were

pleased and were very excited about the whole firm working with Rotary to benefit their communities, which in

the long run would benefit all.

Although they stated that weekly meetings would be a problem, they liked the idea of meeting online.

The possibility of staff from their other branches joining R.I. is also an objective in the near future. I

have approached 5 other large businesses (with this concept) who have “outreach or community

commitments” to join Rotary which will benefit all as the EClub suites our younger generation who are

go getters and don’t really have the time to sit in on meetings every week. It has the same potential as

face book.

George Rautenbach approached the Nelspruit Rotary Club last year for help with funding for some of

the clients who need prosthesis devices but can’t afford them. He was also proposed by myself to

become a member after I and some others helped him to supply some prosthesis to persons in need and

the aged. He even made a device for a horse that was going to be put down!

Welcome to our new members - we look forward to working with you

all in the future.

Our club continues to grow….

E-Club Newsletter

Club President: Kanthan Pillay

www.rotaryeclubsa9400.org

Issue 3

June 2014

Cloud

Chatter

Nelspruit - 19 May 2014

By Leon Pitallo, Nelspruit

NEWLY APPOINTED MEMBERS

I do business with them and was invited to

attend their end of year function in 2012 and

again in 2013. In both instances they did a

presentation on their outreach and putting

back into the community. I was impressed

with their passion for helping others, and

decided to discuss the possibility of one of

them joining Rotary. Five of the newly

appointed Rotarians work and Hendrik and

his wife are senior partners in the Law firm.

Left to right: Cornelia Basson; Chantell Stroebel;

Carlia du Plessis; Tersia Marshall; Jan Hendrik du Toit

and George Rautenbach

Many benefit from the

knitting project in Northcliff.

Senior citizens help keep many youngsters warm.

The senior citizens who live near Northcliff started knitting early enough to be able to bring

warmth to the littley ones.

They kept very busy making up patterns; coordinating the colours and ensuring that there

were enough sizes so that everyone gets a jersey.

Below are some of the delft hands that made it happen. Thanks to all these wonderful people

for keeping our youngsters warm this winter.

In preparation for the winter chill, Sešego Cares and members of the eClub

have already launched its annual winter drive that will see special hand

knitted garments in order to spread warmth to the most vulnerable

communities across various beneficiaries.

The “Wool Project”, as it has become known, entails the donation of wool by the

readers and supporters of Northcliff Melville Times. Items are knitted by a

retired women from East Town, Roosevelt Park’s Rose Village in Northcliff and

Sophia Town. They work their magic and produce high quality hand knitted

items for distribution among charities that care for the needy.

Iris Feyt started this project 4 years ago. She has inspired Doreen Smith and

the ladies at Rooseveldt Park as well as Elsie

Emerich. They are determined to beat the

winter deadline in order to deliver much needed

scarves, beanies, blankets, gloves and jerseys for

the 2014 chill.

‘On behalf of the beneficiaries of this project, I

would like to thank all the knitters and

volunteers for their incredible work, passion and

kindness. I am always amazed by the swiftness

at which they produce these items. The love,

creativity and care that has gone into making

each garment is clearly evident.’ says

PE Annemarie Mostert.

Special thanks must also be extended to all who

donated the wool, but it’s never enough.

General news

President’s induction

Please keep the 12 July free as we plan to have President Kanthan Pillay’s induction

event on this day at the YFM studios. More details to follow.

Website

Plans are in place to uplift the website and soon you will see a lot of new things listed and

announced. Thanks to Rory of YFM who will be managing the website—he has been invit-

ed to be involved with the club’s PR/Comms committee chaired by Shirley.

District conference

Six of the club members and partners have registered for the annual district conference.

You still have time to register - this is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about Rotary

and make new friends. For only R 3990 (sharing) you will enjoy three nights at The Ranch

Hotel, near Polokwane, listen to guest speakers and Rotary subjects as well as enjoy three

nights if excellent entertainment and you can dance all night!

You can still register up to 6 June...so hurry and book your place. It is the long weekend.

Directory

A hard copy of the new 2014/15 directory is available. We will try and post one to you in the next 6

weeks.

Alternatively, you have received the electronic version - and this will enlighten you on the various

Rotary areas.

Humanitarian Distribution Centre—book and linen for free

Books from Texas have arrived and you can invite schools, churches, orphanages etc to collect

books from the Humanitarian centre in Bedfordview.

Please ensure that you send them a letter of invitation first (which you can get from Shirley) and

they also need to take along a letter from the beneficiaries of the books and linen.

Without these two documents, the collector will not be allowed to get the goods.

Shirley can send you the map as well although it is in the directory. Please read all the rules in the

directory related to the HC items.

REMEMBER TO ….. Visit the site every Wednesday night at 19:00 and

login to see what’s new for you to read and learn about. If you have

attended another club visit, you can do a make-up online too.

As a club member, which avenue would you

like to be involved in?

As a club’s structure is made up of members, board members and various committees, it is

important to invite as many people possible to serve on one or more of the committees.

The various club committees are listed below. Please let Rhett know which one you are

interested in joining. Separate committee meetings will be held and the frequency, time and

date is dependent on the committee members. Your meetings can be conducted face-to-face

and/or on ‘Go To Meeting’ or on skype.

The committee chairperson will report the committee’s findings to the board. All the members

will be privy to the committee meeting outcomes through clubrunner or the newslet-

ter….depending on what we keep private (on clubrunner for members only) or in the

newsletter.

Club Administration Services

Vocational

Service projects

Rotary Foundation

Membership

Public Relations and Events

Finance

Youth

International

A separate synopsis of what the committees do will be sent to you with a form that you can

submit with your committee choice. You can belong to more than one if you can manage this.

Please do join a committee and let’s all work together to offer exceptional service to people

and to work closely as a club.

DISTRICT GRANT APPLICATION IS IN!

Our club has applied for a district grant for the Covenant garden estate, Mathibestad, NWP.

Covenant Garden Estate (“CGE”) was launched on 5 April 2014 by The Pat Francis Trust

South Africa, to transform the lives of destitute and abandoned children from systemic

poverty to systemic prosperity and to transform the communities in Mathibestad.

Tunnel shade netting, equipment and starter packs (plants, fertilizer etc) and the value

proposed is US$ 2762.

We would like

to profile you!

Rotary’s biggest assets is it’s members and the fellowship and

networking amongst members has proved to be invaluable for projects; knowledge

and business connections/referrals

As we are rapidly expanding, we would like to introduce our members through the

newsletter. It was suggested at the last board meeting that we highlight three

members by including a head and shoulder

photo and a very short

summarized CV of the

member.

The profiles will be done in alphabetical

order—by surname.

Rotary at its Best on the

African continent… Shirley Downie

I have three different size suitcases.. all pre-packed with toiletries and

Rennies... My first Africa trip started off in April with a trip to Durbs by

the sea with the annual conference being held on the MSC cruise on the

Opera. D9370 decided to cruise through their year and have fun and

fellowship on the high seas. This was followed by the fund-raising cycle

tour that took us from Krugersdorp to Luderitz in 9 days covering 1679

klms and crossing three districts with seven Rotary clubs en route.

From here, back to the coast to Dar es Salaam for the annual Reach

Out To Africa (ROTA) conference with RIPE Gary Haung and RIPN

Ravi Ravindran in attendance...together with many PDGs, RI

Coordinators and incoming

officers for the next few years.

ROTA was initiated by PRIP Wilf

Wilkinson and the main goal was

to increase membership and

implement incredible projects to

support the African countries. And

ROTA strives to assist to develop

and improve the economic

situation by guiding community

members.

It is envisaged that we increase our membership in Africa from

27 795 to 50 000 by June 2020. It is achievable.

Next was the D9350 conference in beautiful Knysna and it was held in

a school hall; and the formal evening event was held in a municipality

car park all dolled up - the conference content was good.

I then left for Lagos and then Kaduna, Nigeria, to represent the RI

President at the D9125 conference. I was very well looked after and

the content was excellent. They invited many famous Nigerian

entertainers and actors (known as Nollywood) to address the

delegates - all of them with powerful messages of how Rotarians

continue to change so much in the world.

And then back north to a 5 hours drive from Harare to attend the

D9210 conference at a beautiful lodge by the lake. Every district

has it’s own challenges and strategic plans. Each club brings new

ideas and projects to the fore. Africa is alive and well!

Share your ideas with us as you may have a

project through your company or church that

our club can be involved in.

Our district’s

conference will be

held 13-16 June

at The Ranch

near Polokwane.

Please book your

seat urgently.

MEMBERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Dear Fellow Rotarians,

Congratulations! As active sponsors of new members, you are cordially invited to join me at the member sponsor reception to celebrate your achievements. This special event is to recognize those who reached the gold-level in member sponsorship, the highest recognition Rotary bestows upon a member in honor of your commitment to Rotary’s membership growth.

• Date: Saturday, 31 May 2014

• Time: 4:30 – 6:00 pm

• Location: Sydney Olympic Park ANZ Stadium, Level 5 West, Platinum room

• Complimentary drinks and hors d’oeuvres will be served

• Your membership pin with gold backer and a copy of this invitation will serve as admission ticket for you and up to three guests

Your achievements have qualified you for recognition at this event, however, convention registration, travel, lodging, and meal costs will not be covered by RI. Please be also reminded that spouse or partner costs will not be covered by RI.

If you are not currently registered for the convention, but upon learning of this recognition you have decided to attend, you may do so by completing the online registration form or registering on-site in Sydney.

Respond today to MembershipAwards@rotary.org to join your fellow honorees!

Please include the number of guest you expect to join you.

I look forward to seeing you Down Under.

Sincerely,

Ron D. Burton

eClub is acknowledged for it’s achievement!

When PE Annemarie was tasked by DG Anneas to start a new eClub and satellite clubs in D9400 as

district membership chairperson, she rose to the challenge. After many months of hard work,

promotions and visits with various people seeking information and advise, Annemarie was successful

in chartering the first eClub in D9400.

On 29 January, 17 transferee Rotarians and 14 newbies were inducted at a ceremony in Randburg.

The club officially chartered on 5 March and today we are now have 40 members.

When an individual works this hard, the Rotary International President honours such folks. Below is

the invitation from RI President Ron Burton inviting Annemarie to join him and others for a special

recognition. Well done Annemarie!

Let’s keep the club growing!

Firstly, a huge thank you from us in South Africa. I

cannot describe the joy upon receiving many

boxes of Toms’ shoes at my home. When I opened

them I was amazed at the shoes and knew that the

children who received these would feel special and

be truly blessed.

The bulk of the shoes went to a feeding scheme in

Diepsloot, Johannesburg. Diepsloot is a large,

informal settlement on the outskirts of

Johannesburg’s residential suburbs. It is a densely

populated area, with both government (RDP)

homes, brick and mortar bonded homes and shacks

constructed of sheets of metal and scraps.

Most dwelling’s have no internal plumbing, so there

are outside toilets and washing of clothes and

bodies takes place in buckets, inside or outside,

weather dependent. There are schools and churches

within this community. It is unfortunately an area

of high levels of crime and often this crime is

directed towards children. There are many child

headed households (where parents are deceased or

have abandoned the children), as well as many

extended families looking after children.

Unemployment is rife. So, the shoes we well

received by the youngsters.

Wendy Ruiter from

Isinkwa Outreach

Team (Beaulieu

Preparatory School)

sends her note of

appreciation… see

below.

Feeding

scheme for the

toddlers

First day of the Convention in

Sydney - 31 May 2014

AG Belinda

Alport’s

Toms Shoes

project.

She has just

become a

member of

our club

Education Minister Angie

Motshekga and ABSA CEO Maria

Ramos at the Sesego Cares/Toms

Shoes event.

Thousands of youngsters have

benefitted from this amazing

project.

One of the

blankets

handed

out at the

golf day

event

It’s a wonderful life!

Some of us work all day; some work for

Rotary and in our own business and the

rest work for Rotary only! PDG Mark

Doyle (seen left) is one of the latter

lucky folks to be retired and being able

to passionately help with Rotary

projects whenever he can.

Sesego Cares arranged a very

successful fund-raising golf day on 31

May at the Houghton Golf course.

As part of the district’s blanket drive,

Mark diligently stood by the 7th hole

asking the players to donate R 50 for a

blanket for the needy and he raised R

5020 in total. So, 100 blankets will be

donated soon.

Well done Mark for your excellent

dedication to this project. You have

once again done us proud.

To attract attention, the Rotary Family

health Days banner and other posters

were erected (seen below).

Left to right: Tara, Annemarie with

Dina Diamond and Glenda Chagan

Rams Mabote, with

Charlotte Khoza both Board

members of Sesego Cares at

the golf event He was also

part of a 6 week

friendship exchange

programme to Australia

Annemarie inducting Tara Ison

into the club whilst Pres Hans

(Northcliff) looks on.

Club treasurer

Liana with food

that she donated

to Filadephia Ark

in Kameeldrif

near Pretoria

West

Below: Annemarie and Liana at the

jersey handover.

Feeding scheme for the

toddlers.

The Book project

container becomes an

extension of a kitchen

for the needy!

Sesego Cares’

contributed to four

containers transported

from Durban to

Bedfordview and this

container was awarded

to them to convert as an

extension to the kitchen

and linen area at

Covenant Garden

Estate Mathibestad

near Hammanskraal

Brak en Jan Creche

Annemarie visited the Brak en Jan

Crèche at Helderberg near Somerset

West with Rotarian Andre v Eeden

(seen below) from Helderberg

Sunrise Club.

Sesego Cares made a donation of

R25 000 to assist the school to enclose

an open area to help them to use as

an additional classroom.

First day of the Convention in

Sydney - 31 May 2014

Greetings from Oz! Directors of RFHA, PDG Anton Meerkotter (left) who is D9400’s finance chairperson and William Asiko (member of our club—seen right) pose with RFHA Country Manager for Southern Africa, Sue Paget....having fun in Sydney! They are expecting 25 000 Rotarians from around the world at the Sydney convention which ends on 4 June.

New Rotarian saves a life….

Newly appointed George

Rautenbach saves Hope’s life with

these new prosthesis braces.

Hope was going to be put down but

George avoided this from

happening.

Well done indeed George—Hope

certainly looks great in the funky

new leggings.

If you know of any animals that

need help, please let George know.

His details are on the newly

updated membership list sent to

you a few days ago.

DISTRICT ASSEMBLY

Every year, the incoming Governor arranges an Assembly to showcase ideas and plans

for his/her year ahead.

DGE Annie Steijn’s Assembly was held on 24 May in Pretoria and seen above from left

to right are club members with DGE Annie.

PDG Mark Doyle, Rhett Gardener, DGE Annie, PE Annemarie and Liana.

Enjoy the long weekend and if you are

travelling, do so safely.