MEETINGS
FRIDAY 7am
SEPTEMBER
BASIC EDUCATION & LITERACY MONTH
"Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world"
Nelson Mandela
September 2020 - UPDATE
The lockdown to contain CoVid19 that started on Mar 26th, will shorty be eased to Level 1, and altough it is now possible to hold physical meetings again, we will discus the practical issues inside the club and construct a meeting plan with minimum risk, but also offer opportunities for face to face meetings. Details to follow soon!
Until further notice, the regular Friday 7am Zoom meetings continue.
The major up-side is that you don't even have to be in the same country to attend - so do invite Rotary friends from other countries to join us!
Request an invitation: email Sue Truter
MEETINGS & EVENTS
Join our virtual 'Zoom' meetings - contact Janet Kriseman. She will send you an invitation link.
Fri 25 Sep 2020
Fellowship Meeting
Sat 26 Sep 2020
District Webinar - Entrepreneurship, Employability and Education 10:00
Sat 24 Oct 2020
District online Mini Conference Webinar
2020/21 BOARD
Meet Janet Kriseman
Janet has been a member of WRC since 2014. Cape Town born Janet is an alumnus of Herzlia High School. In the USA, she received a BA Hons in Political Philosophy from Brown and a Law degree from New York University.
Sat 27 June 2020
INDUCTION of JANET KRISEMAN
as 30th Captain of WRC
ROTARY - 'GLUE' FOR A BROKEN WORLD?
In the Anthem – Leonard Cohen sings; “There is a crack in everything, that’s where the light gets in…” I think he means that when something breaks, it can be an opportunity to improve it.
Covid19 has crashed into us like a wrecking ball, and while we are still standing, we are surrounded by the shards of the world we knew. The challenge for us is to try pick up the pieces that we want to keep, and glue everything back together in a way that we emerge stronger and more beautiful...
Read the full transcript of Janet's inspiring speech here.
What went well?
Having resolved to hold some of our regular meetings on-line, the lockdown forced us into holding all our meetings on-line. Our membership and speakers displayed amazing adaptability; we transitioned almost seamlessly. Apart from reducing our carbon footprint, 'zoom-meeting' allows us to connect with the world - we've already hosted 'visitors' from 5 continents.
Great efforts in Fundraising - well done!
Great efforts in difficult circumstances with projects. This was never going to be easy, but members rose to the challenge.
What could we have done differently?
More effort in looking after our members
More volunteers for club projects
More socials – while we could
Finally, to quote Alvin Toffler - now, more than ever, we need to learn from what's in front of us, un-learn what has become obsolete and re-learn as events evolve - The future will be different - that is a given.
AWARDS & CERTIFICATES
VOCATIONAL SERVICE AWARD
SUSIE MOFFATT - for exemplary vocational service and her selfless contribution to literacy through support of School Libraries
MERIT AWARDS
For exemplary MERITORIUS SERVICE - fundraising and raising awareness of Rotary...
JUNE WEBBER - for the Waterfront Canal Challenge event.
SPIRO MITCHELL - for the Waterfront Canal Challenge event.
SIHAM BODA - for the Waterfront Canal Challenge event.
DIRK HOFMANN - for the Cape Town Cycle Tour and Cape Town Marathon events.
COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS
MOHAMED AHMED-MOHAMED - for sustained service to Christine Revell Children's Home - particularly handling the Covid 19 protocols.
MICHELLE KOREVAAR - for her invaluable support to numerous Covid19 Hunger Relief projects.
PIETER SWART - for sustained Community Service with 'One to One' fun-day for the intellectually disabled community.
JANICE HALLIFORD - for sustained community service in respect of Wallie's Golden Oldies and support for club members.
BIANCA & THOM MITTAG - for 16 years continuous commitment to Early Childhood Development in Northern Cape Province.
PIETER POSTEMA - for sustained service to Club Community Service Projects including Christine Revell Children's Home.
SPECIAL SERVICE AWARDS
SIMON GERBER - for outstanding service in running an on-line Quizz fundraising event.
July 2020 - Welcome DG Carl-Heiz and Caroline!
We wish Distrit Governor Carl-Heinz Duizberg and his wife Caroline, an enjoyable and successful year ahead as they take the leadership baton for our unique, diverse district. Waterfront Rotary is committed to suport our DG to achieve the goals idenfied by RI President Holger Knaack this year, one of which is to expand our reach creating new innovative club models. The RI President has asked us to select our members carefully, also to take a look at what our club should look like in five years time and how do we can achieve this vision.
We are proud that members of the RC of Waterfront are serving on numerous district committees this year to assist our DG - they are Siham Boda and Derek Pead (Support Facilitation Team), Derek Pead (Entrepreneurship), Glynis Jennings (Environment), David Bradley (Rotary Youth Camps) and June Webber (Membership - Future Pillar) Janet Kriseman (Literacy without portfolio). Siham also is on an inter-district Mediation Team for the African Centennial Celebrations in April next year.
7 July 2020 - Supporting the Environment – RI’S 7th Area of Focus
This is Rotary Club President Induction season. The highlight of your Scribe’s week was attending the induction of President Koos Burger of the RC of Cape of Good Hope on Tuesday, 7 July.
To celebrate the good news of the Environment being added by Rotary International as the 7th Area of Focus, President Koos Burger launched what we believe, is the biggest ever “Mandala” in the world. The new Mandala at Rotary Camps Glencairn is a 36m diameter Rotary wheel. It was created using fynbos plants and was done to make a positive mark on the planet. This is another way to celebrate Rotary's involvement in Environmental Sustainability.
Video footage from a drone also showed President Koos being handed the chain in the cog of the wheel – spectacular!
Would you like to receive our weekly newsletter?
Please mail Pieter Swart - he will add you to our mailing list.
13 Mar 2020 - Meeting in the Aquarium
The weekly meeting was held at the beautiful Two Oceans Aquarium, in front of the Predator Tank. Guest speaker was Maryke Musson who is the former Curator of the Aquarium and now heads up the Two Oceans Aquarium Education Trust. She spoke about what the Trust is doing and told us where Yoshi the turtle has been swimming since he was released from the Aquarium.
Janice Halliford and Maryka Vermaak were ready to welcome members and guests at the beautifu venue.
Sue Truter and regular visitor Kai Howie took time out to pose in front of the coral.
Glynis Jennings and Vaughan Pierce chatting while a ragged tooth shark circles around. We were shown the teaching classrooms where school children are exposed to all aspects of the ocean.
8 Mar 2020 - Cape Town Cycle Tour
And before we knew it, it was Cape Town Cycle Tour day again and what a gorgeous day it turned out to be for the 30,000 odd cyclists who came out to enjoy a perfect day for cycling in Cape Town.
Florencia, Vic and Janice huddle for a 'selfie'.
Once again the WRC crew - and a bunch of interacters - rose to the 'marshalling challenge'. Thank you one and all. The reward is enormous - we get the chance to contribute to the amazing atmosphere in a gorgeous setting.
Joe Hansen takes a 'groupie' with Glynis, Maryka and Vaughan.
May 2020 - Food Relief for Langa ECD's
As part of the Langa ECD upgrade project with RC Newands, RI was asked if we could aportion part of the Global Grant contingency to the Covid-19 Feeding Scheme as we were told that only registered ECDs would receive their usual allowance of food. This left 15 unregistered ECDs with nothing and we covered this gap to the value of over R200k. There are food parcels for 770 children which will feed a family of 5 for 6 weeks. Leeanne, the principal of Siyahanyisa Centre was delighted with the contributions.
LIKE us on FACEBOOK: 
Need a "feel good" boost?
Watch these little videos:
Christine Revell Children's Home
They will warm your heart: YES - Rotary IS making a difference!
"WHAT IF Paul Harris started Rotary today?"
A very interesting read by Evan Burrel.
NEWS from 2019/2020 have been moved to the HIGHLIGHTS page...
Until the global pandemic made so many of WRC's community and social activities impossible, there were loads of pictures to enjoy. Take a look back at the highlights of previous years:
RIP Phephelaphi Dube
"We began last week’s meeting with the heartbreaking news that our esteemed crew member Phephelaphi Dube had succumbed to her illness. No doubt this was shocking to everyone, as Pepsi had reassured us all along that ‘this too will pass’. Pepsi was an accomplished lawyer, a loving daughter, wife and mother, and an outstanding Rotarian. RIP Pepsi, you will be missed."
Capt Janet Kriseman
PHEPHELAPHI DUBE - RIP!
"Phephelaphi’s passing was as gracious as she lived her life. Anyone who had the privilege of knowing Pepsi will agree that she carried herself with such poise and elegance", writes Siham Boda.
Pepsi was a member of the Interact Club under the RC of Bulawayo in her home country Zimbabwe. She was special. That she was inducted by RI President Ian Risely when he visited Cape Town, was no coincidence. After joining Waterfront Rotary on 19 September 2017 she went on to become the club's Youth Director, as youth was her passion. At the time of joining Pepsi was working for the FW de Klerk Foundation and had served as an Advisor to the Centre for Unity in Diversity.
Pepsi lost her battle with lymphatic cancer and quietly slipped away on Thursday 17 September to Higher Service, shortly after 23h00 at the Milnerton Medi-clinic at the tender age of 42. Pepsi will always be remembered with great love, admiration and respect by the crew of Waterfront Rotary.
12 Sep 2020 - Induction of V&A Corporate Members
Capt Janet Kriseman very happy to celebrate Waterfront RC's 28th birthday with the induction of our first corporate members: Ni-shaat Abrahams and Don Kau from V&A Waterfront.
Henry Mathys, Capt Janet, Don and Ni-Shaat - all suitable socially distanced and masked - in front of the Rotary beacon that points to other waterfront cities and serves as a reminder to strive for peace and goodwill between people everywhere.
Sept 2020 - A GOLD Citation for WRC
What an honour - and heartiest congratulations to pp Derek Pead and his crew - a fine achievement!
25 Aug 2020 Kick Polio out of Africa
Today, 25 August 2020 Rotary celebrates this milestone event - the eradication of the wild polio virus from the Continent of Africa. The KPOA campaign just ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup event, put the focus firmly back on the urgent need to eradicate polio as it had spread into 23 polio-affected countries in Africa. Ten years later, Rotary and its Global partners WHO, CDC, UNICEF and the Melinda and Bill Gates Foundation have achieved this incredible feat. Our children on the Continent of Africa are safe, but surveillance and immunisation must continue to prevent future outbreaks. Only Pakistan and Afghanistan remain endemic.
24 Aug 2020 - Art Supplies for St Mary's Primary School
WRC's Nadene Rolston delivered art supplies and children books (from donations to CMH) to the St Mary’s Primary School.
The teachers were very excited especially with the chalk, paint, glue and paint brushes.
24 Aug 2020 - Books for Trafalgar Hight School
Nadene also dropped off a box of books from CMH at Trafalgar High School. Its heartwarming to see how happy they are for new books!
11 Aug 2020 - Inner Wheel Donations for Westfleur in Atlantis
Among the myriad needs at Wesfleur Hospital in Atlantis; Inner Wheel Club of Waterfront has for years focussed on two: Supply of Layettes for babies born to near destitute mothers who come to the hospital to give birth, but who have no baby-grow, nappies, jersey, booties, beanie, blanket etc for when they leave hospital. Hand-over of 20 baby Layette Packs for new-borns gratefully received on 11th August by Dr Abi the Senior Doctor in Charge of Maternity, Jeanine the Dietician and Dr Earl Meyer the Hospital CEO seen on the right above with Inner Wheel member Lorna Bradley.
Responding to the tragic need to provide comfort boxes for the victims of sexual assault - toilet soap and washcloth, Sanitary Pads and other toiletries as well as clean underclothes and glucose sweets are provided. Also toys in the all too frequent cases of child victims. 50 packs were handed over at the Thuthuzela Centre that processes victims.While there, we met a representative from the Gift of the Givers who was delivering donated hospital supplies. Well done!
HAPPY WOMENS' MONTH
‘I just love bossy women. I could be around them all day. To me, bossy is not a pejorative term at all. It means somebody's passionate and engaged and ambitious and doesn't mind leading.’
Amy Poehler
Celebrating all the feisty women who hold up our sky... and the awesome men who stand with them.
AUG 2020 - WELCOME ASHLEIGH WRENCH!
June Webber - one of our charter members - enjoying a socially distanced coffee to welcome Ashleigh Wrench, one of the youngest crew to be inducted as a membeer of Waterfront Rotary at the age of 25.
Ashleigh is a dedicated and self-motivated individual. She graduated in April 2019 with a post graduate LLB from the University of Stellenbosch, and is now working as a Learning Designer for Valenture Institute. This entails designing 'Business studies and Sustainable Entrepreneurship' Junior High school curriculum as well as the Service in Action extra-mural curriculum.
We wish you smooth sailing Ashleigh on your journey from Interact to full crew member!
July 2020 - International Friendship Day
Captain Janet and Spiro attended this celebration of International Friendship Day.
Captain Janet: "I left the meeting with a renewed sense of appreciation for the international reach of Rotary, and the outstanding people who are its members. This was a perfect occasion for Rotary to affirm its core values, which enable different people around the world to unite to take action, joined by their shared values and interests."
1 Aug 2020 - Goodies for CRCH from Groote Schuur Staff
Christine Revell Childrens Home staff were delighted to receive a huge donation of goodies from the staff of Groote Schuur Hospital. Enormous thanks for your incredible support!
24 JULY 2020 - 67 FOOD PARCELS FOR CRCH
FishSA made a generous donation of 67 food parcels to Christine Revell Children’s Home last Friday 24 July for Madiba Day. Piet Postema writes - "CRCH has been so blessed with donations, a day doesn’t go by without somebody dropping off something such as fruit and vegetables, nappies, baby food and knitted jerseys and more". Great news!.
17 July 2020 - Mandela Day "All Hands on Deck"
CMH (Change Makers’ Hub) had a mission of gifting 67 000 meals to over 100 soup kitchens on Mandela Day. The volunteer team assisted packing 15 tons of fresh produce into ready to make soup packets – each feeding 100 on “67 minutes for Madiba” shifts.
Rain and Pieter's mom Hanna, got out the knitting needles... The aim was 67 Mandela Day Beanies and we ended up with more than 170 that went out to Change Maker's Hub.
22 July 2020 - Best District ECD Project Award to Newlands & Waterfront RCs
PDG Geraldine - the Langa ECD Project Co-ordinator, warmly thanked Waterfront RC for our contribution of R80,000 as a Global Grant Partner and for our hands on hard. PDG Geraldine paid tribute to both Maryka Vermaak who had assisted on the legal side, but also especially thanked Piet Postema.
"Piet's time and effort on this project over the past two years was worth very much more that the club’s initial financial contribution. Piet used his superb building industry knowledge and expertise to help plan and ensure quality control of facility upgrades for 16 Langa ECD centres, to make them more health and safety compliant and thus able to apply for government subsidies which would lead to sustainability". PDG Geraldine went on to say that Piet had “literally walked the walk, regularly tramping the streets of Langa, working closely with the ECD principals, assessing and measuring buildings and advising on options and ensuring quality control. More recently Piet also provided major financial management support to the project team”.
WRC and Newlands RC shared the award for “Best ECD project” at the recent 2020 District Conference. Well done WRC; Well done Piet and Maryka, for all their hard work!
30 June 2020 - Sans Souci Girls High School donates 10 domestic Sewing Machines
On 30 June, Piet Postema took delivery of 10 domestic sewing machines from the Headmistress Ms Ruschda O’Shea which the Sans Souci Girls High School no longer use. “Some years ago they stopped offering sewing lessons as part of their Domestic Science subject” writes Piet. He promised the sewing machines to President Marcel Hoogebeen of the Rotary Club of Franschhoek and Drakenstein Valley who will be collecting them from Piet on Friday for their project called Hope Through Action Centre. Unemployed women are paid a minimum wage to sew masks for the folk in the informal settlements around Franschhoek. The project thus not only employs people, but also provides free masks to the community whilst learning the art of sewing. Well done Piet! (As an aside, there was apparently also an article in The Tatler.)
15 May 2020 - Zooming in from all over the world!
What an amazing experience - friends zoomed in from the USA, the UK, Switzerland and Kenya to join us for JP Smith's informative chat - thank you JP for spending time with us - you must be one of the busiest people in Cape Town at the moment!
11 MAY 2020 - Packing Food Relief for Western Region
The Club's Covid-19 Relief donation of R7000 went to Michelle Koerevaar who is an online media and marketing strategist and has many years of experience in serving both local and international business organisations, boards and non-profit organisations.
ChangeMakersHub is what she believes is her legacy work, a way she can use the gifts she has been given, the expertise, the network, to build something that will connect and inspire those who want to help with ways they can, for real.
Michelle and her little army of willing hands deliver cooked food and food parcels to the destitute people of Joe Slovo, Dunoon, Fisantekraal and Lavender Hill settlements. She expressed her gratitude for our generous donation. - Spiro Mitchell -
SPEAKER'S CORNER
11 Sep 2020 - DON KAU - V&A Waterfront
Don has had 20 years experience as a Public Relations Practitioner. He is now head of PR and Communications at the V&A Waterfront.
Don's talk focused on the new developments at the V&A Waterfront - The Ridge, Dock Road Junction and Makers Landing (see images below). Through the ongoing evolution of the V&A Waterfront it has become a leading destination and a tourism powerhouse, for the country, the continent and is globally seen as one of the world's leading Waterfronts.
A visionary new food destination - Makers' Landing - a food emporium and incubator space showcasing a 360 degree farm to plate food experience. It is also a food community consisting of small-scale food producers, artisanal food makers and industry experts alike using the freshest local produce to offer the most authentic South African flavour. Makers Landing is also about youth, flair and innovation and so it will offer young food entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow their culinary skills as they learn from industry experts.
4 Sept 2020 - Jared Molko : Yenza - an AI response to mitigate youth unemployment
We were privileged to have had Jared Molko talk to us about Artificial Intelligence as a Response to Youth Unemployment. Jared Molko has returned to South Africa after a 7 year tenure with Google where he worked across Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and the Middle East.
Jared is an expert in Artificial Intelligence, future skills and building technologies for emerging markets. He has now set out to improve one of the biggest issues of our time, youth unemployment.
Jared has built Yenza, the first truly personalised career guidance development and placement platform for the youth, having developed "Smart Career Technology" which adapts, responds and recommends pathway progression to individuals based on scientific methods of career and personal development. He highlighted that 80% of youth have no access to professional career guidance, no support throughout their career journey and poor insight of oneself or the career landscape.
21 July 2020 - Michelle Korevaar - ChangeMakersHub
WRC has worked with Michelle on number of projects and a warm and productive relationship has developed.
Michelle's passion is to use her skills as both a professional but also as an active global citizen, to make a significant impact through strategy, innovative leadership, collaborating within dynamic partnerships, cultivating a globally relevant network of expertise to do good business for good and inspire Africa through example. "If not now...when?"
Michelle shared with us that significant change does not come from doing it alone, it is in our togetherness and our collaboration for the greater good that real impact is made. Michelle quoted:"It’s about the collective that generates a force to be reckoned with."
This resonated with us all. We look forward to working with the ChangeMakersHub on many future occasions. Thank you Michelle. .
Have a look at ChangeMakersHub - Ordinary people making an extraordinary difference!
Tracey Wilson: Rotary's ShelterBox Project
It was a real pleasure to welcome our District Governor Nominee Tracey Wilson, to talk to us about Rotary's ShelterBox.
This year ShelterBox celebrates its 20th Anniversary. Tracey joined the ShelterBox South African Affiliate in 2010 and in 2011 qualified as a ShelterBox Response Team member at the ShelterBox head office training facility in Predannack, Cornwall, UK. She was deployed into Brazil and Mozambique as a team lead to assist with flood disasters. The nine day course, she says, was grueling training! Each ShelterBox weighs 56 kilos! The mental capacity of a Response Team Member is paramount - arriving at devastated and conflict ridden sites where people had lost everything, took its toll. Tracey served as the ShelterBox South African Affiliate Chair from 2018 – 2020. The picture above of women singing as aide arrives in Malawi, says it all.
Tracey shared with us that "ShelterBox has supported 1.5 million people with emergency shelter in 97 countries across the world from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. "Our work in Syria is our largest and longest running response. We have been working there since 2012 and have helped over 250 000 people (50 000 households or ‘families’’) so far". ShelterBox has responded in the Philippines 27 times since 2004, hence the SB Operation Philippines. Local registered NGO supported by ShelterBox Operations HQ in the UK. There is sufficient stock to assist 3000 households
GUEST SPEAKER: Fri 17 July 2020 Professor Frank Shillington “Perspectives on the oceanography around Southern Africa”.
What a privilege to welcome Professor Frank Shillington whose research interests include physical oceanography, satellite remote sensing of Sea Surface Temperatures (SST), Waves and Wind also ocean numerical modelling of the coastal ocean and coastal upswelling.
Some interesting facts shared -
At the base of the ocean food web are single-celled algae and other plant-like organisms known as phytoplankton. Like plants on land, phytoplankton use chlorophyll and other light-harvesting pigments to carry out photosynthesis. Where phytoplankton grow depends on available sunlight, temperature, and nutrient levels. Because cold waters tend to have more nutrients than warm waters, phytoplankton tend to be more plentiful where waters ware cold. The West Coast is high in chlorophyll; Sea temperature at the equator remains static at 28 degrees throughout the year; warm water raises the sea level – the pacific ocean is 1.5 meters higher; 20 000 years ago, False Bay was dry; average rise in sea level is 3.2mm a year (Muizenberg could be flooded with rising sea levels).
GUEST SPEAKER: 10 July 2020 - Nikolaus Bauer: DlalaNje
Nikolaus Bauer, a free-lance journalist and co-founder of Dlala Nje in 2012, a social entrepreneurship vehicle, gave a fascinating insight into the history of Ponte City.
Ponte City is a skyscraper in the Berea neighbourhood of Johannesburg, just next to Hillbrow. Built in 1975 to a height of 173m, made it the tallest residential skyscraper in Africa.
The 55-story building is cylindrical, with an open centre allowing additional light into the apartments. The centre space, known as “the core”, rises above the uneven rock floor.
Nikolaus took us through its history, from being the most famous high rise in Africa – home to the crème de la crème at the time, through its infamous years, to the present day where it is a microcosm of a new South Africa.
Nikolaus lived in Ponte for five years, starting the DlalaNje foundation in 2012, that creates entrepreneurship opportunities through running inner-city immersions and experiences in some of our city’s most misunderstood areas. For more information on DlalaNje, take a look at https://www.dlalanje.org/
14 Apr 2020 - Lockdown at CRCH
In spite of the lockdown, the caring staff of Christine Revell Childrens' Home are making heroic efforts to entertain their small charges... Here they are all showing off their masks.
20 Mar 2020 - WRC meeting goes virtual!
At 7am on Fri 20 Mar 2020 the members of WRC assembled for a notable 'first': a virtual meeting and an opportunity for Cindy Mkaza-Siboto from Emagqabini Education Academy to share their wonderful story.
A record number of members attended and this format of meetings will continue for at least until the CoVid19 countrywide lockdown ends.
16 Mar 2020 - Blouberg Rotary & Rotaract
Blouberg Rotary Club member Jean Freeborough thanking WRC Siham Boda and fellow speaker incoming Claremont Rotary Club President Tsie Mogoje for talking about their Rotary experience.
Siham with Rex Omameh current Blouberg Roteract Club President and who will be incoming District Roteract President. Rex Omameh is on the far right with newly inducted Rotaract members. Also in photo is Blouberg Honourary member Dr Bettie Walker.