June 2012
The Hatfield Times Rotary Club of Pretoria Hatfield
(Chartered March 1997)
District 9400
The Rotary Theme For 2011/2012
Some important dates for upcoming events :
? Aug tea-party
28/9-3/10 DG visit
13 Oct Dinners of Hope
Rotary Club of Pretoria Hatfield
Club meetings take place
over breakfast on Thursdays at
06.30 for 06.45 at the Sheraton Hotel
643 Wessels Street / Church Street, Arcadia
Tel: (012) 429 9999
For information
Contact Ingrid Fiedeldey Tel: 083 570 8671
IDEAS FOR MAKE-UPS
Pretoria East : Monday 18:30 – 19:00 Union Caterers,
Pretoria Capital : Tuesday 18:30 Pretoria Country Club Pretoria West : Tuesday 19.00 Pretoria High School Old Boys Club Waterkloof : Wednesday 19.00 St Albans College Pretoria Rotary Club : Thursday 17.30 Pretoria Country Club Centurion : Thursday 19.00 Irene Homes Pretoria Sunrise : Saturday 08.15 Willow Country Lodge
Remember, wherever you travel in the world, there will be a Rotary Club to visit!
FROM THE PRESIDENT Joerg U. Limper
PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2011/2012
Reflections of a year as the Rotary Club of Pretoria Hatfield’s President!
What is a dream?
A dream is a goal,
An inspiration,
A dream is where Hope lives,
A dream is something to chase when life drags us down,
A dream is a song in the wilderness,
"Blessed are those who give without remembering. And blessed are those who take without forgetting."
Fellow Rotarians and friends, it is difficult to express my gratitude and appreciation to you all. I want to
say so much, but I can hardly find the words. So, I'll just say that you all are a great blessing in my life.
This evening is the culmination of a year of great teamwork and lots of hard work, but also it is the event
when I see all of you to bid farewell to my Presidency and induct my successor. Now you think you'll
have to listen to my long and boring confessions…Well, you are right. I'll try to make them shorter and
funnier, but they still remain long and boring. So, listen to me…Thank you! Thank you for being with
me thru thick and thin. You support and understanding gave me the strength to continue what started
many, many years ago. You are my world and I am sincerely grateful to God for giving me such caring
friends. Your support was crucial for me this year achieving much due to your help and perseverance: I
reached elementary level in the Rotary International and Rotary Club of Pretoria Hatfield school .
Gratitude -is what I feel standing now in front of you. Gratitude - is the best emotion one can imagine.
My first initiative was to enjoy the fruits of labour from Elzed’s presidency and open the Danville Day
care centre which was made possible via a large contribution from Mark and the Clubs fundraising
efforts. It unfortunately continued with retiring three longstanding members who I most certainly do not
need to mention, we all remember them with very fond memories.
Another member took a break in Canada and is taking the really slow boat back………
New members were inducted and added to the vitality, innovativeness, energy, collectiveness and
diversity of the club.
Fundraising efforts locally as well as internationally allowed for a healthy bank balance……
Tania & Bram worked their magic and achieved the Clubs Golf day’s highest collection to date…..
Instead of spending money in the mall we spent a weekend trying to support Rotary’s blanket drive….
Thru thick and thin and all of the previous mentioned efforts we were able to continue our efforts with
the Thlopane school water project. All of the above was and is made possible because of all of your
tireless efforts. Gratitude is what I feel and gratitude is the best emotion one can imagine.
I am grateful to all of you and without further ado it is my distinct privilege and honour to hand over the
leadership of the Rotary Club of Pretoria Hatfield to Tania.
Sincerely in Rotary
Joerg U. Limper
President
FROM PRESIDENT ELECT : Tania van der Reep
I am proud and humbled to be elected in my new role and will do my utmost to have together with you
the best year.
Joerg guided us through an interesting year and only got peace when there was success. He stood and
still stands for growth and bigger projects.
Our main goal for this year is the borehole and vegetable garden at Tholopane school and if possible
many more. Lets maintain our fellowship activities and growth of our club is priority. Furthermore
expand our fundraising activities in order to deliver more community aid. And on vocational site, lets
just maintain what we did. It was good.
For all this we need to be united and only when the chain is tied and strong we will book success. With
the devotion of the members of this club it is just a guarantee.
I would like to strengthen our goals with 3 lines :
- Communication in order to have everyone involved in all the things we do.
- Respect for all for all we do and for each of us
- Focus on our priorities
When I arrived here in South Africa 4 years ago I immediately felt impressed by the spirit of the club.
At the Dinners of Hope PJ made a speech and I said to Bram, this is the club I want to be.
First of all I would like you to introduce our board-members
And I will start with our secretary, Ingrid, she knows everything and keeps quiet until she wants to say
what she has to say. Always right, always the truth!
Dries is so full of passion and energy and manages to have perfection in all the things he does. He will
lead International.
Amanda, is our respected treasurer for years and without her consistent devotion we are lost.
Memos, he took me to district meetings and teached me lot of aspects of Rotary, which I still don’t
understand yet. Was it Memos’ language or me not understanding? He is Vice-President
Tracy was inducted just after me and I’m so glad that a young lady with her new visions joined our club.
She is responsible for New Generation.
Jean, always in a good mood and ready to take over Club Admin. At the moment she is enjoying the
States.
Gerrit, thanks to our IT specialist we have now a nice website and everyone gets a bit closer to that other
world. He will be in charge of vocational services.
***********
We have very qualified members and please let me say just a word about everyone :
Wise Carol took me several times to very interesting communities and while she was driving she
instructed me, like a good professor, about South Africa.
At my first breakfast meeting I sat next to Colleen and thanks to her I got to know the names of
everyone rather soon. Thanks for your patience Colleen.
Goran, my bodyguard …. Thanks for fulfilling your task as master-sergeant like a real pro!
Elzed, she made from our vocational services a trademark for Rotary.
Mike as well, I got to know him from the beginning when we visited projects. He teached me lots of
things.
Anneke, is our rock. Trustworthy and consistent. On the spot when you need her.
Mark, I remember you from the ‘let’s know more about Rotary’ session and you had so many questions.
Today, I guess you know everything.
Then we have Retha, she is rather new in the club but knows everyone and everyone knows her. Very
communicative.
Suzanne, the lady who brings the smile in our lives, but for the moment in Canada with her family.
Grant, thanks for all the Protea facilities. We wish we could see you a bit more.
Christophe, such a pity we don’t see him often. Has a job in the DRC. Always interesting to have a talk
with him. I even can unload some of my French with him.
Daniel, our social media specialist, he tries to turn older hearts into younger brains.
Just to say : ‘none of us is as smart as all of us’. Let us walk this way.
Thanks past Presidents, I will take care of your baby.
And with all these beautiful people we will make the difference. All together! Thanks for being here.
INTERNATIONAL SERVICE COMMITTEE : report 2011/2012
New Generations is a new avenue of service only formally introduced at the start of the 2011/2012
Rotary year. The areas covered by New Generations are:
Youth Exchange (short term and long term)
RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards)
Rotaract, Interact and earlyact
Otter Trail
◦ YOUTH EXCHANGE
Last year we visited schools with posters but unfortunately we did not receive a response and are
looking at a new approach for the coming year.
◦ RYLA
Three RYLA camps organised by District 9400 and Warriors were meant to take place in August and
September 2011 but were unfortunately cancelled. This left a number of students disappointed. Our
committee is looking into our club hosting RYLA camps which will incorporate Gerrit's Ayeye
Leadership Lab. This will be a very exciting project for the new year!
◦ Rotaract, Interact and Earlyact
Again we spoke to scholars and teachers last year with no response. We will try a new approach in the
coming year.
◦ Otter Trail
The Otter trail is a five day hike in the Tsitsikamma National Park. As a project, it is intended for youth
and fellowship. We have had some obstacles in contacting youth exchange students, but a new approach
has been designed and implemented to ensure more youth participation in future.
March 2012 however saw a very successful Otter Trail – with six hikers taking part – who enjoyed
fellowship and an exciting challenge.
Yours in Rotary,
Tracy Lee Goldstone
CLUB SERVICES : report 2011/2012
Club Service focuses on strengthening fellowship and ensuring the smooth functioning of the club,
which includes :
Organizing all aspects of club meetings including the program, venues, sergeant and facilities.
Promoting fellowship amongst the family of Rotary through regular events.
Providing Rotary information to the club and the public through inter alia the bulletin, website
and PRO interventions.
Fostering membership development.
Supporting the Board as the anchor point for finance, district activities and the like.
Essentially Club Service is closely related to all members and the efforts they put in may often be
thought to go unnoticed.
Members will recall a high level of activity and I am sure, events such as, Xmas at L&M, the DG’s visit,
What’s Cooking? at Tania’s place, the parking and linked to that the blanket drive to Lesotho will bring
back memories, to name but a few.
Our regular home at the Sheraton has provided exceptional fare on a number of special occasions. met a
high level of interest. We have had many top speakers on subjects as diverse as nature and conserving
elephants, personal finance, fraud, local government, statistics, e-learning, foreign affairs, Twitter, to
mention but a few. Our speakers are honored by planting a tree in their name in a disadvantaged
community and a tree planting ceremony has been held at Vuka School in Nelmapius.
Attendance has been strong and consistently exceeded 70%, whilst our membership remained to 20.
Although fundraising is an activity which touches all committees, Club Service was active in all events.
Financially, the club is ending the year in a strong position with regard to club funds, which are funded
by members for running expenses.
I would like to express my sincere thanks to the members of Club Service, Amanda, Ingrid, Jean,
Memos and Suzanne (abroad for a couple of months) as well as all those of you who have contributed in
any way. It has made our task such a pleasure.
Yours in Rotary
Tania van der Reep
Speakers
exchange of flags visitor from Rotarian Kayaiki from Kampala
Tree planting in honor of our guest speakers at Dr Mathole School
Paul Harris Award
Rotary Golfday – May 18, 2012
District Conference at Drakensberg
From 8 until 10 June we had a district conference and 10 people from our club were there. There were
interesting speakers and it was a nice fellowship activity.
Friday night everyone attended the special ‘stars’ theme evening. Some pictures below.
COMMUNITY SERVICES COMMITTEE : report 2011/2012
Projects undertaken by the committee during the past year:
1. Food Distribution
The committee receives and delivers, on average, 400kg of power food every 2 months. Max-a-Meal is a
highly nutritious legume-based supplement comprising of samp, dried beans, barley, green peas, herbs
and spices.
Beneficiaries
Areabogeng Old Age
Kome
General Steyn (Reddingsdaad & Huis
Ebenhaeser)
Itumeleng Shelter for
Boys
Thakadiile Day Care
Centre
Tshwane Home of Hope - Shelter for
Girls
Danville Feeding
Scheme
Circle of Life –
Eersterust
Missionaries of Charity - orphanage ABET learners -
Winterveld
Distribution has been suspended due to lack of funds but we hope to resume the supply to our
beneficiaries shortly.
2. Wheelchair Distribution
The club received 5 Wheelchairs to distribute in the community. All 5 wheelchairs will go to the African
Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Ga-Rankuwa. Distribution will take place on Sunday, July 8,
2012.
3. Community Service and International Service Collaboration.
The community service committee approached the International Committee with the view to distribute
blankets in another district. Past President Dries Velthuizen then approached the Rotary Club of Maloti
in Maseru and this lead to the start of an adventure combined with a humanitarian effort! During the
weekend of the 20th of April 2012, 6 Rotarians and 3 partners from the Hatfield club joined members of
the Maloti club in what can only be described as the most rewarding experience of my life. During the
weekend of superb fellowship and community service we distributed 200 blankets and helped the
community to plant more than100 fruit trees in the Rapo-Le-Boea Community
4. Blanket Distribution
District 9400 held a fundraising weekend on 5 & 6 May 2012 at several shopping malls in Gauteng. The
idea was to “sell” blankets to members of the public and then use the money collected to buy blankets
which each club then had to distribute amongst to the needy. All 8 clubs in Pretoria came together at the
Brooklyn Mall where each member had the opportunity to apply their best selling techniques in order to
raise funds! The Hatfield club collected enough money to distribute a whopping 177 blankets! Half of
the blankets will go to the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in Ga-Rankuwa and the other
half to St John, The Baptist Clinic, Madidi, Winterveld.
5. Tlhophane Primary School
The club has enjoyed a long and successful relationship with the school. After our last project – donating
sports equipment - the committee saw the need for a borehole. The committee proceeded to procure
funds to drill a borehole and to install a solar powered pump and water tank. The Sheraton Hotel
generously donated all the money from their fundraising golf day for this worthy project and in doing so
kick-started our fundraising effort. Rotarian Anna Corthout then contacted previous members of the
Hatfield club that have since relocated and pitched the project to them. Through her tireless effort and
formidable powers of persuasion the Rotary Club of Charlottesville in the US together with the
University of Virginia decided to collaborate with us and in March held a fundraising dinner. The money
raised will now be used to start the drilling and the project should be concluded by the end of June 2012.
We are deeply appreciate to all concerned for their assistance and generosity.
6. Emily Hobhouse Old Age Home – Christmas Party
On Thursday 24 November 2011 the committee held its fourth Christmas Party for the residents of the
old age home. A total of a 170 gift packs were handed over while the residents of the old age home
tucked into the refreshments on offer. The gift packs included a variety of toiletries and some treats. We
also had 4 lucky draw prizes which President Joerg Limper and Rotarian Suzanne Oberholzer handed
over to the very excited winners. Dianne Chapman and her brother Francois entertained the senior
citizens with Christmas carols.
7. Wen Saam Kindersorg (Elandspoort)& Missionary Sisters of Charity (Klipgat) - Christmas
Party
On Sunday 27 November 2012 the committee held a Christmas party at African Island Beach Resort,
Hartbeespoort Dam for 90 underprivileged children from the Elandspoort area and 18 orphans from
Missionary Sisters of Charity in Klipgat. Transport was provided by Robbert Busdienste BK. Sponsored
cool drinks, boerewors rolls, lucky packets, chips and sandwiches were some of the treats the children
could feast on during the day while enjoying the facilities at the resort. Nine parents and caregivers
accompanied Rotarians Amanda van Biljon, Colleen van Reenen and Retha du Randt. Rotary volunteers
Adriana Baratelli and her husband had their hands full making sure that all 108 hungry stomachs were
filled and Rheta occasionally had to attend to a boo boo or two.
8. Sponsored Items
A number of items were sponsored or donated during the year, thanks to the generosity of individual
club members and other sponsors. This enabled us to donate
Bed linen & bath towels to Wen Saam Kindersorg in Elandspoort
Toiletries like soap and little bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body lotion, toilet rolls and
hand cream to needy communities in Pretoria West.
Ladies, baby and men’s clothing to Elandspoort
Weekly donations of food to shelters for street children in Sunnyside and Hatfield.
9. Club Fundraisers
Our annual parking fundraiser in February at the Phobians race held at Pretoria Old Boys Club and our
Golf day on 18 May 2012 at Zwartkops Country Club both proved to be highly successful. We also had
a well-supported Fundraising Tea Party on 27 August 2011 at Laerskool Monumentpark.
10. Dinners of Hope
Last but not least - our annual fundraising event on the 15th of October 2011 was attended by 90 guests
and proved to be a huge success. The Sheraton Hotel contributed largely to the success and prestige of
this event.
I would like to thank my fellow committee members for their commitment, dedication and especially
their support this past year.
Yours in Rotary,
Amanda van Biljon
INTERNATIONAL SERVICES : report 2011/2012 In accordance with the stated objective ‘To participate in Rotary’s humanitarian reach around the world’ the Rotary Club of
Pretoria Hatfield decided to reach out to people in need beyond the borders of South Africa. Subsequently from Friday 21
April 2012 a team of ten Rotarians from our Club met members of the Rotary Club of Maseru Maloti in Lesotho to deliver
blankets to the a village community Mountain area of Ha Ramabanta, before the snow comes to the Maloti Mountains. The
blankets were purchased with funds raised by the Club by managing the parking of a PHSOB marathon in February 2012.
On Friday, after a painful crossing of customs at the border between the Free State and Maseru, the convoy (including Dries
towing the trailer with the blankets) proceeded to Ramabanta . After a great Rotarian dinner and fellowship with the Maseru
Rotarians the group spent the night in a picturesque value in the Maloti mountains.
On the morning of Saturday 2 April the convoy proceeded on a difficult swirling road with some challenging slopes to meet
the community members at the community school. The day turned out to be very special with cattle herders, community
leaders, schoolchildren, foresters and even Basotho ponies joining us for the event. After the normal speeches, traditional
dances by the school children and the planting of more than 100 apple and peach trees (donated by the Lesotho government)
the blankets were distributed to the most needy.
On return, our Rotarians had great fellowship in the historical town of Roma, visited the heritage site at Thaba Bosciu, and
had Sunday brunch in the town of Clarens in the Free State before returning home very happy Rotarians, knowing that we
reached out to where it really matters.
This project not only brought Club members in close contact with the autumn beauty of our country and neighbouring
Lesotho, but also reminded us again of the harsh realities of people in need.
It is envisaged that the Rotary Club of Pretoria Hatfield go into a twinning agreement with the Rotary Club of Maseru Moloti
to do joint projects and cement relations across borders.
Yours in Rotary,
Dries Velthuizen