June 11, 2011
This has really been a Rotary week. Not only did we enjoy the hospitality of a few Rotarians for home cooked meals and spending the night at their homes but Joe and I both spoke at different Rotary clubs (one in Durban, the other an hour away in Pietermaritzburg) but then I have been attending the Rotary District 9270 Conference since yesterday (Friday June 10th) afternoon.
The Durban Rotary Club, where I spoke in March, was our first stop. This time it was Joe’s turn to be in the spotlight and he conducted a well received session on First Nations People, with a focus on his family’s tribe, the Tuscarora. The Rotarians, most of who had never met a “Red Indian” - as American Indians are called here in South Africa - were quite impressed with his presentation and had many subsequent questions, which showed their interest.
That evening we had dinner with one of the Rotarians, John Ferguson, whose lovely wife Maggie, made us a vegetarian meal of curried beans, roasted butternut and potatoes, and a stir-fry with ijeqe – steamed mealie bread (what we call corn bread in the States). Dinner was accompanied by wonderful conversations about the status of American Indians, yoga, and the British connection with Viking lands.
The next day, we moved house to stay with Mr. Wally Pelser, who is the President of the Umhlatuzana club. We did so in an effort to attend the 7 am meeting on the Durban shore, but failed miserably in lieu of the fact that the security gate’s remote control had been rained on and would not open. Anyway, his wife Tammy whipped up a delicious mild chicken curry for us. We had the honor of meeting their two young children (3 years old and 7 months young). And to our delight we took a photo tour of Norway by some friends of theirs who had just returned from vacation.
Thursday day we moved house again to stay with my “surrogate mother” as I call Anne Eve from the Pinetown Club. We had lunch and tea with her in Hillcrest, before heading west to Pietermaritzburg. We met with a lovely couple who we met through family and spoke until we were just about late for the Rotary meeting I was scheduled to speak at at the Golden Horse Casino. The talk was very well received and I got some tough questions about the touchy topic of race which I attempted to answer as best I could.
After my speech I received a Rotary glass – which all the members were surprised was actually there – and a lovely dinner of mutton curry. President Peter Sibanda and I exchanged banners and we made our way back to Hillcrest.
The next day was the beginning of the 9270 District Conference. The KwaZulu-Natal weather was dreadfully cold and rainy. Yeah, yeah I know people think of Africa as the land of sun, but honestly, once you’ve been here for as long as we have and your body gets acclimated to the weather when the rain comes round June you feel the cold! Not only that but if we had been coming from the States, with all the super hot weather that has hit you would’ve felt cold too!
With that said Anne and I still braved the weather and made our way east to Durban. I go to see many people I had met during prior visits to their clubs, and Anne was amazed at how many people I “knew”. We had some tea and then sat in the hall to hear all the Rotary stories. There were many introductions, thank yous and formalities but I will spare you the intricacies of Rotary conference ceremony and speak about my favorite parts.
President Sipho Gumbi presented on the theme “Building Communities, Bridging Continents” speaking of his experience working with German and Norwegian Rotary clubs to provide a training space for young undeserved South African students to learn carpentry. President Sipho, who is also a principal in one of the African townships outside of Durban, discussed how the German club helped procure almost R2 million (almost $300,000) worth of equipment in 2005 but how the equipment sat unused for almost four years because of a lack of space and funding to build. Together with a club in Norway and Germany, the Amanzimtoti club was able to provide a new building, not only to house the carpentry equipment but also to act as a training area and a distribution center of winter blankets for the poor. According to President Sipho, the opening ceremony was attended by 3,000 people! With the fellowship that has been built by these clubs students have also jumped in to bridge continents by traveling to the respective nations’ Rotary clubs to explore and share culture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4-YwPpIlE4
At the end of the video President Wally shared how 8 Shelter Boxes had been sent to Japan in the name of District 9270. Doesn’t seem like that many but when you consider that each box costs R8000 (a bit more than $1000) it is actually considerable for a nation that in many parts is still developing.
One of the great innovations that the Umhlatuzana club came up with in the face of South Africa’s recent floods is the “Shelter D.R.U.M.” a cheaper alternative to meeting the immediate needs of disaster victims. While this Shelter D.R.U.M. would only provide substance for a couple of weeks, the good thing is they are much cheaper (R800 or $120) and could be distributed much more quickly by local clubs than the Shelter Boxes based on their affordability. The great thing is that used properly these two pieces of relief could work in conjunction with one another and bring much needed assistance to people who lose everything to natural disasters.
It wasn’t all just speeches and heavy to dos there was some entertainment by some students who sang and danced. Overall the event went well and while we did not stay for dinner, Joe and I are about to attend the Rotary Banquet as Anne, my partner through all of this has an engagement party for her youngest daughter. Congrats Jenna and Nol!
Saturday morning before going to the conference Joe and I attended the opening of a coffee house at the Collective art gallery. Not only do they have great art but a great coffee bar and musical entertainment as well. Unfortunately because I had to speak at the conference I missed the music. Later on Joe told me how good the guitarists were.
Click here to find out more about their upcoming events, including ours.
Anne picked me up and whisked me off to the Southern Sun - Elangeli - Hotel and Conference Center. After hearing about Polio Plus and the amazing strives they've made in defeating the disease it was my time to speak. One tip for all speakers who use PowerPoint, NEVER put your slides on a timer. Reason being, unless you're super well rehearsed you will inevitably run over and your slide will advance before you finish speaking. I can be described as the latter which threw me off.
The topic of the speech was Building Communities, Bridging Continents. As I told the audience when I found out the topic I wasn't sure I was qualified however on further thought I realized both Joe and I actually have been quite successful in doing so. We visited 7 clubs, we have had countless dinners, lunches, and even breakfasts with Rotarians outside the meetings, and we've also brought Rotarians and non-Rotarians together with our efforts with the Photo Ethnography Project (PEP!) and the PEP! shows, the last of which will be August 1st - 17th at the Collective.
After my nervousness subsided and all speeches ended we were treated to a lovely lunch, buffet style.
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