rotary in london magazine winter 2013

Cover_03 Contents 17/01/2013 11:02 Page 5

Inside this issue…

Rotary In London Winter, 2013

Games legacy ............................Page 1

Conference breaks new ground

..............................................Pages 2 & 3

Don’t forget the Day concert......Page 3

Overseas projects flourish Pages 4 & 5

Now that the Games are over ..Page 7

Rotarians on parade and celebrating

Christmas ............................Pages 8 & 9

Have your say about anything you like

..........................................Pages 10 &11

Speakers’ Panel ........................Page 11

Barking Club is busy ................Page 13

Book reviews ............................Page 15

Talking of polio ..........................Page 15

Winners all round ......................Page 16

Mish Mosh..................................Page 16

The next edition of Rotary In London

will be the Spring issue.The deadline for copy is

13 March.Please note this date!

Rotary in London is your magazine.

Information is published in good faith, but does not

necessarily represent the views of the Editor of Rotary

in London or of London District 1130. No liability is

accepted for the actions of advertisers, as advertisements

are accepted at face value. The Editor welcomes news

items, articles, photographs and letters, but is not obliged

to publish unsolicited material, reserving the right to edit

for clarity and length. Contributors must ensure that

material submitted never breaches copyright and must

obtain necessary permission in writing for reproduction

No responsibility can be accepted for loss or damage to

material submitted

to Rotary in London magazine.

Corrigenda: Summer 2012 issue, page 12:Dennis Bloomfield of the Barking RotaryClub organized the club’s Kids Out event(not President Laurie Ford as published),which was held in Central Park,Dagenham, not Dagenham Park. Autumn2012 issue, page 2: Rotary spends $5m(approximately £3.5m) on its Peace StudyFellowships (not as indicated). The Editorapologises unreservedly for theseincorrect statements.Cover shows Mary Reynolds as “HerMajesty”, with DG Eve, in the New Year’sDay Parade; behind them are RotariansMike Wren and Tony Chase, Presidentsrespectively of the Rotary Clubs ofRedbridge and Putney. DG 1140 MikeThorn took the photo.

The views expressed on this page are

those of the Editor only.

The Editors all sayhose who attended October’s District Council willrecall that your Editor explained to Rotarians presentthat, where possible, she was keen to focus on any

group of people – whether religious or secular – whoseobjectives could in any way coincide with Rotary’s.

For instance, the previous issue of Rotary in London focusedon peace issues, so we sent copies of the magazine to LondonQuaker Meetings. This is because of the importance toQuakers of their Peace Testimony, which the Quakerspresented to King Charles II in 1660. Three centuries on, in1947, Quakers both sides of the Atlantic shared the Nobel Peace Prize.

Certainly Rotary has a strong tradition of avoiding overt sectarian or partypolitical discussion at club meetings. This, of course, is to avoid tiresomerecruitment campaigns of members to a particular political or religious cause.However, this tradition should not prevent clubs making themselves aware of whatis going on in the world and that, of course, includes what is happening in ournational and local government or in our local faith communities. For the past fiveyears or so, Rotary has been encouraging clubs to develop partnerships with otherorganisations.

If you are not already doing so, why not take make a deliberate effort to makeyour club’s activities known to your local faith communities? Contact local places ofworship (and in multi-cultural London that means an incredible range) and invitespeakers to tell your members about their work in the community. At the sametime, let those same places of worship know that your club is willing to arrange forspeakers to come and tell their congregations what Rotary is doing. You neverknow – you might find such links are exactly what are needed to get a project off theground. If you manage to make such links, let Rotary in London know. Even better,if your own club is already doing something along the lines suggested, write and tellus about it. We’ll publish whatever you send us, as always.

Jane Hammond, Editor

T

his is a gentle reminder to Rotarians about advertising in

our District’s own magazine, Rotary in London. In addition

to being a good commercial decision, it is an opportunity

to publicise your goods and services to an identifiable,

intelligent, captive and well informed readership.

Your patronage shows commitment to Rotary on a par, dare Isay it, with Rotary Foundation Sustaining Members. Not onlydoes it help to generate funds to augment the budget youallocate to cope with production costs, your adverts arerepeatedly viewed by a sizeable membership. This effectivelystrengthens your close connection with your fellow Rotarians, lending credibility andendorsement to your products.

Remember, special rates are available to members, more so if you make a series ofbookings.

PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR MAGAZINE!Margaret Cooper, Assistant Editor

ello again Rotarian photographers.

Some of you still send photos that

are low resolution, 72dpi images,

T

Hwhich are totally

unusable!

For publication in themagazine, photos MUSTbe high resolutionimages of 300dpi (dotsper inch). That meanssetting your digitalcameras - or camera phones - to theirhighest resolution BEFORE you starttaking photos. If you are not sure how todo this - and it is really not difficult –please check the instruction manual - orask a young friend.

From now on, any photos received thatdo not meet these requirements will nowbe discarded!

And lastly, please do not line yoursubjects up standing square-on to thecamera. Place them in a more interestinggrouping with perhaps one or two ofthem seated.

Clive Bubley, Picture Editor

The Magazine for the Rotary Clubs ofGreater London is published by

District 1130 of Rotary International

EDITORJane Hammond

46 La Providence, Rochester, Kent ME1 1NB Tel: 01634 847 772 Mob: 07949 557 550

email: [email protected]

PICTURE EDITORClive Bubley

Tel: 020 8455 8208 email: [email protected]

ASSISTANT EDITORMargaret Cooper

Tel: 020 8505 5996 Mob: 07542 020 616 email: [email protected]

Published in association withPinegen Publishing Ltd

Tel: 020 8335 1109 • Fax: 020 8335 1117e-mail: [email protected]

For advertising contact:Assistant Editor

Printed by The Manson Group Ltd

Hard Copy (text and photos) to the Editor by post. e-mails (text) to Editor using Word if possible

and photos as high resolution jpgs.All digital images also to: [email protected] and

[email protected] further information, go to the Rotary District Website:

www.rotaryinlondon.org

Rotary in LondonRotary in London

I-F-C edit_03 Contents 01/02/2013 10:49

Winter, 2013 Rotary In London • 1

Games legacy is agolden opportunity

fter the highlights of 2012, we

have a lot to look forward to in

2013. I shall continue to work

with you all to increase the profile of

Rotary in London and raise awareness

about our achievements in making the

world a better place.

Kicking off 2013 in right royal style,our cover photo shows us in the NewYear’s Day Parade – and who is thatwith us? Has parachuting into theOlympic Stadium whetted HerMajesty’s appetite for even moreexciting appearances, such asmarching along London streets withRotarians?

Joyful and frivolousNow from the joyful and frivolous tothe serious. At this time, we mustremember the Pakistani poliovaccination workers whom the Talibankilled in their murderous series ofattacks. No Rotarians were slain onthis occasion, but nevertheless itremains a terrible tragedy that peopleworking so hard to save children fromthe scourge of polio should beslaughtered in this way. Our thoughtsare with their families and with thechildren who, through not beingvaccinated, risk becoming victims ofthe dreadful disease of polio.

Nevertheless, Rotary has stillmanaged to achieve much in playingits part in driving forward the fightagainst polio. January 2013 marks amilestone in Rotary’s battle toeradicate polio with India celebratingtwo years of being free of polio cases.The three remaining polio – endemiccountries are Pakistan, Afghanistanand Nigeria.

One of my most moving Rotarymoments was placing two drops ofpolio vaccine into a child’s mouthduring an immunisation campaign inIndia in 2009 (see above) and realisingnow that this really was part ofhistory. We are continuing to play akey role through fundraising, such asselling Purple Crocus FabricButtonholes.

During Rotary Week (18 to 25

February), clubs can get involved innumerous ways in fundraising andawareness activities during RotaryWeek, from taking over empty shopsor shop windows, to working withschools on activities such as holding aPurple Pinkie event, where everyonedresses up in purple. This is thecolour of the dye put on the littlefingers of children to show they havebeen immunised against polio. Moreinformation is available from LeonardSpecterman, the District’s End PolioNow officer.

On Rotary’s 108th Birthday (23February), a Rotary Day End PolioNow Concert takes place at StMarylebone Church opposite Rotary’sLondon HQ in York Gate. This willinclude performances by opera singerBirgit Beer, Honorary Member of theCity & Shoreditch Rotary Club, andRotary Foundation Scholars.

As RI President Sakuji Tanaka’stheme is Peace Through Service,promoting peace is an importantfocus for this Rotary year. It includesissues such as anti-bullying projects inschools and tackling domesticviolence, as well as ending conflict inour society and worldwide.

A major Rotary in London PeaceEvent is planned for the Spring anddetails are being finalised. This willinvolve inspirational keynotespeakers. I am linking up with PeaceOne Day founder, the actor and filmmaker Jeremy Gilley, andpeacebuilding organisationInternational Alert.

PeacejamThe District is also linking up withPeacejam, a project led by NobelPeace Prize winners. This will create anew generation of peacemakers,Peace Ambassadors, in Interact Clubsand in schools. Rotary Peace Scholarswill participate in this scheme, whichhelps young people create anatmosphere of peace in their schoolsand their communities. A PeacejamSeminar at York Gate on 23 March willpresent more details. Following

Peacejam will be Peace Talks, a three-hour event organised by the RotaryClub of Paddington. Admission to eachevent is £15.

On 8 March, International Women’sDay, I am organising the London partof a Five Cities Women and Men inRotary Business Networking Breakfast.This will take place in London’s CityHall. The other four venues are in thecapital cities of Belfast, Cardiff, Dublinand Edinburgh.

I am running in the LondonMarathon on 21 April 2013 to raisefunds for the RIBI and WheelPowerRotary Wheel Appeal. This providessports wheelchairs to enableyoungsters with disabilities to takepart in sport and even become futureParalympians, as a legacy project ofthe London 2012 Olympic andParalympic Games. You may recallreading in the Spring issue of Rotary

in London about 11-year-old RotaryYoung Citizen Award winner LydiaCross launching this appeal.

Marathon trainingI am now undergoing my marathontraining and urge Rotarians to Get FitWith DG Eve. I shall be training inparks and public spaces near you andinvite Rotarians to join me as I workout. You can also take a shortsponsored walk or run somewhere toraise money for the Rotary WheelAppeal and join in the fun! I also planto take part in a Rotary GlobalSwimathon and shall be invitingRotarians to join me in that event aswell.

With the start of the New Year, theopportunity is also here for Clubs totake part in visioning (see letter page11). You can invite the DistrictVisioning Team to hold a visioningsession. This project has greatlyhelped clubs plan for their future andboosted membership in America,Australia and New Zealand.

Eve Conway

District Governor, Rotary in London

A

What an amazing and inspirational year 2012 was with theLondon Olympic and Paralympic Games, in which Rotary

played such a key role as volunteers. Once over it was likea party no one wanted to leave. Rotary in London can buildon the legacy of the Games and the enthusiasm generated

in volunteering. As a result, we are seeing an increasedinterest in membership of Rotary in London;our District is receiving the most referrals.

DG Eve gives a child a polio vaccine dropduring her visit to India in 2009. India is nowfree of polio, but the End Polio Campaigncontinues to rid the scourge of polio from itslast three endemic areas: Afghanistan,Northern Nigeria and Pakistan.

EVE GIVES POLIOVACCINE

Phot

o: J

ean-

Mar

c G

ibou

x

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2 • Rotary In London Winter, 2013

aving served on the conferencecommittee several times andonce before been chairman, I

knew that doing things in a new waywould have problems; they turned outto be far more than I had anticipated.Nevertheless we managed to geteverything in place for the start of theconference.

Apart from the change of venue,Conference 2012 was a first for us inother ways because we all stayedtogether in one venue rather than in avariety of hotels.

Weather We were not at the mercy of the

weather to reach our conference venue.We did not have to pay separately for

hire of the conference venue orentertainment.

We held receptions for everyoneattending rather than for just a few, as atprevious conferences.

On Friday afternoon, two high profilespeakers, Rotarian David Hunt (LordHunt of Wirral) and Cherie Blair, were thefirst speakers. Lord Hunt, as chairman ofthe Press Complaints Commission,discussed press regulation. Cherie Blairtalked about her work promoting theadvancement of women. RIBI PresidentJohn Minhinick attended conference inperson, the first RIBI President to do sofor several years, giving his view ofRotary in these islands.

ReceptionsThe first of the receptions for

everyone attending conference anddinner in the restaurant were followedby Warner’s staff entertaining us in thePavilion and joining us afterwards fordancing. One colleague remarked thatfor once he had been able to enjoy the

For this year’s District Conference, clubs were given four choices of venue, based upon views expressed by

Rotarians attending Conference over the years.Overwhelmingly, the Council chose Sinah Warren Hotel at

Hayling Island. This year’s Conference Chair Clive Amosdescribes what happened.

entertainment because the volume wasreasonable, whereas normally he had toleave because it was too loud.

Saturday morning featured the Familyof Rotary, something that we hadbrought back from earlier years. Weheard about Inner Wheel, Rotaract,Interact and School Year Exchange. JeanCharmak, a fellow DG with me in 2006-2007, brought us the message from RIPresident Sakuji Tanaka.

We were delighted to be joined byLydia Cross, a former winner of theRIBI/BBC Young Citizens award, whowas interviewed by the TV PresenterKonnie Huq. Lydia, despite losing herlower legs when she was two becauseof undiagnosed meningitis, had swum,run and carried out all sorts ofsponsored activities since she haddecided to raise money for Help forHeroes when she was nine. In only twoyears she has raised over £70,000.Jeremy Gilley, founder of Peace OneDay, inspired us with his enthusiasmand energy for his campaign for worldpeace, which fitted so well with the RIPresident’s theme of Peace ThroughService. We concluded the morningwith DG Eve outlining her hopes andaspirations for our District and forRotary.

Trip to IndiaIn the afternoon session, Konnie Huq

and Eve told us about their trip to Indiato take part in and make a documentaryabout Rotary’s polio eradicationcampaign (see picture, page 1).

DG Eve is clearly enjoying Conference withhusband Robert Ghazi

DG Eve is seen with RI’s President’sRepresentative, PDG Jean Charmak ofReading Matins Rotary Club

Following them was Anne WafulaStrike, a wheelchair user and formerParalympian, who also inspired us byher story (see review, page 15).

Playing golfWhilst some of us listened to the

speakers, others relaxed in variousways: playing golf, taking part inarchery and pistol shooting, enjoyingthe hotel facilities and so on. Afteranother reception for everyone, thendinner, we danced to an Abba tributeband.

ParadeSunday morning brought the

traditional parade of Club Presidents.The Knott brothers and their coach toldus about their experience as Goal Ballplayers in the Paralympics, Foundationand Global Scholars entertained us andthe Rev Debbie Hodge, DG 1260,reflected on peace in Thought for theDay.

The closing speaker was GrahamWebb, who left school at fifteen.

Here are some of this year’s London District’s Foundation Scholars enjoying

themselves at Conference. The men have chosen to look solemn, albeit with

celebratory glasses in hand (Bucks Fizz or just orange juice – nobody’s saying). They

are, left to right: Eric Waldstein, Varun Mahotra, Sean Stephenson, Matt Smith,

Jonah Brotman, Derek Marchant and Clark Yuan.

The girls have chosen to be more expressive – are they auditioning for a comedy turn?

Left to right, back row: Emily Gordon, Nicole Pay, Erika Larson, Abbi Hannifan, Amy Parker;

front row: Samantha Webb, Reva Datar and Kashmira Chawla.

Varun, Sean and Jonah are from Canada and Matt is from Australia. Everyone else is

from the United States. Other countries of origin for District 1130 Scholars (not shown

here) are China (Hong Kong), France, Germany, Japan and South Korea.

Foundation Scholars live it up at Conference

Conference breaks new ground at Hayling Island

H

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Speakers at conferenceSuffering with undiagnosed spina

bifida, he was thought to be “hopeless”,but went on to develop a multi-milliondollar hair care products business. Afterthis we sang Auld Lang Syne, retired forlunch and the conference was over.

New venture Was it worth the hassle? Certainly I

could have wished that the preparationshad gone more smoothly, but, as I saidbefore, it was a new venture and wewould have been very lucky if everythinghad gone without a hitch. But, as Ialways say, what really matters are thereactions of those for whom weorganised the conference. For my part,having us together in one locationthroughout and having everyoneparticipating in all the activities reallymade a difference compared withprevious conferences. Many peoplemade kind comments, several evensaying that it was the best Rotaryconference they had attended. So I guessthat, in the end, it was worth the effort.

A highlight of the special End Polio Now! concert at St Marylebone Church on Rotary Day.

23 February (see page 1), will be the maiden performance of the choral Song for Rotary.

This has been specially composed for Rotary by entrepreneur Tom Morley of Instant

Teamwork. He founded the 80’s pop group Scritti Politti. Opera singer Birgit Beer,

Honorary member of the City and Shoreditch Rotary Club, will sing, performing at St

Marylebone Church for the second time in two months. Those who attended the District

Carol Service at the same church before Christmas will recall that she was the soloist on

that occasion. Also performing will be Rotary Foundation Scholars Pierre Largeron and

Heidi Luk, who will play the violin.

Attending the concert is Gautam Lewis. Born in Kolkata in 1977, he was abandoned as a

three-year-old because he had polio, taken in by Mother Teresa, cared for by her Order and

adopted by a British couple. In 2008 he received an Asian Who’s Who charity award in

recognition of his keen support for Rotary’s End Polio Now campaign, when he returned to

India to participate in Rotary’s immunisation of children against polio in India. The Asian

Who’s Who is published by Redbridge Rotary Club member Jasbir Sachar Singh, who

launched it in 1975.

The concert starts at 6.30pm at St Marylebone Church, Marylebone Road. Tickets at £10

each can be obtained from DG Eve at [email protected], with a copy to

[email protected]. Alternatively, telephone DG Eve on 07850 357842.

Don’t forget the Day Concert!

Speakers at Conference shown here are, clockwise from above: DG Eve with Cherie Blair, AnneStrike (photographed at home), Graham Webb and Lord Hunt. See Book Reviews, page 15.

continued from page 2

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OVERSEAS PROJECTS FLOURISH...

ower Hamlets Rotary Club hadrealised the need for a fire enginewhen visiting Asella the previous

October on a trip to look at clubprojects in Ethiopia. While there, wehad learnt that because there was nofire service the local school had burntdown.

We decided there and then to set upa fire service and began fund raising.During the following year, many thingshad to be put in place. We establishedthat the Essex Fire Brigade had asuitable fire engine for sale, but beforewe put in our offer, we obtained acommitment in writing from the AsellaCouncil in Ethiopia, that they couldhouse the fire engine. This turned outto be the police station. The Councilundertook to put in place a 999 systemand arrange the necessary training forlocal policemen by the Ethiopian FireBrigade in Addis Ababa. The localGovernment Bus Depot agreed tomaintain the vehicle. We also obtained

a written authorisation from theEthiopian Government that the vehiclewould be allowed into Ethiopia withoutany taxes or duties. The Rotary Club ofFinot, in the area, agreed to see that thevehicle was kept in good repair.

Having received all the writtenagreements, we shipped the fire engine,with cutting equipment, helmets andboots, via Djibouti to Ethiopia. Fire suitsand first aid kits, which were donated,accompanied the shipment.

In October 2012, one year after theidea was first put forward, the fireengine arrived in Ethiopia. Once weknew it had arrived we flew to AddisAbaba and heard that the fire enginewas en route on a flat-bed low loader toAsella. The handover was scheduled forSaturday, 27 October, so we arrivedthree days earlier. Then we had a phonecall from the traffic police asking us forthe chassis number of the fire engine,which was only 45 miles away! Thiscaused some amusement as it had

cleared all the stringent importation andcustoms formalities. Fortunately, wewere able to tell them where to find thechassis number and it was allowed toproceed to Asella. We had, howeverlost one day, so the handover waspushed back to Sunday.

We arrived in Asella on the Fridayevening. On Saturday morning we weretaken to a school yard where the eldershad hidden the engine until the big daywhen it would be presented to thetown. As the daughter of a firemanduring the London Blitz, I had tears inmy eyes when I saw the fire engine inAsella. I know that the others with mewere feeling the same way.

On Sunday morning, after a civiclunch with government ministers,provincial heads and elders, we went towhere the Fire Engine was parked, justoutside the town. Men with blackmaned lions’ headdresses greeted uswith a dance, mounted their horses andflanked the fire engine. Over 40 vehicles- cars, buses, scooters, three-wheelertaxis (Tuk Tuks) - followed behind thefire engine. In front were a police escortvehicle and motor cycles.

Club member Tony Sharma climbedinto the driver seat and set the sirenand flashing lights going. I was thedesignated driver, but my high heeledshoes prevented me from driving thefire engine. People lined the streets towave and cheer as we drive through thetown into the Athletic Stadium, wherethe ceremonial handover was to takeplace. Over 3,000 people greeted us;there were speeches and more dancing,Rotarians, elders, politicians andfiremen joining in with tears ineveryone’s eyes. The people were verygrateful and could not thank us enough.They had printed signs that they wavedat us, saying: “We are so happy. ThankYou Rotary.”

There has, of course, been a price topay for all this. Total cost has exceeded£14,000, way more than the club couldafford. To avoid any delay in buyingand shipping the fire engine andequipment, many club members lentthe club funds, which have to be repaid.This means, of course, that we stillneed money and we hope that otherclubs will contribute. We are havingplaques designed, one for each side ofthe fire engine, so that any clubdonating £250 or more can be namedon the plaque.

The Asella Council had alreadyshown their appreciation by naming aroad at the entrance to the town. Theefforts of our club, along with supportfrom Cllr John Housden, a member ofAlresford Parish Council in Essex, andthe Rotary Clubs of Wembley,Barkingside, Westminster East andBrentwood Beckett, mean that Asellanow has its own Fire Rescue Service.

Do you remember a picture of a bright red fire engine inour Spring issue, for which Tower Hamlets Rotary Club

was raising funds? They were intending to send it to Asellain Ethiopia, birthplace of one of its members.

CPP Helen Johnson brings you up to date with what happened next.

Above: Asella’s fire fighters and residents give the new fire engine an eager welcome in theStadium; below left: a Rotary road sign welcomes visitors to Asella; below: PP Helen Johnsonreceives bouquets from dignitaries and children.

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\Winter, 2013 Rotary In London • 5

...IN AFRICA AND WORLDWIDE

ver the past year and a half since

early 2011, when we submitted

our proposal to the Rotary

Foundation, we have had some anxious

moments, but at last our dream of a

project has become a reality.

Thanks to a lot of help and guidancefrom Mike Hodge of District 1130’sFoundation Committee, we got throughall the application and legal tangles andthe Nkonya Village Project was underway.

The village is comprised of some 300households. It has been in the grip ofpoverty and poor health due mainly tomalaria and very poor schooling.Thanks to the grant and the hard workof our Rotarian colleagues in Mityana,we have provided the means for someof the neediest people in Africa tosurvive and earn a living by raising pigs.We have also encouraged them toimprove their health and hygiene forthemselves and their families throughthe provision of mosquito nets andwashing stations. Schools have beenprovided with desks and books.

Through the regular reports andphotos sent by email to us each monthby the project coordinator, MityanaRotarian Sam Kisubi, who supervisedthe scheme, we could view thedevelopments as they took place.

In the early stages, local governmentofficials advised on the best way toproceed with setting up bye-laws togovern the beneficiaries of the project.Each prospective beneficiary had to be awidow or a widower, possibly HIVpositive, and in addition had to have orbuild a latrine. Hygienic conditions inthe village are extremely primitive, andthis proviso was an incentive to thosewishing to be considered for inclusionin the project. A veterinary officer wasassigned to the project for 12 months.

The Mityana Club President, MsNoeline Nabulime, with other clubmembers, visited Nkonya village formeetings: first with village elders andcounsellors, then a cross section of theresidents. Those interested were told toregister with the former villagechairman, Mr Bikumbi In the first fewdays, 132 residents registered theirinterest and ten were selected to be thefirst beneficiaries: one widower, sevenwidows and two other elderly ladies.

As the months progressed, threebases were constructed and large rainwater harvesting tanks fitted together toform the washing stations at each of the

Thanks to a Global Grant of $40,335 under Rotary’s newFuture Vision Scheme, the Rotary Clubs of Bush Hill Parkand Mityana in Uganda have transformed the village ofNkonya. This is situated some 10 km from the town of

Mityana and 85 km from Uganda’s capital, Kampala.David Hammond of Bush Hill Park sets the scene

primary schools. Instruction was givento the pupils on hygiene. Twenty pigsties were provided, as well as twopiglets for each household. Ownersreceived training in modern animalhusbandry.

One thousand one hundredmosquito nets were distributed. LastOctober, it was reported that 14healthy babies had arrived and therehad been no deaths at any of theschools being monitored. The threeprimary schools received 148 desksand 749 books. Following this thenumber of pupils attending rose from528 to 740.

All through we were able to monitorthe project via email contact. Monthlyprogress reports with photographswere provided by Rotarian Sam Kisubi.A Rotary Community Corps (RCC) hasbeen formed and this will continue tomonitor and build on all theachievements.

We, with District 1130 and theRotary Foundation provided themoney, but the real work was carriedout by the members of the Rotary Clubof Mityana. We congratulate them onwhat has developed into a mostsuccessful and inspiring project.

Top: a wall is being built around a tank atBukanga School; above right: children crowdinto a classroom; above left: a villager andher baby try out a mosquito net; above right:a pig farmer shows off his piglets in his newsty.

O

Doing good in the worldOver the last three years Rotary inLondon has been one of 100 RotaryDistricts spread around the worldpiloting new arrangements forFoundation Grants.

Known as Future Vision, the testing

phase concludes in June 2013. Henceforth

the Rotary Foundation will be

implementing worldwide the tried and

tested New Grant Model. The emphasis of

the New Grant Model is to get better value

out of Foundation contributions by

ensuring that projects are properly

researched, in line with the Areas of Focus,

and have measurable and sustainable

outcomes.

The project described here fully meets

the objectives of the new grant model and

lives up to the Rotary Foundation motto:

Doing Good in the World.

Bagging a future for childrenLoughton & Buckhurst Hill RotaryClub raised £279 with a raffle at itsHandover Meeting last summer,enough to buy 40 back packs.

These were filled with basic educational

materials and sent it to the children who

receive Mary’s Meals, one of the charities

the club had selected as an international

project. Mary’s Meals provides daily meals

to schoolchildren, at an annual cost of

£10.70 per child. This attracts chronically

poor children into classrooms where they

receive an education that can give them

ladders out of

poverty. Mary’s

Meals supports

children in

Europe, Africa,

Asia, the

Caribbean and

South

America.

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Now that the games are over

As a Games Maker at the Olympics,

Scott Maclachlan from the Rotary Club

of Barnet was in charge of the Escort

Team who led out the athletes to receive

their medals at the main stadium.

On his team’s first evening hewelcomed GB athletes Mo Farah,Christine Ohuruogu and GlenRutherford, who was supported by theRotary Club of Bedford Park. During theweek, many of the world’s best athletespassed through the GreenRoom, finishing up on thefinal Saturday with theJamaican 100m relayteam, which includedUsain Bolt.

During the Paralympics,Scott met Gold Medallistcyclist Sarah Storey aswell as MPs JustineGreening (of the RotaryClub of Putney) and EdVeasey, who werepresenting medals.

Scott says: “The

Scott was a Games Maker…experience of polishing the medals,ironing the ribbons and being part ofthe medal presentation team was agreat honour, making 2012 a verymemorable year for me.”

Games Maker Suraiya Kassamally, ofthe Rotary Club of City & Shoreditch,worked in the Olympic Village, dealingwith the athletes’ laundry. She earned£183, which she has given to her club’scharity fund.

n October, the Rotary Club of London

invited over 70 less able and socially

disadvantaged children, their parents

and families, hospitals and community

groups to a post Paralympics party at

York Gate to share their Paralympics

experiences. Margaret Cooper,Assistant Editor, was a guest; here is

her account.

The guests had been recipients ofthe 100 free tickets purchased for the2012 London Paralympic Games byRotary Clubs in London. The ticketswent to children, adults andorganisations that support less able ordisadvantaged individuals in London.

Guests from a specialist children’ssports college for four- to nineteen-year olds, West Lea, Enfield, felt thatthe Games legacy has to be thepositive impact on how its pupils nowlook at life, sports and music. Headteacher Sue Tripp at West Lea said:“Pupils are now even more determinedto achieve the best that they can togain skills needed to progress ontofurther education, work and futuresports competitions.”

The Rotary Club of London really feltthis was both a huge success and afantastic way to support their localcommunities today and for the future.

DG Eve, along with PDG Clive Amosand Norman Winbourne (Rotary Clubof London President), all attended theoccasion. Clive had chaired LondonDistrict Rotary’s Olympic Committee,which carried out so much of thepreparatory work for Rotary’s eventualparticipation in the Games.

In her welcoming speech to all

present, DG Eve reiterated the messagethat “we are the community spirit ofRotary that the post-Paralympiccelebration represented”.

The President of the London RotaryClub sponsors of the day’s event, alsowelcomed all, and expressed his thanksespecially to fellow club members KarenAston and Coleen Doyle. They had bothworked very hard with some of thechildren and young adults for thecommunity initiative, organising theparty.

London Rotary Club member NevilleShulman CBE, Olympic torch bearer,

Three youngguestsadmire theOlympicTorch thatNevilleShulmanbrought tothe party.

Above: guests with DG Eve at the London Rotary Club’s party.

mountaineer and adventurer, broughtalong his Olympic Torch to show toeveryone present. The children weredelighted to hear about Neville’s charitywork and the fact that the Torch can beput to any charitable use. “It’s foreverybody “, he stressed.

The party was thoroughly enjoyed byall. For the children, the highlight ofthe occasion was when the childrencollected their Certificates ofParalympic Participation from DG Eve,London Club Norman Winbourne andClive Amos.

I

Games Maker Scott Maclachlan is seen herewith his team at the Games; above: GamesMaker Suraiya Kassamally presents herOlympic earnings to Ennio Falabella, City &Shoreditch Club President.

07 edit _04 edit 31/01/2013 11:10 Page 7


istory was made this year, when Eve became the first woman to lead RotaryDistrict’s contingent in the Lord Mayor’s Show in London Rotary’s 101-yearhistory.

For nearly 800 years, the Lord Mayor’s Show has floated, rolled, trotted, marched andoccasionally fought its way from the Lord Mayor’s residence, the Mansion House, toWestminster, survived the black death and the Blitz and survived into the 21st century asone of the world’s best-loved pageants.

The modern procession is over three and a half miles long and fills the streets from11am until about 2.30 pm, cheered by a crowd of around half a million people andwatched live on the BBC by millions more.

Accompanying Eve was Young Citizen Award 2010 winner Lydia Cross, recipient ofthe first sports wheelchair through the Rotary Wheel Appeal, and fomer ParalympianMartin McElhatton, the CEO of WheelPower. With Lydia in the procession were herparents Jodie and Tony and 9-year-old sister Millie. Joining them were other RotaryDistrict Governors and Rotarians, as well as Rotary Foundation Scholars andWheelPower representatives. Martin is Chief Executive of WheelPower at StokeMandeville where he has worked in a variety of roles since 1987.

The charity WheelPower aims to buy 2012 racing chairs so that other people withdisabilities can compete and be future Paralympians.

Our cover shows Rotary’s “royal progress” in the New Year’s Day Parade; readabout it as well in the letters between the Mayor of Harrow and DG Eve on page 10.

H

Rotarians on parade in London …

DG Eve leads Rotarians and WheelPower(above); below: Jodie Cross helps herdaughter Lydia into the bus, aided by DGEve.

On 6 December members of the Rotary

Club of Pall Mall also took to the streets.

This time it was in aid of the Richard

House Hospice.

Dressed as penguins to make surethey were noticed, they ran roundSpitalfields Market They managed toraise £600 for the Hospice, which hasbeen providing residential care forchildren over the past decade. Thehospice is based in East London.Earlier in the year, some club membersran the BUPA 10K and raised a stellaramount of just under £2,000.

But can penguins run? Ed.

Penguins crowd intoSpitalfields

08 edit_03 Contents 30/01/2013 10:55 Page 8


... and celebrating Christmas with others

At Christmas this year the Rotary Club of Epping held a

carol service on the Green for the tenth year running and

sent Santa Claus collecting.

The carol service was organised by the Rotary Clubsof Epping and Epping Forest (District 1240). The choirand band of St John’s School led by Band LeaderRebecca Harvey, were joined by over a thousandresidents of Epping and the surrounding areas. Theirfamily and friends braved the mud and threat of animpending downpour to join the choir and band insinging and playing a wide selection of favourite carols.Epping Rotary Club member the Rev DuncanWhitehouse led a brief interlude of prayer.

Mince pies, hot toddy and huge helpings of ChristmasCheer were served throughout.

The Epping Club arranged for Santa to tour Epping,Theydon Bois, Coopersale and North Weald in his sleigh.He managed to raise nearly £5,000 for local charities,including St Clair Hospice and The Box.

President of the Rotary Club of Epping, Richard Cronesaid: “I cannot thank people enough for their generosityat this time of year. It makes a huge difference to localcharities which depend heavily on donations andsupport from our local community.”

Battersea Park Christmas Day lunch for the elderly

This year’s Christmas Day lunch which the Rotary Club of Battersea

Park organises annually was as successful as ever, as organiser and

Club member Ré Johnson explains.

As on previous occasions, we catered for 400 guests and 200volunteers. We sent out 51 buses to pick up the elderly residents ofthe Borough of Wandsworth who were our guests. The lunch had aRussian theme: large onion shaped balloons, reflecting the Kremlindomes, floated above the diners. We are particularly grateful to GregLawson, CEO of Quantum Leap, owners of the marquee where thelunch took place, Smart Hospitality, caterers providing most of thefood and their staff, and local Waitrose stores.

Waitrose supported the lunch with its green disc collection in itsBalham, Clapham Junction, Putney and Wandsworth stores. Thisencouraged store customers to select the charity of their choice forthe store to help raise £1,500. In addition, the manager of theWandsworth store gave a lot of food for the guests to take homeafterwards.

During the lunch, Balham RC member David Johnson received aPaul Harris Fellowship Sapphire from Battersea Park RC for his workwith this event.

Epping’s Christmas activities

Carol singers sing on the Green; seen with Santa are, left to right, EppingRotary Club members Raz Zoers and Wendy Barritt. PP Roy Newland wasstanding in for Santa. Photos: David Court

09 edit _04 edit 31/01/2013 11:46 Page 9


Have your sayabout anything you like!

New Year, New Club?Looking for a way to fulfil a new year’s

resolution to revitalise your club? If so,

I invite you to join in the Visioning

Programme which is starting in our

District in 2013.

Visioning may sound likemanagement consultancy jargon, butit’s just a structured process to helpRotary Clubs think through how theywant to develop and put together anaction plan for change.

It started in the States, but in Canada,Australia and New Zealand it’s nowtransforming clubs, which are becomingmore vibrant with re-enthused existingmembers and many new ones.Visioning isn’t, however, a magic wand.Strong commitment is needed from aclub and its leaders.

Each programme starts off with avisit by a Visioning Team made up ofRotarians from our District. We willfacilitate a session to help yourmembers envision your group’s future,then work out what steps you must taketo get there.

That first session lasts around fourhours, running through a number ofstructured steps to build consensus. It’snot just a loose, free-for-all discussion.After that club members take away theresults of the session and work theminto an action plan.

It’s important to stress that neitherour DG nor the District Executive willimpose this programme on your club.Your club needs to invite the VisioningTeam in. The process starts with you.

This isn’t just a programme to helpbig cubs. The folks from the States haverun successful Visioning programmeswith cubs of just six members, whohave more than doubled their size aftertaking part.

The key is the commitment. Those sixmembers all wanted their club tosurvive and change and made ithappen.

To find out more, give me a ring on07966 146746 or email me [email protected]. I’m happy to comeand talk to your Club about Visioningand help decide whether it’s right foryou. You can find a bit moreinformation about Visioning on theDistrict website atwww.rotaryinlondon.org/visioning.

And if you are interested in joiningthe District Visioning Team, do get intouch. I’m looking for experienced andenthusiastic facilitators rather thanexpert Rotarians.

Sarah Ball

District 1130 Visioning Champion

Rotary Club of Ealing

Letter to DG EveI wish to convey my heartfelt thanks to

ALL the performers, volunteers,

organisers and community groups who

participated in the best ever Harrow

Float at the New Year’s Day Parade in

London.

You were fantastic and displayed yourtalent through musical and culturalperformance and raised the profile ofthe London Borough of Harrow byyour splendid entertainment, side byside with all other performing groups.This was all seen by an estimated500,000 or so spectators who lined the2.2 mile route in our capital city ofLondon, and shown on a three-hourtelevision spectacular beamed viasatellite all over the world to anestimated 280 million viewers. Yourparticipation in projecting the imageof your cultural background and thediversity of the London Borough ofHarrow is immense and immeasurable.You contributed your time and energyfreely for the love of the Borough,which we are proud of and are part of it.

As First Citizen of the LondonBorough of Harrow, I am greatlyindebted and very proud of thecommunity that I represent. Mycongratulations go to all theparticipants who came forward to giveHarrow’s entry such a tremendouscommunity spirit for those takingpart in this great event in the greatestcity in the world.

Thank you once again and HappyNew Year to all of you - hats off toHarrow: a Community United!

Cllr Nizam Ismail

Mayor of Harrow

DG’s reply to the MayorOnce again I thank you, on behalf of

Rotary in London, for inviting us to join

you and the wonderful groups of people

who came together to represent Harrow

in what was an excellent float.

It was also a great representation ofthe community spirit that is so evidentin the Borough. Everyone was trulyimpressive! Thanks as well to JohnHinkley from Harrow Council and CllrJean Lammiman, former Mayor ofHarrow, for their hard work in helpingto organise the float. We all had such alot of fun and thoroughly enjoyedourselves. We were also grateful that itdid not rain, as sadly it did when wejoined Harrow to take part in the Paradeon 1 January the previous year! Wewere so sorry Harrow did not win anaward this year, as they really deserved

to. Congratulations anyway on bringingeveryone together as you did - what aninspirational idea! And we were reallyproud to be part of your float.

Photos of the Parade by Christophvon Lutitz of the Hammersmith RotaryClub and a six-minute video of theLondon Borough of Harrow’s entry bynext year’s District Governor for London,Dick Nathan, are on a number of Rotaryweb sites. Across the world, RotaryInternational has also retweeted a photoof us in the Parade with Mary Reynolds,the Queen look-alike, taken and puton Twitter by Mike Thorn, DistrictGovernor for Croydon and Surrey, whojoined us in the Parade.

Hats off to Harrow and a Happy NewYear.

DG Eve Conway

Chigwell’s memory caféThe Rotary Club of Leytonstone &

Woodford have decided to see what we

can do to help people suffering with

memory problems. So, for the past four

months, we have been holding monthly

sessions at the Memory Café at Chigwell

Convent in Chigwell Road between 10.00

am and noon on Friday mornings.

At these free sessions, we aim tostimulate memories in those who sufferwith memory problems to come, withtheir carers, and have a chat and cup oftea. They can look at newspapers fromthe 1960s, watch old films, have asingalong and generally have a breakfrom being at home all day. At onesession, for instance, those attendingwere able to watch a film of the Queen’sCoronation in 1953.

The feedback from carers has beengreat. If the scheme is successful wehope to encourage other Rotary Clubs inLondon to do the same. The cafe isopen on the last Friday of every monthfrom 10 till noon.

If anyone likes to ring me on 01279600383 or my fellow club member AlanBarnet on 07762 459655, we would bedelighted to provide further informationabout setting up and running a memoryclub.

Barry Plowman

Rotary Club of Leytonstone & Woodford

Mike Brace speaks onParalympic sportIn October 2008 Mike Brace CBE, blind

since the age of 10, gave an inspirational

talk at the Rotary District 1130

Conference about his involvement with

the Paralympic movement over recent

decades, initially as a performer in five

10 & 11 edit_24-26 Round the Clubs 31/01/2013 10:51 Page 10


Keep your letters coming so that you can have your say on

whatever subject you want. Rotary in London exists among other

things to present Rotary and its work to the world, as well as

spurring you on to debate important issues. We shall publish your

letters wherever possible, reserving the usual right to edit.

So keep up the correspondence!

Winter Paralympics and then as part of

the Organising Committee for the past

nine years. He has also given

stimulating and amusing talks at other

Rotary District Conferences and at

Round Table national meetings.

Mike has just retired, after 11 years asChief Executive of VISION 2020 UK. Thisis an umbrella charity bringing togetherhealth and social care organisationsinvolved with sight and sight loss.

He has recently set himself a newchallenge and is attempting to take partin 10 sports in 10 months to raise£10,000 for VISION 2020 UK. Togetherwith the Chief Executives of Seeabilityand the Thomas Pocklington Trust, he isparticipating in five team sports: boccia,goal ball, rowing, sailing and cycling.On his own he is tackling sound tennis,field athletics, track racing, shooting andjudo.

I have agreed to make a contributiontowards Mike’s target and am writing tosee if readers would likewise be willingto make a contribution, however small,so that he successfully completes hischallenge. Any money raised for VISION2020 UK will go towards improving theinformation service it provides to blindand partially-sighted people.Contributions should be sent to MikeBrace CBE, 80 Elms Farm Rd,Hornchurch, Essex, RM12 5RD, andcheques made out to VISION 2020 UK.

If your club intends to hold a majorfund-raising function and give some ofthe money to VISION 2020 UK oranother charity nominated by MikeBrace, then do drop him a line and seeif he would be willing to speak on suchan occasion. I would not like clubs toinvite him to speak at an ordinary clubmeeting with 10 to 20 members present,because he has to travel by publictransport from Hornchurch in Essex.

If you would like Mike to speak toyour club, I am sure he would oblige,provided his charity benefited in someway.

PDG Grahame Williams

Rotary Club of Chigwell

Onward breakfast clubs!Having recently attended a function

celebrating the Rotary Club of Roding’s

twentieth anniversary, I am surprised

that there is only one other breakfast

club in London.

The formation of the Roding Clubwas simple. I wrote to everyone I knewbetween the ages of 30 and 45 and afew months later 35 people attendedthe first meeting. Effectively they were

a club from that meeting onwards as wehad some Rotary business and aspeaker. Projects followed immediatelyand membership peaked in the third yearat 48.

• The Roding Club was different:• It met for breakfast• It was dual gender• All members were under 45It was an all-action club, with little

time spent on committees.Membership in London District has

halved since I joined 40 years ago andmany of the existing clubs have hardlyenough members to be viable.

Most young people don’t have thetime for lunch or an evening meetingevery week. Also they are reluctant tojoin clubs where the majority ofmembers may be nearly twice their age.

The answer must be breakfast clubsfor young enthusiastic people (at leastone in every borough).

If every member was to think hardand nominate potential youngmembers, this project could get off theground. If so, I would be willing to actas co-ordinator.

If something is not done to stop thedecline, London Rotary could die withinthe next two decades.

Don Barton

Rotary Club of Roding

SPEAKERS’ PANELHere is the second list of organisations interested in speaking to Rotary Clubs in London.

As we stressed in the previous issue, when we launched this column in Rotary inLondon, inclusion does not indicate endorsement of that organisation – we are merely

letting you know of its existence, so that you can make further enquiries. You may your-

self with to draw a particular organisation to readers’ attention, so please let us know so

that we can include details at a later date. We are particularly interested to hear about

organisations which have recently started and would like to get better known.

The BrookeAn international animal welfare organisation

dedicated to improving the lives of working

horses, donkeys and mules, in the poorest

parts of the world. The Brooke’s goal is to

increase the number of working animals it

helps to two million a year by 2016.

Emma Harrison

[email protected]

or 020 7653 5812

Enfield Carers Centre Provides a wide range of support, advice

and other services to help unpaid, informal

carers. This includes access to free personal

health trainers, general information and

advice, counselling sessions, information

and training sessions, computer sessions,

support for young carers and for high

functioning autism and Aspergers carers

support group and legal advice sessions.

Pamela Burke

[email protected]

or 0208 366 3677

MerlinInternational health charity which sends

medical experts to the frontline of global

emergencies. When disaster strikes, Merlin’s

doctors and nurses work together with

health workers on the ground, taking

countries shattered by war, earthquake or

floods from emergency to recovery and

staying for as long as it takes.

Sarah Brett

[email protected].

or 020 7014 1707

Memory Café, Chigwell Convent,Chigwell Road.Monthly sessions, started in December by

Leytonstone & Woodford RC, to stimulate

memories in anyone suffering from memory

problems. Visitors can have a chat and a

cup of tea, as well as reading newspapers

from the 1960s and watching old films.

Barry Plowman

[email protected]

or 01279 600383

St Mungo’sOpens doors for homeless people. Mainly

based in London, we provide support

towards recovery and help to prevent

rough sleeping. We run over 100 projects

and help thousands of homeless people

make life changes every year who can

come and talk about their experiences of

being homeless and how St Mungo’s has

helped.

Russell Benson

[email protected]

or 0208 762 5586

Sense National charity that supports and

campaigns for children and adults who are

deafblind. Deafblindness is a combination

of sight and hearing loss and affects a

person’s ability to communicate, to access

all kinds of information, and to get around.

Ruth Kilcullen

[email protected]

or 01733 425070

Veterans AidOver 80 years old, works quietly, without

any fuss, helping homeless ex-servicemen

and women. Many are young. It gets 2,000

calls for help and provides 20,000 nights of

accommodation at its hostel annually. It

also helps with travel, food and clothing:

nothing complicated, just the basics to

restore dignity.

Geoffrey Cardozo

[email protected]

10 & 11 edit_24-26 Round the Clubs 01/02/2013 11:10 Page 11


12 ads_ad template 31/01/2013 13:59 Page 12


Barking busy with food and knives

The programme is the brainchild of Mike

Smith from Leytonstone who has placed

some 25 specially designed bins at

churches, shopping centres and various

other venues.

Carrying the slogan Get a Life - BinThat Knife, these collection points offeranonymity and are open round theclock throughout the year. Most knivesare deposited surreptitiously not onlyby young people but sometimes byparents or teachers, who havecontacted Mike to express theirgratitude.

Club President Nigel Schultz, a majorin the Salvation Army, has arranged fora bin to be located outside theSalvation Army Citadel, Rotary’s weeklyvenue. Although it has only been inplace for a few months, it has alreadycollected 230 knives and a gun.

Sadly, young people are dyinghorribly from knife crimes in everyLondon Borough every week. Askedabout the reasons for this, Mike Smithpoints to gang membership with itsterritorial aspects and the challenge toprove individual credibility.

He admits to being unsure what canbe done to solve this problem in the

Over 5,000 knives taken off London streets

Since last May, the Rotary Club of Barking has linked up toa bold initiative which, over the past five years, has takenfive and a half thousand knives off the streets of London.

Club member PDG Robert Hunter tells the tale.

short term, but believes that at least onebin in every borough would make adifference. It would give additionalsupport for parents and teachersproviding a better understanding of theproblem from a variety of angles.

Mike is an interesting and powerfulspeaker who knows his subject all toowell. It would be good if he could beinvited to speak to every Rotary Club inLondon. Better still if each Club couldsupport or sponsor a Get a Life bin inevery borough. DG Eve is out in all kinds of weather,

getting ready for the big day: the

London Marathon 2013.

Her trainer is Harmander Singh, whocoached the oldest known marathonrunner, 101-year-old Fauja Singh fromIlford – remember his story in theSummer issue of Rotary in London,page 16? He is an honorary member ofthe Rotary Club of Gants Hill.

Eve is taking part in the Marathon toraise awareness about Rotary andgenerate funds for the Rotary WheelAppeal, which RIBI is running jointlywith the charity WheelPower (see page8). She will be running the Marathonwith fellow District Governor for District1140 Mike Thorn.

Training to run

wo weeks before Christmas 2012,

the members of the Rotary Club

of Barking set a new record,

having over 26 years collected and

distributed 26,000 tins of food to the

poor and homeless. Barking’s PDGRobert Hunter explains.

With ASDA’s enthusiasticcooperation, our members have stoodoutside its Beckton store and invitedcustomers to donate a tin of producefor redistribution to the poor andhomeless.

What other Rotary Club hasmanaged to achieve that?

Without fail each year the Rotarianswaiting outside ASDA have receivedover 1,000 tins of assorted meats,beans, vegetables and fruits from thestore’s customers. There have evenbeen special donations of dog food forthe pets that keep their homelessowners company on London’s streets!

Once the tins have been collected,we distribute some of them to nightshelters for the homeless, including arefuge for women and children fleeingdomestic violence, in theneighbouring Boroughs of Newham,

Barking Rotary Club members Laurie Ford(right) and PP Duncan Ngari man the standoutside ASDA to receive the cans of food thepublic contribute. Helping on the stand isDuncan’s daughter.

Redbridge and of course Barking andDagenham. The balance is held as afoodbank to be drawn on as requiredduring the year.

T

13 edit_24-26 Round the Clubs 01/02/2013 11:12 Page 13


Advertising rates, colour, inRotary in London

Whole page................................................................£150(270mm deep 185mm wide)

Half page......................................................................£80(132mm deep 185mm wide)Quarter page ..............................................................£50(132mm deep 91mm wide)Eighth page ................................................................ £30(64mm deep 91mm wide)Classified rates on request

Enquiries to Assistant Editor at [email protected]

14 ads_ad template 01/02/2013 11:13 Page 14


Two-months-old Aarav Veer Singh Baxiwants you to know that the end ofpolio “is this close” as he brings hisfinger and thumb close in thetraditional manner.

This of course is the gesture that so many

celebrities have made in the posters

publicising Rotary’s End Polio Now

campaign.

It is hardly surprising that young Aarav

should catch on so quickly about the

importance of the gesture he is making.

After all, his grandfather, Sam Singh Baxi,

was Founder President of Gants Hill Rotary

Club and is currently its Treasurer. His father,

Peter Baxi, is currently the President of the

same club. Aarav was born on 18 August

last summer to Peter and his wife, Tanveer.

IN MY DREAMS I DANCE

Anne Wafula StrikeAvailable from Amazon.com at £5.19.277 pp

This true story tells how one woman

battled a life changing disability and years

of prejudice to become a champion.

Losing movement of the lower half ofher body to polio as a toddler, AnneWafula Strike, the author, and her familywere ostracised in their Kenyan villageand forced to move to Nairobi to escapeabusive neighbours. In my dreams Idance continues the story after thefamily move to Nairobi. At five years,she boarded at Joyland primary schoolfor the disabled. Aged nine and caughtup in the 1982 Nairobi military coup, shespent over twelve hours locked inside aclock tower amidst the violence. She isstill scared of large crowds and loudnoises.

After qualifying as a teacher fromuniversity, she fell in love with NormanStrike, an Englishman working in Kenya.They visited his home town in Newcastle,married and settled into life in Britain, acomplete contrast to the traditional worldof her youth. Anne fell pregnant, a featdoctors had said was impossible, and thecouple were overjoyed at the birth of theirhealthy son, Timothy.

Anne’s life was transformed when shewas given a wheelchair in place of her‘olden day’ callipers. This wheelchair hasprovided Anne with a new found freedom.For many people a wheelchair is apersonal prison, but Anne was able to soarto new heights in hers.

She took up wheelchair racing and heralready fierce spirit was mixed with atouch of competitiveness. Nothing wouldstop her from qualifying for the 2004Athens Paralympics. She became the firstEast African Paralympian to compete inher sport at the highest level.

This story is neatly presented inchronological order and is easy to read.Although it does deal with her debilitatingdisease, polio, Anne successfully useshumour as a way to break down barriersand melt prejudice. Her warm, determinedspirit shines from the pages. While shemanages to inform the reader about herhighly infectious disease, she does notdwell sombrely on this fact. She is astrong ambassador for the differently

Two Conference speakers describetheir victories over disability

At London Rotary’s District Conference at Hayling Island(see pp 2 and 3) Anne Wafula Strike and Graham Webb

both spoke about how they had overcome the disabilitieswhich had clouded their early years to become successfulin their respective spheres. Kali Clark and Assistant Editor

Margaret Cooper review the books they launched at the Conference.

abled and an active campaigner forRotary’s End Polio Now campaign. InFebruary 2012 she was the main guest atthe End Polio Now event at Chelmsford’sCivic Theatre.

In my dreams I dance is an emotionalstory which sadly illustrates the prejudicethat surrounds many diseases anddisabilities. However, it focuses verypositively on overcoming these barriers,demonstrating that anything is possible.

Kali Clarke

OUT OF THE BOTTLEGraham Webb The Webb Press LtdAvailable fromwww.grahamwebb.co.uk at £24.99inc P&P (UK); books ordered throughthe website are also personally signedand sales benefit charities includingKent Spina Bifida. An e-book versionwill be available shortly: nitiallythrough ibooks, itunes and Kindle.427 pp.

Rotarians at Conference (see pages 2 and

3) were privileged to be let into the

darkest secrets of one of the Conference

speakers: Graham Webb MBE.

You could have heard a pin drop, asmembers listened with rapt attention toGraham, who appeared to have had noqualms about his honest, personal,revelations, because his motto is: “It canbe done.“ He hopes that his revelationswill help anybody who has the courage to

believe or who aspires to triumph over anykind of adversity as he has done.

Encouraged by his professionalcolleagues, friends - among whom, as hestresses, is his wife Mandy - and fellowspinal bifida sufferers, Graham reluctantlyagreed to put pen to paper. He said himselfthat Out of the Bottle would never haveseen the light of day but for two of his bestfriends: Floridan journalist Frank Cerabinoand his son, Balliol graduate Roderick.

Out of the Bottle is a courageous,candid, no holds barred inspirational,personal and professional transition fromthe adversity of congenital spinal bifida toGraham’s triumph over the challenges thatfaced him. He has recorded a triumphantclutch of achievements includingbecoming a multimillionaire at the helm ofa multimillion-pound hair care distributionline. This was later sold to Wella in 2001and on to Procter & Gamble in 2003.Graham’s “can do attitude” has resulted inhis triumph over the physical conditionwhich clouded his early personal life. It hasled to entrepreneurial successes whichreceived royal recognition with the awardof an MBE from the Queen.

Successful entrepreneur, rock’n rolldrummer, optimIst, motivational speaker,loving family man with wife Mandy andfour children, Kent chair of the Institute ofDirectors, Chair of Kent NSPCC Full StopCampaign. Will the real Graham Webbstand up?

Not bad for a fifteen-year-old schooldrop out, council flat dwelling Londoner,saddled with spinal bifida.

Nobody could have summed upGraham’s achievements better than hisown former classmate, Rosemary Parker:“We were in the same class together atNorthbrook School 42 years ago. I just hadto get in touch with you to say how proudI am of you and what you have achieved.”

Yes, it really can be done.Margaret Cooper, Assistant Editor

Talking of polio, baby Aarav says “We are ThisClose”

15_03 Contents 01/02/2013 11:28 Page 15


Is there a Rotary Club anywhere inRIBI that didn’t take to the streets orsupermarket foyers shaking tins andbuckets and raising funds for localand international charities at the endof last year?

The Christmas and New Year

collections provide a large, reliable part of

our annual fund-raising income and we, as

an organisation, enjoy contact with

millions of people each year.

In 2012 my club collected at a brand

new (for us) location. We attracted near

record donations even though we were

collecting from people who, in the main,

had not seen us before. Very, very few of

our customers asked us which charity we

were collecting for. The Rotary logo was

good enough for them and they

contributed in their thousands.

Interestingly the immigrant population,

especially from Africa, Asia and the sub-

continent, bring with them a very positive

view of Rotary from their homelands,

where they have often seen Rotary

playing an important part in the lives of

their communities. This is a tremendously

positive position to be in.

The public may not really understand

who we are or what we do, but they trust

‘The Rotary’ to receive their hard earned

cash.

They are not the slightest bit interested

in how often we meet or whether we eat

at our meetings or not. They do not know

what a District Governor is. The great

debates about Management Boards, RIBI

and Councils on Legislation strangely

seem to pass them by. But these matters

are important to us, and great changes are

coming. Some of us will find these

changes difficult, or even traumatic. But

change we must. Rotary has to keep re-

inventing itself like Amazon, Ebay, Dyson,

or Apple. If not we shall pay the same

price as Woolworths, Comet and Jessops

– where history and trust were not

enough.

Mish Mosh by “Schlepper”

REMEMBERRotary in London

is your magazine. We are alwaysinterested in hearing from you with

your stories and pictures. Pleasebe sure to follow the guidancenotes on the inside front cover

when sending in your pictures andkeep your contributions coming in.Ring or email the Editor at 01634

847 772, 07949 557 550 [email protected].

Congratulations to Wembley Rotary

Club member Arnold Phelops, awarded

the British Empire Member (BEM) in the

New Year’s Honours for services over

the last 50 years to charities.

A former dental surgeon who servedin the Royal Army Dental Corps in the1950s, Arnold joined the WestminsterEast Rotary Club in 1973, of which hewas President twice, moving later to theWembley Club. His charitable work hasinvolved the Salvation Army, GreatOrmond Street Children’s Hospital, Savea Child’s Heart, the Jewish MilitaryMuseum and the Association of JewishEx-Servicemen and Women (AJEX). Hewas National Chair of AJEX for the pasttwo years. The Queen reinstated theBEM for her Diamond Jubilee.

Winners all roundArnold is BEM

James Beardwell, from Bancroft’s

School, displalys the medal he won in

the under-11s race in the annual Rotary

Club of Epping Copped Hall Run.

This year’s Rotary Club of EppingCopped Hall Run attracted 190 juniorrunners – a record number. Gerry Smith,chairman of the Copped Hall RunCommittee, said: “We were delighted tosee so many people turning out for theraces, particularly the record number ofchildren.

“The event has reached out to thelocal community and generated a greatdeal of interest from local schools andindividuals who have supported theRotary Club and the Copped Hall Trust.”

Epping-based Stace LLP sponsoredthe junior races, while Higgins Group,based in Loughton, was the main eventsponsor.

James shows off his medal

The Wandsworth Group of Rotary Clubs has raised £1,100 for Greenmead School in

Putney from various events. On behalf of the school, Greenmead pupils Tanzela (left)

and Harleigh, receive the cheque from Chairman of the Wandsworth Group of Rotary

Clubs, Tony Chase. The Wandsworth Group comprises the Rotary Clubs of Balham;

Battersea, Brixton & Clapham; Battersea Park; Kennington; Putney; Streatham;

and Tooting.

Tanzela and Harleigh get cheque for their school

Tributes to Golders Green and Balham Club

members Klaus Neuberg, who sadly died

recently, and Paul Newman, included in the

New Year’s Honours list, follow in the next

issue.

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