The Rotary Club of Uitenhage South held a gala evening on Saturday, 2 August where they passed the presidency of the club from Clive Hassell to Mahesh Karsan.
Upon completing his year of office, Clive was proud to summarise what the club had achieved during his year. “The projects which the club has been involved in have mainly been funded by Rotary Clubs from around the globe, either by direct grants or being persuaded by Hassell. “We officially apply for grants for some of our big projects, but for the smaller bits, when I talk to Rotary clubs in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. I tell them about our plight here, and I convince them that they should send some of their donations our way. I often get £25 or $50. It’s nothing to them, but goes a long way in South Africa,” Hassell said.
The club is benefitting from a Rotary grant of over R1.4 million to train Early Childhood Development Practitioners, with several participants from Kariega and KwaNobuhle. Along with all the other projects, both big and small, they have injected hundreds of thousands of rand worth of value into our local community.
Accepting the presidency, Karsan vowed to continue with many of the existing projects, but also to bring new ideas to the club and revive some of the older ones. “We will be starting with the club’s Winter Nights initiative, where we will be asking the public to donate any spare clothing or blankets that they may have to the cause of assisting the less fortunate during these colder nights,” he said.
According to Hassell, the highlight of the evening was the presentation of the Les Swift Award for excellence in community services. “This is an award that the club makes each year to someone in the community who goes over and above their call of duty, and who has shown themselves to be truly committed to their community. The club was delighted to give this year’s award to former Brigadier André Swart, who recently retired from his role in SAPS in Kariega.”
Swart extended his passion for the betterment of the community and has devoted much of his life and his spare time to furthering that passion. “He has made a massive beneficial difference to the lives of many less fortunate residents of the Kariega area over many years, and the club was humbled to honour him with the prestigious award.”
• Read more about the new president, Mahesh Karsan, in next week’s UD Express.
