KNEE jerk actions brighten lives for a short while, but they don’t produce a future.
This is the philosophy of newly inducted president of the Rotary Club of Uitenhage South, Clive Hassell.
“I believe in the basic principle which is purported to have its roots in an old Chinese proverb, but has been modified many times, the most common being ‘If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day, if you teach him how to fish you feed him for a lifetime’.
“Out are the days of buying minibuses, but in are the days of education in all its forms,” said Hassell.
The incoming president quoted the first line of The American Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Rotary International equally holds these sentiments close, and Hassell personally has always held progression of the younger generations close to his heart, believing that education and mentorship offers a way out of the incessant circle of poverty, into which so many of our youth are born.
Hassell was upbeat in laying out the basis for the club to move forward in planning to provide multi-faceted vocational guidance to large numbers of our disenfranchised youth as soon as COVID-19 restrictions allowed.
“To this end the Rotary Club of Uitenhage South would need to attract assistance from the younger skilled sectors of the community, and make the club an attractive conduit to allow the many community minded people already out there to join with it,” said Hassell.
With the Corona virus still with us, the Rotary Club of Uitenhage South again held its annual gala dinner for the induction of the new president on-line. Although in the warmth of their own homes all the members and their partners dressed for the occasion in black tie, and had the same meal which had been delivered, at the same time.
The evening had all the usual formalities and toasts, building up to the actual virtual handover of the presidency.
Outgoing president Ralph Meintjes gave his summary of the year past, which although a very difficult one, had had some silver linings.
The move to virtual fundraising with on-line international music and trivia quizzes had proven successful and an income stream which proved so valuable in enabling the club to provide sustenance to many hundreds of people. The other upside was the club has not missed even one weekly meeting and has held those meetings on Zoom. The ongoing ability to have guest speakers from all over the world and visit other Rotary clubs internationally has been enlightening. Something that had never previously been possible
