Tis the season to be merry and Rotarians are always game. Rotarian Pierre jumped into his Santa suit and arrived at the Pop creche on Just Trees farm and made many little faces light up on his arrival with a bag full of gifts. The joy of giving warms the heart.
The past quarter has been a busy one. Besides attending the mini-conference, an outreach to Prince Albert and marshalling at the CT marathon, we staged the most successful wine auction to date. It was all hands on deck and the profits were amazing, due to the talents of experienced auctioneer Dan Nicholl. This is the tenth Rotary wine auction he has handled, making the day a fun experience with all his wisecracks.
Another highlight was our very successful Cataract project. The team of surgeons and assistants from Belgium were young, vibrant and very skilled. They worked hard while performing 100 cataract operations in 5 days at the Vredendal hospital. What a great achievement! Nevertheless we still had time to socialise and get to know one another. Next year we hope to get them back and improve on the experience.
We also had the launch of "wet Wednesday" by the Mbeko Eco Club at the Meulwater water purification plant. The learners were excited and interested in what they were told about the requirements of providing pure water to local residents. We wish them every success with this project and raising the environmental awareness of these youngsters.
Our club’s Christmas party was enjoyed by all who attended. Thanks to the guys who had the "hot" job of braaiing the meat in balmy weather.Christmas is all about presents and making children happy.
I wish all our members a happy festive season. Travel safe and may we look forward to an exciting 2024. - Marita van der Sluys (president).
A social get-together ended off the year's activities.