If you have not already renewed your Rotary Club of Lincoln annual membership for 2026-27, please remit payment ($250) to John Maynard, Club Treasurer, by June 30, 2026.
Support for Local Children & Youth Charities
Each year the Rotary Club of Lincoln recognizes local organizations with a contribution in support of the important services and programs they provide for children and youth in our immediate community. This June Rotary Club of Lincoln Foundation Inc. cheques are going to:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Niagara (https://niagara.bigbrothersbigsisters.ca/) - $2000
Young Caregivers Association (https://youngcaregivers.ca/) - $2000
Convos Youth Zone (https://www.convos.ca/) - $1000
FORT (https://www.thefortyouthcentre.com/) - $1000
Pathstone Mental Health (https://pathstonementalhealth.ca/) - $1000
Upper Deck Youth Centre - YFC LIncoln (https://yfclincoln.com/the-upper-deck-youth-centre/) - $1000
Support for International Project in South Africa
The Rotary Club of Lincoln has been supporting Khazimula Children's Project (KCP) in South Africa with an annual contribution of $10,000 CAD for the past twelve years.
Khazimula means "striving to shine". It is a home for vulnerable children in need of a place of safety incorporating the following programs: residential care, family re-unification, educational, therapeutic and after-care. KCP is a registered non-profit organization. The children have been orphaned, abandoned, abused or removed from their families due to extreme poverty. At Khazimula, they have the chance to live as children again. They attend local schools and are provided with meals and warm safe beds.
The home was established in 2007 in a renovated school atop a hill in Lidgetton - a town near Howick inuMngeni Municipalityin the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal (known as KZN or Natal).
The conversion rate is about 12 SA RAND to a Canadian dollar, so our $10,000 becomes about 120,000 SAR. The funds we donate are segregated in accounts in a South African bank in the name of our Foundation. Under Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rules, our Foundation can only make donations to non-Canadian charitable organizations if (1) it is approved under our Articles, and (2) it is done under a formal arrangement which provides us financial transparency and accountability. interactions with management etc. On an annual basis KCP provides audited financial statements for our review before we make our annual donation.
Lorraine Yoko, Chairperson, Board of Directors, Khazimula Children's Project, visited our club in May 2022. At that time, we honoured her with a Paul Harris Fellowship.
Left to right: Anne Bermingham, 2021-22 District Governor; Lorraine Yoko; Brenda Kell Kotwa, 2021-22 Club President
Here is Lorraine's brief KCP update received by the Rotary Club of Lincoln on June 18, 2026…
We currently have 20 children in our care at Khazimula ranging in age from 3 years to 17 years (11 girls and 9 boys). All are thriving! As is the vegetable garden and our growing tunnels. A pair of siblings (two young brothers) are becoming great violinists - how wonderful if I could get them to show off their talent at the Sunset Music Series Our biggest challenge this year has come from the lack of water when we have power outages (we have a borehole) - the power outages are as a result of severe storms and the ailing infrastructure not having been properly maintained for the last 20 years. As a result we are looking into a solar powered borehole - this will also help reduce our electricity costs. We have a new EDU Room on site - a dedicated space for recreational reading, learning, homework, and extra lessons - a first for Khazimula in its 19 years of existence. We are in the process of stocking the shelves with donated books to create our own library. The Department of Social Welfare has recently sent out a call for Funding Proposals for the next 3 year cycle (2027, 2028 and 2029) and we are currently busy with the application - getting it ready for submission next week. The Department has advised that there is no guarantee that we will receive funding - so we will have to wait and see….
The board and I are extremely grateful for support received from The Rotary Club of Lincoln Foundation to date. We have continued to use your funds received towards the shortfall in the Social Worker’s salary, her office expenses and for the salary for Sthembiso Kenneth Hadebe (one of our male Child & Youth Care Workers). The children continue to benefit every day not only from the care and expertise that Phetheni and Sthembiso bring to the Khazimula family, but also from the produce harvested from the growing tunnel.
In 2022, Lincoln Rotary used its District Grant funds to contribute to the building of a Growing Tunnel at Khazimula.
