KNYSNA NEWS - In its 58 years in Knysna, the local Rotary Club has lent many a helping hand to the community, and the plans they have in store for the year ahead are promising nothing short of the same.
For those not familiar with Rotary and the work the international organisation does, Rotary is an international organisation bringing together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service and advance goodwill and peace.
This work is done through clubs that are apolitical, secular, and open to all. Knysna Rotary Club was incepted in 1962 and currently has about 40 active members. It is part of a greater Rotary District that covers clubs in Angola, Namibia and the Western part of South Africa.
Education
One of the club's key areas of focus is education. Organisations supported by Rotary include the Knysna Education Trust, the Knysna Sports Academy, the Hands and Hearts Skills Development Centre and the TS Knysna Sea Cadets.
The Rotary-run Reading Rabbits programme promotes mother tongue literacy through the distribution of early readers in Afrikaans, English and Xhosa. A limited number of bursaries are offered for tertiary education.
Some rather chilly Rotarian marshalls at the 2019 Rotary Knysna Cycle Race.
The Rotary Dent initiative provides disadvantaged local children with free dental treatment from an international team of dentists.
Each of the seven high schools in Knysna is home to an Interact Club, a service club for teens that falls under the auspices of Rotary. These clubs run their own outreach projects within the local community and they also assist Knysna Rotary at some events.
The two-day Know your Town programme, arranged by Rotary, exposes Interactors to the different services and organisations that contribute to the running of Knysna.
Health
Another main area of focus for Rotary is community health. In 2018, in partnership with the Rotary Club of Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal, Knysna Rotary organised the week-long Rotary Dent initiative, whereby a team of international dentists provided free dental treatment to disadvantaged local children. Rotary Dent will take place once again in April 2020.
The Rotary Anns supply the municipal clinic with protein-rich sandwiches to ensure that TB patients have something to eat with their medication. Knysna Rotary also supports the e'Pap Children's Feeding Project, along with some smaller feeding schemes.
Home-based care organisations assisted by the club include Knysna-Sedgefield Hospice and Sedgefield-based Masithandane.
Interactors from local high schools learning about the Knysna Basin Project as part of the Know Your Town Programme.
Other events
In order to generate income to fund its many outreach projects, Knysna Rotary organises three annual fundraising events. These are the Charity Golf Tournament, which takes place this year from 21 to 24 May, the Rotary Knysna Cycle Tour, to be held on 27 and 28 June and the year-end Splash Festival, with its lagoon swim and duck race typically in late December.
The Rotary Knynsa Awareness Day and CANSA Shavathon will take place on Saturday 29 February from 09:00 to 13:00 at the Knysna Mall. This exhibition affords local charities the chance to showcase their work.
Rotarians Andy Muir and Mike Mills with representatives of Knysna Municipality and Library Services Staff at the launch of the Reading Rabbits programme.
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