GUEST SPEAKER: Nevine Yassa Topic: ROOTA
Introduced by Kris Sachdeva, Nevine’s first involvement with Rotary was through Rotaract as a member of the Rotaract of Heliopolis, in Cairo, Egypt and translated the Rotaract Constitution from English to Arabic. It was published and distributed in the middle East in 1983.
She then joined the Rotary Club of Scarborough in 1999. Her passion was international committees and was involved in various Global Grants between Rotary Club of Scarborough and various districts around the world ex Canada and Ethiopia; Canada and Sudan; Canada and Egypt.
She obtained a degree in English Literature from the University of Alexandria, Egypt as well as a degree in simultaneous translation from The American University in Cairo. Her work experience was mainly in fashion working as a fashion coordinator with the Wool House, London which gave her extensive opportunities of travelling around the world attending fashion shows and coming back to Cairo to share the knowledge with the Egyptian private and public sectors in Egypt. She then diverted to Education in Canada, where she went to Queens University for a third degree which was a Bachelor degree in Education and then started her Masters in Education. As her husband had to pursue a fellowship in Northern Ontario for his studies, she opted on completing her Masters degree at Lakehead University rather than continuing part time at Queens University and published in Research in Drama Education in 1999. She was then accepted to do her PhD at OISE. However, due to family reasons she deferred the proposal of a doctorate for a year, but then decided to teach at the school level. She teaches French and still pursues her passion for fashion and Rotary.
She is also the Inter Country Committee Regional Coordinator for North America & Mexico and the ICC National Coordinator for Canada.
Nevine made an excellent presentation to us. ROOTA is an acronym for Rising Out Of The Ashes. Her topic featured the collection of garbage in the city of Cairo performed by Zabaleen. The men start collecting around 1 am. The rest of the day starting at 6 am is spent by the women and children sorting through the debris to retrieve recyclable paper, clothing, etc. Unfortunately, they live in the garbage as well as trying to benefit from the contents.
These people migrated to Cairo from upper Egypt, where they were farmers. There are approximately 30,000 Zabaleen in Cairo.
Education in Egypt is free. These people do not take advantage of the free education as their days are consumed by trying to survive.
Pigs used to eat the garbage, but they were eliminated because it was believed that the pigs caused the SARS pandemic. Goats are used to feed off the garbage these days.
Nevine is striving to help these Zabaleen to become financially independent as recycled paper producers, the weavers of cloth and to become educated.
She has earned a District Grant of $9,000.00 and has a year to report back to the District illustrating how the money was used to establish sustained
business operations and to show how many people have become literate.
Q & A:
Nevine informed us that it costs $500.00 to have a custom built loom in Egypt. Kris informed the club and Nevine that Parkwood Rotary is going to provide $500.00 to assist her efforts this Rotary Year and to recommend that future International Committees should consider the same support.
Lennis advised Nevine that she should contact a Rotary Club in Egypt to endorse her mission, in order to qualify for a Rotary Foundation Global Grant.
Thanked by: Past District Governor Ted Morrison. He noted that her presentation was very professional and an excellent way for our club to start 2021.
UPCOMING MEETINGS:
Next Week: January 12, 2021:
Please plan on attending our regular weekly club meeting from 6:30 pm to 6:55 pm on our regular Zoom connection.
Then, just before 7:00 pm, please join us for the second meeting from 7 pm to 8 pm. We are registered for the Rotary District 7070 Tuesday Talks, this month featuring Michael Angelo Caruso entitled: Save Time and Get Results -- Best Practices for Membership, Fundraising, Promoting Rotary. We will continue our regular weekly meeting right here on our second Zoom call. All club members have been registered for our next Tuesday Talk coming up on January 12! You will get a link to this meeting shortly. The District 7070 Public Image Team will show you how to Save Time and Get Results—Best Practices for Membership, Fundraising, Promoting Rotary. Our dynamic keynote speaker, Michael Angelo Caruso, who is our Rotary Zone 28 East Public Image Coordinator, is known for getting extremely fast results. He can make anyone a better communicator and regularly demonstrates his effective communication strategies by helping audience members improve during his presentation. In addition, our Public Image Private Investigators will review, the District Rotary and Rotaract Clubs' digital and social media presence and provide some tips on how they can enhance their public image. Sue Miller of the District Public Image Committee, will highlight some excellent District social media work, and we will hear from clubs who will talk about some of the benefits from their successful Public Image campaigns. There will be time for you to ask some questions from our presenters and from some of the Rotary Zone 28 East Assistant Public Image Coordinators, who will be on the call and ready to help you and your club.
For more info on the Tuesday Talks for January 12, please click here.
Jan 19, 2021. 7 pm James Titmarsh Durham Steelhawks Sledge Hockey
Jan 26, 2021. 7 pm Mark Blackmore (Heather’s Spouse) Toastmasters International - A new Rotary Partner
Feb 2, 2021. 7 pm Dena Sicard Executive Director of Denise House
Feb 9, 2021. 7 pm Our club’s Zoom Valentine Party
OUR REGULAR WEEKLY ZOOM MEETING LINK:
Topic: Rotary Club of Oshawa-Parkwood Weekly Meetings on ZOOM, UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
Time: 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting: https://zoom.us/j/99926166884
Meeting ID: 999 2616 6884
Pass Code: 2020
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+1 647 558 0588 Canada
Meeting ID: 999 2616 6884
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Miscellaneous Discussions before the meeting ended.
Sue and Heather informed us about our very special Christmas project to assist a woman caring for eight children with special needs. They range in age from 1 - 14. This woman is a saint. Sue and Heather were very impressed by the caregiver. They enjoyed helping this family and thanked our members for contributing to this need.
Heather, our Chair of the Rotary District 7070 InterAct Committee, informed us that there were no elementary school InterAct clubs in our District, at this time. She has put together an District 7070 Interact Handbook and has done an fantastic job of documenting “how to set up a InterAct Club” for other clubs to use. Heather is well on her way to establishing an InterAct Club at her school.
Robert Kipling told us that he has 2021 desk calendars for everyone in our club. Please give him a call. He will provide for a porch pick up at his home..
Lennis noted that he has not fully recovered his eyesight due to his cataract surgery procedure. He will visit his doctor next week for another follow up.
Sue adjourned our Zoom meeting at 8:30 pm.
IF YOU CAN’T MAKE IT, MAKE UP: Go online at www.rotary.org go to the club locator and find a club or clubs near your destination. Or you can add the free App Rotary Club Locator to your phone for instant look up of any club in the world. Please mail or fax your make-ups to Secretary Robbie Larocque, or give your make-up card to the attendance/registration officer at the next club meeting.
Here is some additional information on ROOTA that appeared in the edition of the Rotary District 7070 Newsletter:
In the spirit of giving, this year The Rotary District 7070 Inter-Country Committee is incorporating one of Rotary-ICC activities which act as a twin edge sword. The Rotary-ICC, increases awareness about other cultures through Art and culture.
Rotary-ICC collaborates with Rising Out of the Ashes (ROOTA) aiming at increasing awareness of a marginalized community in Egypt: mainly the recyclers of Egypt - i.e. the Zabaleen (Garbage Collectors) in Egyptian. These incredible recyclers create Art from trash and scrap fabric.
When you buy one of the products of Zabaleen , please know that 50% of the proceeds are going to Rotary while the other half is going to these amazing recyclers The Zabaleen who are repurposing garbage.
The Zabaleen have been Cairo’s informal garbage collectors since the 1940’s and number between 50,000 to 70,000. The Zabaleen transport the garbage to their homes sort the garbage, and sell it to a middleman or create new products from the recycled garbage. These are a hardworking and self-sustaining people offering informal and yet organized service throughout the city. Garbage is an asset to them. This is their daily life.
What are their products ? Greeting Cards, quilts, hand bags, blankets, and woven rugs.
Sample pictures of their products, and the Roota objectives can be viewed on the Roota at www.roota.org.
Please support Rotary and Rotary-ICC by surfing the website at www.roota.org Note that all items purchased will be delivered to your club.
Here is one example how Rotary Clubs have already helped:
The Rotary Club of Scarborough supported the Zabaleen (garbage collectors in Egyptian) in Egypt allowing women to be independent entrepreneurs by donating four looms to these very efficient recyclers.
ROOTA (Rising Out of the Ashes), is a non-profit organization founded here in Canada by Nevine and some friends, and their mission is to raise the social, educational, economical and health standards of marginalized groups in Egypt. Their present focus is on the Zabaleen of the Mokattam Mountain in Cairo.
They are all volunteers and work with an NGO on site in Egypt called APE (Association of the Protection of Environment) who know the needy on site and disperse the looms as they deem fit.
APE is looking at the increased number in population and hence, they are in dire need of opening new schools for tutoring, and pre-school.
APE currently focuses on four key areas: Environment, Empowerment, Education, and Employment.
Roota’s role here in Canada is to increase awareness about a marginalized community in Egypt called the Zabaleen.
The word “Zabaleen” is an Egyptian Arabic word which means “garbage collectors”. The Zabaleen have been Cairo’s informal garbage collectors since the 1940’s. They are spread around seven different settlements in Cairo and number between 50,000 to 70,000. The Zabaleen once used donkeys to pull carts but now use trucks to transport the garbage to their homes in Mokattam, where they sort the garbage, and then sell it to a middleman or create new products from their recycled garbage. This is a hardworking community and self-sustaining people offering informal and yet organized service throughout the city. Garbage is an asset to them. This is their daily life.
The Zabaleen recycle up to 80 percent of the waste that they collect, soliciting the help of goats ( and pigs before SARS) to consume much of the organic waste. The Zabaleen have recently been recognized by the government as an integral part of Egyptian society.
Roota is a Non-Profit Organization, ROOTA’s mission is to:
support APE in their running health and education programs for the Zabaleen women and children in Egypt.
train the Zabaleen on the proper, safe, efficient, and sanitary means of collecting, recycling, and selling their raw material,
provide workshops on Hepatitis B and C awareness, diabetes and anemia and administer early detection tests for Hepatitis C,
teach and empower women to generate revenue
Support APE by promoting Zabaleen products in Canada
Promote local events where Zabaleen products can be obtained
Current Status:
Women are exercising their rights, participate openly, express themselves freely, and are covered by social insurance.
Recreational Programs: exposure and mobility outside the community, skills training, sense of ownership and responsibility enable girls and women living in marginalized communities to make informed decisions that affect their lives and the lives of their families.
To .date more than 80% of women living in one of the most marginalized communities in Cairo have been directly or indirectly reached by APE’s programs
An intercountry committee, or ICC, is a network of Rotary clubs or districts in two or more countries working together. They’re formed with the approval of district governors.