Rotary to host family health days

This is an initiative of Rotarians For Family Health and Aids Prevention (RFHA), Rotary’s mobilising and implementing partner in the area of disease prevention, including HIV/Aids.

Other services over the three days will include:

• TB symptomatic screening,
• diabetes and blood pressure screening,
• measles vaccinations,
• deworming and
• the dispensing of Vitamin A.

The two clubs in Benoni who are manning sites for this year’s Rotary Family Health Days (RFHD) are:

• The Rotary Club of Benoni Aurora will man a site at Norah’s Drop-In Centre in Barcelona.
• And the Rotary Club of Benoni conjoined with the Rotary Club of Benoni van Ryn will man a site at the John Wesley Community Centre in Etwatwa.

RFHA is a global Rotarian Action Group and mobilising partner of Rotary International.

RFHA has received an unprecedented commitment from the Department of Health (DoH), the Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, SABC and Caxton to support the implementation of the Rotary Family Health Days (RFHDs) programme across the country.

The programme is Rotary-led, with international support from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Agencies of the United States of America Government, who fund HIV/Aids programme (USAID).

The Family Health Days are a comprehensive, holistic offering of free healthcare for parents, children, grandparents, friends and all family members in over 143 sites across the country.

Approximately 4 000 Rotarians from 225 Rotary Clubs will be volunteering between 9am to 4pm daily, and working the sites to assist the medical staff and deliver the services to South Africans.

It is the vision of RFHA, Rotary leaders and other partners to expand the health event each year to other African countries.

The Rotary Club of Benoni Aurora’s volunteers built and manage the site at Nora’s Educare Centre in Tembela.

Together with several NPOs they will mobilise the community into action to attract the citizens to the event.

The Rotary Family Health Days is the signature programme of RFHA.

The programme promotes healthy living and disease prevention by implementing a massive, annual campaign that provides comprehensive, free health-care services to tens of thousands of people in underprivileged communities.

The services include lifelong immunisations of children, such as polio and measles vaccines and comprehensive life-saving annual screens such as HIV, TB, diabetes, hypertension, malaria and more.

The programme is Rotary-led, and is sponsored by The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, the South African Department of Health, the CDC, USAID, and the SABC and Caxton as primary media partners, as well as YFM, Media 24 news and Independent News and Media Group.

For more information on the Rotary Family Health Days visit: https://www.rfhd.org.za (Rotary Family Health Day web site) or dial *120*7343#.

The contact person for the Rotary Club of Benoni Aurora’s site is Jeni Pailard on 071 8559314, and the contact person for the Rotary Club of Benoni Van Ryn site is Brian Ancient on 0118128209.

STRAP (IF NEEDED)

Rotary at a glance:

Rotary brings together a global network of volunteer leaders who dedicate their time and talent to tackle the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges.

Rotary connects 1.2 million members from more than 200 countries and geographical areas.

Their work impacts lives at both the local and international levels, from helping families in need in their own communities to working toward a polio- free world.

Rotary brings together the kind of people who step forward to take on important issues for local communities worldwide.

Rotarymembers hail from a range of professional backgrounds; doctors, artists, small business owners and stay-at-home parents all call themselves Rotarians.

Rotary connects these unique perspectives, and helps leverage its members’ expertise to improve lives everywhere.

Rotary brings free health services to you.