At the end of August, the Rotary Club hopes to start a new branch in the Fourways area, bringing business people and residents together to work on making a difference in their community.
One example of what might be in store for schools in the area is Rotary’s work to help Ferndale High School in Randburg start a Robotics Club for its pupils.
The Robotics Club began last year when the Rotary Club, in conjunction with the non-profit organisation Care for Education, donated eight Lego kits so that children who were interested could, as a team, create an autonomous robot to be entered into the First Lego League (FLL) competition.
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Christopher Thompson, the district governor’s personal representative for Rotary’s district 9400, said Rotary got involved with the project because ‘so many school kids get left out of school extramurals because they don’t play sports, like soccer’.
“But with a robotics team, it’s not just about the robots. The kids also get to learn about networking, working with other people and how to use robotics to solve real world problems, like for recycling,” he said.
Despite the fact that the club was only started last year, Ferndale High still managed to make it to the competition’s nationals the same year.
This year, Ferndale pupils are not only involved in the FLL but have also entered the World Robotics Organisation (WRO) in which older pupils aged 16 to 18 participate.
“Being involved with WRO means that we focus more on actual robots, like learning how to programme them [rather] than using them to solve problems [like what is expected in the FLL]” explained Clint Banda (16), a Grade 11 pupil, member and mentor for the other pupils of the club.
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“I was convinced to join the team by my teacher [Vusi Maleva, a Ferndale teacher and team coach],” said club member Alyssa Governder (14).
“I stayed in the club because it really started to grow on me, and everything we did was fun.”
Competition days are nearly here, as the pupils aged under 16 will be attending the FLL event on 27 August, and those 16 and over will be attending the WRO event on 30 July.
When asked why Rotary decided to get involved with the project, Thompson explained, “We wanted to give a struggling school some great facilities. They are right in the middle of our community, after all.”
People interested in learning more about a new Rotary Club in Fourways are invited to attend an interest meeting on 31 August, 6.30pm, at the Bryanston Sports Club (corner Main and Payne roads).
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