Arifa Parker was sworn in as the new president of the Rotary Club of Sea Point last Wednesday at the Hyde Hotel.
Having been a member of the Rotary club for 20 years, Ms Parker says becoming president was not her objective.
“I enjoy working in the background but the Rotarians of Sea Point have been asking me to do this and every year I have an excuse but this year I said let’s give it a go. It’s more than 20 years that I’ve been with them but I only took the badge seven years ago,” said Ms Parker, a resident of Athlone.
“What we do is support community causes, business people got together and recognised the need to assist communities and I remember supporting a créche in Khayelitsha and that is an on-going project,” she said.
In addition, the Rotary Club supports schools in establishing gardens. This initiative is now in progress in Khayelitsha and Langa, and Ms Parker hopes to expand it to Belgravia High School and a school in Delft.
“Why should people buy ingredients for their soup kitchens when they can grow vegetables themselves. This (food gardens) has become a business that is doing very well and the youngsters that are involved are taking this training to their homes and starting more food gardens,” she said.
The Rotary club presented Mbuyi Jongqo, the founder of the Cooktastic Hub project, with a certificate of gratitude for her dedication.
“We are a beneficiary of the Rotary club and this (certificate) speaks to the work we do at the Cooktastic hub which is about empowerment and upliftment, creating jobs for our young people, so I’m happy to receive this,” said Ms Jongqo.
The Woodstock-based Cooktastic Hub is a culinary institute that partners with 72 Western Cape hotels to teach young people how to prepare food.
“We train young people who want to become chefs, we coach and mentor them and we provide jobs opportunities for them. So we have partnered with 72 hotels and they also provide work integrated learning as well as opportunities for employment. This is all for young people from the Cape flats and this would not be possible without the assistance of the Rotary club,” she said.
