On October 24, our Club invited Ms. Candy Lok, a therapist specializing in play therapy and filial therapy to give a talk on her expertise. Ms. Lok introduced to our members the basic concepts and theories of play therapy, and explained how play action can reveal a great deal about the psychology of a child. While her work focused on children from talking age up to mid teens, she explained that the concept could very well be applied to other age groups, including infants. In general, Ms. Lok explained that visual observation and listening were as important in understanding children’s feelings as asking the right follow up questions at the right time. Ms. Lok also shared with us a number of anonymized cases in which a simple painting or sand play can reveal a great deal about how a child thinks.
Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. While polio cases have dropped in recent years, there has been a recent resurgence of the disease in areas thought to have been polio free. Although there is no cure, vaccination is safe and effective in immunizing children and reducing the risks of further outbreaks. For over thirty years, Rotary has contributed more than $1.8 billion to fight the disease. On October 19, over 500 Rotarians in Hong Kong and Macau gathered together to raise awareness of the disease and to raise more funds to help to vaccinate children in impoverished communities around the world.
On October 10, our Club invited Ms. Angel Cheng, founder of Build A Music School (B.A.M.S), to give an overview of the project. B.A.M.S. is a non-profit project aimed to partner with the local community to build a music school in Keng Tung, in the Golden Triangle area of Myanmar. Through music training, B.A.M.S. aims to bring the joy of music to the impoverished children of the area. Ms. Angel Cheng traced her path from a Christian missionary brought to the region to share the words of Gospel, to a music educator and community developer aimed to bring the joy of music to a region ravaged by drugs and warlords.
On October 9, President Mark Tong, together with Charter President Patrick Poon and Past Presidents Grace Yen and Webster Ng, attended the Club Installation of the Interact Club of King’s College. Principal KC Tang also attended the Installation and gave an encouraging speech to the Interactors. President Mark and Charter President Patrick also gave uplifting words to the Interactors, at a time of social unrest. Outgoing President Tom Lam gave a report of his achievements in the previous year, while Incoming President Marx Wong outlined his ideas for the coming year. The new 15-strong committee was pinned by President Mark and Charter President Patrick, with over 30 Interactors and school staff as witnesses.