Past President WT reported that he had a lot of fun at the Zone Institute, held in Manila from November 29 to December 1. Past President WT was invited to be a panelist to talk about mediation and arbitration as a model for resolving conflicts within Rotary and in society.
Mr. Titan Lam, founder of TIRAPY, came to our Club on November 28 to talk about the TIRAPY system, a therapeutic medical system that helps to improve blood circulation and encourage controlled muscular movement. The concept of the system takes inspiration from multiple disciplines: neuro-endocrinal science, kinesiology, psychology, and martial art. While Mr. Lam himself is a decorated martial artist with over 30 years of combating experience, our members in attendance did not have the privilege of seeing a demonstration of his martial arts skills. What Mr. Lam demonstrated, however, was better: the TIRABALL, the centerpiece of the TIRAPY system. The TIRABALL is an inflatable ball with metal ball bearings inside. As the user moves the TIRABALL, the ball bearings start to move, thereby providing centrifugal force and added resistance as the user continues his/her movement. Mr. Lam gave examples of how the TIRAPY system has helped people with muscular degenerative diseases to improve their muscular strength and acuity. Past District Governor Eugene Fong and President Mark attested that juggling with the TIRABALL is no walk in the park, as both started to sweat and feel mild exhaustion after barely a minute of fiddling around with it.
On November 14, our Club invited Ms. Annike Pong, founder of Music Children Foundation, to give an overview of Music Children Foundation, a local charity that provides free music education to underprivileged kids in Hong Kong. Music Children Foundation (”MCF”)’s vision is simple: to introduce music to underprivileged children at an early age and to cultivate their core values towards building a harmonious society. Ms. Pong believes that music education does not end with merely perfecting musical senses and techniques, but building self-confidence, enhancing communication skills, and fostering a life-long interest in the arts through the learning of music. Ms. Pong also cites how music has transformed the lives of not only children but families: as parents become volunteers in MCF events, they spend more time with their children. Parents also get to understand their children more through the new common language of music.
On November 4, our Rotaract Club hosted their RY2019-2020 Club Installation, attended by President Mark Tong, Charter President Patrick Poon, Vice President Barry Chan, Past Presidnt Grace Yen, Past President Webster Ng, and Rotarian Kelvin Yeung. The new Board includes many faces familiar to Rotarians: Chaeri Yoo, incoming International Service Director who was an inaugural member/fantastic pianist of Harbour Lights, the Rotarian/Rotaractor band that performed at our Club’s 32nd Anniversary Party; Anuj Bhatia, incoming Professional Development Director, and Cindy Effendy, incoming Treasurer, who attended District Peace Night with us. All Rotarians gave speeches of congratulations and encouragement to the Rotaractors.