Our Club continued to meet on Zoom due to pandemic conditions and gathering restrictions in Hong Kong. 7 Rotaractors and 2 Interactors joined our meeting in our annual “Youth Day”. Ms Crystal Lee from HKU also joined.
The meeting began with Charter President Patrick, Rotarian Jason and President Elect Sam taking turns to give details of our upcoming project, Rotary Cares Food Aid 2020. Patrick gave a quick introduction of the project’s purpose and concept. Jason gave updates of the project’s strategic and operational details. Sam gave updates of the project’s fundraising activities. In all, the planning for the project is already underway. Members were invited to help. (A kickoff ceremony is scheduled to be held on September 17. Please refer to our Whatsapp communication for more details.)
Rotarian Eliza, joining from New Zealand, wore her Preserve Planet Earth (“PPE”) hat and gave us some news and details about District’s Beach Cleanup Event on October 3. Eliza mentioned that this is one of those very special events where Rotarians and Rotaractors work hand in hand to keep our environment clean. Due to the pandemic, the cleanup crew will be divided into small groups, with a maximum of 20 participants. For those who are interested, please contact Eliza for details.
Next up was outgoing President Charlotte Chan of Interact Club of St. Clare’s Girls’ School. She said that their Club was able to meet regularly at the beginning of the school year. They were able to plan a few projects, but ended up unable to see through most of them due to the pandemic. The Club did send more than a dozen Interactors to our District Blind Bowling Tournament – most certainly the largest group from one school at the event – and managed to learn about disabilities, courage to overcome, and team-work. Charlotte also emphasized that while many of the projects did not materialize, she and her team very much enjoyed the process of planning – an experience that she and her team would cherish forever.
Outgoing President Bobo Feng of Interact Club of Ho Fung College said that many of their plans were cancelled in the past school year, but they managed to complete two: a successful membership recruiting event where they managed to showcase the Interact spirit and recruit young members. They also managed to host one event – a teddy bear making event where they made 70 washcloth teddy bears and delivered to the elderly. Outside of Interact, Bobo mentioned that virtual school life was very difficult, especially for an upcoming DSE student like her. She also found the idea of learning at home not easy to adjust, but she also said it was overall a great opportunity to improve self-control and self-motivation.
President Anushka Chaudhuri of Rotaract Club of HKU Lap Chee College International reported that, while much of the Rotaract year did not go according to plan, her team still managed to host a recruitment talk, a Club Installation in which many Rotarians attended, and an icebreaking session for Rotaractors to learn more about each other. Their annual dim sum event was cancelled, but was reorganized as a visit, at the peak of the pandemic in February, to the Community Centre in Shun Lee Estate in Kwun Tong District, for which they received a RI Citation. They also participated in some Rotary-level activities, including District Peace Night.
Finally, all Rotaractors were given time to share their personal experience. Rotaractors Cindy Effendy (a Peace Night attendee) and Gabin Kee spoke about the lack of social life. Rotaractor Yuxi Cai did a lot of thinking about many personal and social issues, as did Rotaractor Luisa Jiang, who was hoping to study abroad but this global pandemic made travel impossible. Anushka and Rotaractor Anuj Bhatia (also a Peace Night attendee who joined us from India) spoke about the lack of human connection and mental health issues. Past President Sally Oh spoke of how she missed her family during the pandemic. Crystal bookended the sharing by saying how everyone learned to think outside the box in this abnormal times.