On August 23, our first fellowship dinner of the year to celebrate August birthday stars (Charter President Patrick, Wendy, Past President Samuel, Past President Angela, Kelly and President Sam) took place at the Shun Tak Fraternal Association restaurant. Thanks to Past President Grace and Vice President Kelvin/Winnie’s arrangement. Paul Harris pins were also presented by Past District Governor Belinda and President Sam to Past President Ricky (PHF+1) and Immediate Past President Mark (PHF+3, PHF+4). At the end of the dinner, a lucky draw was conducted to give out Suicide Prevention Services souvenir stamp booklets, organic tea from Holy Cafe, and a special “PPE” lucky draw of takeaway food boxes.
On August 21, President Sam, Past President Grace and friend, Past President Lily (and her two nephews), Past President Angela and Maurice, Immediate Past President Mark, President Elect Eliza, Sandy and Trevor (Past President Ka Hing’s friends), and Tony (prospective member) went to Holy Cafe to pack hot meals for the elderly. With several youngsters helping out, the elderly beneficiaries also felt more lively.
What is Kabaddi? On August 12, in our 3rd Club meeting, our speaker, Mr. Wyman Tang, a lecturer in Anthropology at CUHK, shared with us “Kabaddi” the popular South Asian sport. He has been promoting the sport in Hong Kong since 2015. Played between two teams of seven players, the objective of the game is for a single player on offence, referred to as a “raider”, to run into the opposing team’s half of a court, tag out as many of their defenders as possible, and return to their own half of the court, all without being tackled by the defenders. Points are scored for each player tagged by the raider, while the opposing team earns a point for stopping the raider. Players are taken out of the game if they are tagged or tackled, but are brought back in for each point scored by their team from a tag or tackle. Wyman co-founded Kabaddi United Hong Kong, aiming to bring out the message of multiculturalism and social integration. Experiential activities are organized at schools and in the community while providing training for young people of diverse race to be assistant coaches and ambassadors. In the world of Kabaddi, people…
On August 3, President Sam, Past President Antonio and Pat, Past Presidents Grace, Angela, Dora and CK, and Immediate Past President Mark, supported Past President Lily and Past President Patric’s Suicide Prevention Services Charity Concert – “The Familiar Strangers”. It was a lovely night of piano duets and tango music. The gift bag was also beautifully curated, containing washable masks, coffee drip bags, postcard and a well-designed program book. An early fellowship dinner was arranged by President Sam at the City Hall Chinese restaurant.
On August 1, District Governor Keith, President Sam, Past Presidents MK, Eddie and Grace, and President Elect Eliza attended the 24th Island Scout Trail Walk Prize Presentation Ceremony. Past President Eddie also represented the Hong Kong Bone Marrow Foundation, as one of the beneficiary organizations of the trail walk. In a special arrangement, the race took place virtually from May to end of June of this year. Normally the prize ceremony would take place at the square outside The Peak Galleria. This year the ceremony moved indoors to the Hong Kong Scout Centennial Building in Wan Chai. The high point of the day was the presentation of the Hong Kong Harbour Cup by District Governor Keith and President Sam to the team with the best time. The next competition will come very soon in October 2021 to March 2022, which will be part of Scout’s 110th anniversary celebrations!
On July 24, District successfully held a Membership Seminar at CC Kwei Wah Shan College, North Point. Past President Grace attended on behalf of our Club. Membership and new club development was central to the seminar. This year cause-based clubs, satellite clubs and Rotaract clubs are all major focuses. In a “Each One, Bring One” Rotary year, District provided many pointers on how to attract potential club members, promote meaningful club experiences, and increase the engagement of existing members. This year incentives and rewards are given to proposers and Clubs to encourage membership growth.
What is mediation? In the second Club meeting of the year, we learned all about this emerging form of disputes resolution from our speaker, Mr TK Iu, a Solicitor and Accredited Mediator (General & Family). Mediators are trained to be impartial and help parties reach an amicable settlement. The mediator does not impose a decision on the parties. The mediator is neither judge nor arbitrator. Rather, each party are brought face-to-face in a private and confidential setting and has the opportunity to forward his/her point of view. The key drivers of mediation is, 人事分離, or, be hard on the problems and be soft on the people. While litigation and arbitration can be backward looking at facts and events that transpired, mediation builds on the factual foundation of the case and seeks solutions that help all parties meet their goals and objectives. The time and cost savings of mediation will become more evident as mediation gets adopted into mainstream disputes resolution. It is certainly an emerging field as Hong Kong positions itself as a mediation center.
On July 19, we conducted an Intercity Meeting (virtual) with Rotary Club of Pudu, our sister club. Arranged by Past President Dora and Past President Alex of Rotary Club of Pudu, both Clubs joined the Zoom meeting at 8pm. Also in attendance were Pudu’s two satellite clubs and two guest-Rotarians from Pakistan. President Elect Jitco Chin of Pudu acted as Sergeant-at-Arms and called the meeting to order. Past President Dora acted as Sergeant-at-Arms on behalf of our Club. Immediate Past Presidents TK Chee and Mark both shared their annual reports and key service projects. Then, Presidents Elaine Tan and Sam made presentations about their new Boards, and the Club Goals and Projects in RY2021-22. A Q&A session followed, then the meeting concluded with a fellowship session. We learned that Pudu currently has 75 members and aims to increase its size to 100+ members. Pudu’s 55th Anniversary is coming in December and we look forward to connecting again!
On July 18, our first service outing of the Rotary Year! Arranged by Past President Lily with the NGO, Suicide Prevention Services (生命熱線), we volunteered for the Outreach Befriending Service for Suicidal Elderly. This is a program sponsored by The Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust to support the elderly with emotional distress and suicidal thoughts through professional case services and befriending volunteer support. The theme of the day, due to the hot summer season, was, “消暑打氣(Don’t)冬瓜水”. President Sam, President Elect Eliza (& Tiffany), Rotarian Jason (& Sara), Past President Samuel (& Amy), Rtnnes. Coco and Kelly met Lily at SPS’s Links Café in Kwai Hing. Divided into four outreach teams, the teams visited 14 elderly cases at their homes in the West Kowloon district and gave them a care package containing biscuits, hygiene masks, hand sanitizer, sweet heart cake (老婆餅), and winter melon water (冬瓜水). During these home visits, team members chatted with them and found out how they were doing, how is their health and whether any other support is needed.
On July 10, District Installation was held. The guest of honor and speaker was the Honorable Bernard Chan, GBM, GBS, JP. During the Club Presidents’ Installation Ceremony, outgoing President Mark passed the president’s sash to incoming President Sam. In attendance from our Club were Charter President Patrick, Past District Governor Belinda, Past Presidents WT and Grace, and President Elect Eliza. Later in the day, during Past District Governor Belinda’s presentation of Rotary Foundation Major Gifts and Pledges, President Sam announced the largest pledge of the day, the US$250,000 Rotary Club of Hong Kong Harbour 35th Anniversary Endowment Fund. The investment earnings from the Endowment Fund is to be designated perpetually and solely for scholarships in Rotary District 3450. More details will be shared with all Club members in the 1st Club Assembly on the evening of September 23.