A signature project of our club since 2001! District Governor Norman & his wife Isabel, President Eliza , Past President Eddie, Past President Grace and President Elect Jason attended the Island Scout Trail Walk 2022 Award Ceremony where our club was a co-organizer. Due to the pandemic, the trail walk was done on both virtual + physical format and achieved a total of 20,000 km by the scouts, their families and friends.
At the end of the Rotary Year it was great to have one last fellowship dinner. Hosted by Past President Peter and Coco, the dinner, on June 25, was attended by Past President Eddie, Rita, Past President Grace, Past President Lily, President Sam, President Elect Eliza, President Nominee Jason and Sara. Past President Eddie and Rita met Past President Peter and Coco early in the day to go to the market and prepare the sumptuous meal. By about 6pm, the other guests arrived at Past President Peter’s residence in Yuen Long. Over appetizers of homemade chilled abalone, spring rolls and durian cake, Past Presidents Peter, Eddie and Grace reminisced about ex-members and club events in the 1990s and early 2000s. After the fireside chat, the fire was lit for dinner. Past President Peter took care of a live fire barbeque while Coco was in charge of the Korean hot plate barbeque. The food included generous amounts of seafood , meats and vegetables. Dessert included ice cream and grapes. Everyone was too full to eat another bite. It was a wonderful evening of food and fellowship!
On June 23, our Club met for dinner at Regal Hongkong Hotel. A number of spouses were in attendance at this final regular meeting of the Rotary Year x 4th Club Assembly. There were no birthdays or anniversaries announced at this meeting. Past President Dora, as Sergeant-at-Arms, reported the final figure of the Red Box which far exceeded the annual target. She thanked all members for the strong support. With the help of President Elect Eliza, President Sam reported on District Blind Bowling Tournament and District Preserve Planet Earth Tree Planting Day which were held on June 12 and June 18, respectively.Club Installation is to be held on July 14 (Thursday, 12:30pm) and members were reminded to wear the new theme ties/scarves and pins. At the club installation, a recognition ceremony will take place to recognize the Paul Harris Fellows, Paul Harris Society, Benefactors and Major Donors of the club. After the reports were settled, President Sam invited President Elect Eliza to preside over the 4th Club Assembly. First, President Sam gave a President’s Report that reviewed the activities and major projects of 2021-22. President Sam finished by promoting the Photo Archive of RCHKH which is now accessible by password…
The Duty Rotarians arrived early on June 9 and ready to receive our speaker Professor Danny Lam. During the club activities report, Past President Eddie remarked how two days of volunteering on June 1 & 2 at LINKS Café and Holy Café, respectively, has improved his fitness. Packing, transporting and distributing 360 gift bags was indeed a hefty job. Then, led by Past President WT, we sang Happy Birthday to Past President Kay whose birthday was on June 14. Charter President Patrick gave the introduction of the speaker. Professor Danny Lam is currently Professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, The University of Hong Kong (“HKU”). As Director of the Policy for Sustainability Lab at HKU, Professor Danny, in partnership with HSBC, headed the rural rejuvenation project of Lai Chi Wo which turned it into a working farm and co-operative. Professor Lam first explained the background which he had to work with. About 40 per cent of Hong Kong’s total land area is protected from development by the Country Parks Ordinance. The down side is that basic infrastructure development in villages, or enclaves, surrounded by country parks is also bound by these rules. The result is that many villages are…
Suicide Prevention Services (SPS) applied for funds under the HK Jockey Club Charities Trust’s COVID-19 Emergency Fund. Initiated by SPS, this project (抗疫見喜樂) was hosted in conjunction with Holy Cafe’s hot meal box service and supported by volunteers, family/friends of Rotary Club of Hong Kong Harbour. Putting together 360 care packages (福袋) was the first step on Day 1 (June 1). The volunteers accomplished the task in just about one-hour at LINKS Cafe, SPS’s outlet in Kwai Hing. On Day 2 (June 2) 11am, volunteers moved all the bags by 5-ton truck to Holy Cafe. By 3pm, we started to distribute meal boxes and the gift bags, finishing at about 6pm. Some volunteers were inside the shop putting together the meal boxes and distributing them and the gift bags. Some were outside doing a mental wellness survey of the elderly and maintaining order. Volunteers from our club included: President Sam (+ sister Yvette, sister-in-law Emily, nephew Derek, niece Nicole), Past President Lily (+ sister Alice, nephew Sherlock, friends Bary & Antony), Past President Webster (+ son Shum Yeh), Past President Eddie & Rita (+ Rita’s sister Connie & Shun), Immediate Past President Mark, Past President Grace, President Elect Eliza and…
The event of the Rotary Year was well attended by our club, including: President Sam, Charter President Patrick, Past District Governor Belinda (via Zoom), Past President Grace, Past President Eddie Leung, Past President Angela, Past President Dora, Past President WT, Past President Lily and Immediate Past President Mark. Past President Eddie Wong returned from the UK and joined the Governor’s Banquet on Day 1.
On May 27, Club members participated in the second service days in Phase 1 of our street cleaner project with Caritas. We gave out 120 care packages (福袋) to street cleaners in Ngau Tau Kok on May 20. On this day, we did the same at Tsuen Wan with 150 care packages. President Sam, Past President Eddie, President Elect Eliza and President Nominee Jason participated in this service day. Phase 2 of the project will be health days for street cleaners in Ngau Tau Kok and Tsuen Wan, providing them with a basic health assessment and follow-up by Caritas social workers. It is anticipated that Phase 2 takes place in July 2022.
Past President Anthony Ngai, chair of the District Preserve Plant Earth (PPE) Committee and member of Rotary Club of Hong Kong South, was our speaker. His topic was “Supporting the Environment”, Rotary International’s 7th Area of Focus. In our District, there are a number of initiatives, such as tree planting, beach cleaning, sustainable seafood, PPE education and newly-added PPE project advisory for clubs. When asked, Past President Anthony believes it is not too late to adopt green practices to reduce carbon and plastics. In terms of beach cleaning, Past President Eddie brought up a point that educating people about plastics and responsible waste management is even more important than physically cleaning the site. Past President Anthony also gave an example of a cutlery renting service to reduce plastics consumptions. This service will be pushed to large District events to minimize plastics use, and Past President Anthony encouraged our Club and Lap-Chee College Rotaractors to consider this service in our activities. Our meeting was visited by Rotaractors from Rotaract Club of HKU Lap-Chee College International. Rotaractors included a majority of the incoming 2022-23 team: President Thomas, International Vice President Siqi, External Vice President Subaita, Si Man (International Service), Katherine (Professional Development),…
District Rotary Foundation Seminar was held on November 27. Attendees from our Club included Past District Governor Belinda (chair of the District Rotary Foundation Committee), Past President Grace (member of the District Rotary Foundation Committee), and Past Presidents Angela and Eddie (seminar presenters). Charter President Patrick was a special VIP guest, while President Elect Eliza attended to understand more about the works of The Rotary Foundation within the Rotary movement.
On November 12, President Sam, and Past Presidents Grace, Eddie and WT visited Ms. Lai and Ms. Lo at the Yuk Chi Resource Centre. The main purpose was to observe the District Grant project in action. Ms. Lai explained to the group the high demand of obtaining a comprehensive developmental assessment of age-6 or under children with suspected developmental problems. Underprivileged families may need to wait 15 to 18 months at the Department of Health. Our Club’s District Grant project will help 45 such families this year. Our Rotarians observed an assessment of a 4-year old girl for 20 minutes. Through playing with toys and engaging her in specific tasks the clinical psychologist was able to test the girl’s motor functions and assess her developmental progress. After the visit, President Sam led the group to a Singaporean restaurant (A Taste Above Shiok) in Causeway Bay for afternoon tea.