On February 22, our service partner Amity Foundation hosted a townhall featuring representatives from two NGOs in Nepal and Myanmar, school students in Hong Kong, and donors. Our Club also joined to learn about water resource scarcity in poor rural areas in Nepal and Myanmar. President Mark, President Elect Sam, Rotarians Jason and Eliza joined as a group. Past President Lily joined remotely. Rotaractors Gabin Kee and Anuj Bhatia also joined remotely as guests. The townhall featured sharing by villagers who benefited from water infrastructure and systems funded partially by our Club’s fundraising efforts last year during Walk for Living Water 2020. In many parts of the world, villagers still have to walk for hours to reach water resources and bring back water for their daily use. A lot of these resources, heavily polluted and infested with bacteria, are marginally suitable for bathing, let alone drinking and cooking. Our Club will continue to work with Amity to raise awareness of global potable water shortage, inform our youth about the importance of water preservation, and support projects that bring clean water to communities around the world.
On December 10, our Club met on Zoom due to worsening pandemic conditions in Hong Kong. Rotarian Eliza, having just returned to Hong Kong from New Zealand, joined our meeting from her quarantine hotel and shared with us her life under quarantine. Our speaker of the day was Rotarian Kelvin Yeung, Professor at HKU LKS Faculty of Medicine. Rotarian Kelvin’s topic was current development of vaccines to combat Covid-19. Using his research skills and connections to experts at HKU, Rotarian Kelvin prepared for and presented a well-researched yet layman explanation of vaccine developments around the world. In particular, Rotarian Kelvin differentiated between the various approaches of vaccines under clinical trials, and debunked certain misinformation about vaccines. Analogically, the current vaccine candidates are like different weapon types using different attack approaches, though aiming at the same enemy. Their chemical structures and biological mechanisms are very different, as are their shelf lives, storage requirements and need for further booster shots. The bottom line is that vaccine development is one critical and important step in the fight against the virus, but not the only one. Other steps are important too, including proper use of masks, good hygiene, and social distancing. Until vaccines are…
Rotarian Eliza reported that, on November 4, she attended the club birthday celebratory dinner of Rotary Club of Auckland Harbourside in Auckland, New Zealand, and proudly exchanged Club banners with her host.
Our Club returned to physical lunch meeting at Regal Hong Kong Hotel after two months of virtual meetings on Zoom. To ensure proper social distancing, Regal has given us a large room, with 4-person tables separated by ample spaces. In a first for our Club, we tried a physical+online meeting, whereby the physical meeting was broadcasted live via Zoom to those unable to travel to Causeway Bay or currently out of town. The meeting began with President Mark giving some updates about our Club and our District. Rotarian Eliza, checking in via Zoom from New Zealand, gave updates on District beach cleaning and details about green club qualifications. Thereafter, the floor was yielded to President Elect Sam, who began to conduct his first Club Assembly. Directors took turns to give updates about aspects of our Club. Past President Angela unveiled a casual Zoom gathering, whereby members discuss anything and everything. The only rule: no Rotary business is to be discussed. Past President Angela also said that as soon as gathering restrictions become more relaxed, fun yet safe fellowship will be planned accordingly. President Mark reported, on behalf of International Service Director Past President Dora, updates about Nicole Au, our Rotary…
District Public Image Seminar was held virtually, on Zoom, on September 19. Members not only attended but helped to organize the event. Past District Governor Belinda, as District’s Public Image Committee Chair, gave the opening remarks and introduction. Past President Grace, as the event’s organizing committee chair, led a session on the Rotary brand. Past President Dora was the event’s MC. Past President Angela worked both behind the scenes managing the logistics and in front of the camera unveiling this year’s edition of People of Action Photo Competition. Members joining the seminar included: President Mark, Past President Lily, Rotarian Jason and Rotarian Eliza. Past President Grace remarked that the event’s organizing committee was a 3-generation affair, as Past President Helen Or of Rotary Club of Neoteric HK, our grandbaby club, and Assistant Governor Anna Or of Rotary E Club of Lantau, our baby club, were also members of the event’s organizing committee. Rotarian Eliza bookended the 3.5-hour seminar by winning the top prize (a wine + HK$1000) in a lucky draw, and promptly announced to donate the cash prize to our Food Aid project. Thank you, District PI Committee. Thank you, Rotarian Eliza!
Our Club continued to meet on Zoom due to pandemic conditions and gathering restrictions in Hong Kong. The meeting was graced by the official visits by Area 3’s Assistant Governor John Wong and Deputy Assistant Governor Gilbert Fung. During the meeting, Board members took turns to give updates of our Club affairs to Assistant Governor John and Deputy Assistant Governor Gilbert: President Mark gave updates about our Club’s giving to The Rotary Foundation, District Grant, our sponsored Rotary scholar, Youth Service etc. Past President Angela, as Membership Director, summarized our membership growth plans and fellowship plans with the pandemic in mind. Rotarian Jason, as Service Projects Director, gave details of our various projects, from our special pandemic grants to our local service partners to our biweekly volunteering activities. Rotarian Jason also gave updates about our Rotary Cares Food Aid 2020 Project. Past President Dora, as International Service Director, summarized our liaison with our sister clubs, our active global grants, and international service partners. Assistant Governor John not only gave timely advice about how to conduct meetings and fellowship during the pandemic but also offered help to be a bridge between District and our Club. The meeting, despite its virtual nature,…
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…
On August 22, District successfully held a Membership Forum online. Several members attended, including Charter President Patrick, President Elect Sam and Rotarian Eliza. President Mark and Past President Lily dialed in from Holy Cafe. One of the most exciting breakout sessions was about Virtual Rotary Exchange Program. Past District Governor YK Cheng and Past President Silva Yeung of Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile detailed how Virtual Rotary Exchange came about during our Rotary Connects the World Forum, hosted by our District, back in June. In that Forum, an idea to innovate existing Rotary programs was germinated, including the prospect of a virtual exchange program. With a virtual exchange, young participants no longer have to take time off, often at the beginning of their careers, to participate. They can log on after work, at their leisure time, in their own home, and connect with other exchange participants thousands of miles away. The opportunities to make new connections, to facilitate cultural exchange and to encourage international understanding, are endless.
On July 23, our Club met on Zoom due to heightened pandemic conditions and gathering restrictions in Hong Kong. The meeting was conducted in the evening. Undeterred by the time difference, Past President Angelica Rinehart (Rotary Club of Fremont, Ohio) woke up early to join from the United States. Past President Angelica last visited us in February and March 2019. Everyone was surprised to see her and was most happy to welcome her back! The meeting, in addition to the usual report by Club President, had two highlights. The first highlight was our Club’s first-ever virtual induction of a new member. The induction began with Past President WT giving a brief introduction of our newest member: Eliza Ning. No stranger to our Club and our District, Rotarian Eliza is already an active Rotarian who has served on both the District Peace and PPE Committees. Eliza also has additional connections with our Club: Past President WT was her mediation mentor when she began studying the discipline some years ago. Furthermore, through her involvement in District’s Sustainable Seafood program, Eliza has previously worked with President Mark, Past President Grace and many of our Interactors in the past. Eliza has also worked with…
Rotarian Eliza Ning of Rotary Satellite Club of Tolo Harbour Happy Health came to our Club to give a talk on “Peer Mediation”. A career banker, Eliza upon retirement has a new-found interest in mediation, particularly amongst our youth. She shared her experience taking classes on mediation, attending peer mediation competitions among secondary schools, and teaching mediation techniques to secondary schoolers. She is hopeful that conflicts, especially among our youth, can be resolved through peer mediation techniques, including active listening, reframing, uncovering underlying interests, doubt creation to firm beliefs etc. These techniques, when properly executed, help to promote an environment whereby others resolve conflict through mutual understanding.