On November 18, our Club participated in End Polio Walk, an event to raise awareness of polio and Rotary’s work to help to eradicate the disease. Members in attendance were: President Jason, Past District Governor Belinda, Past Presidents Grace, Mark and Sam. Past District Governor Belinda attended as Rotary Foundation Committee Chair. Our Club was recognized as a Tier 1 contributor to PolioPlus Fund in 2023-24. While being recognized on stage, Mango, President Jason’s beloved, managed to shake hands with Rotary International President Gordon McInally.
Regular Club meeting was held at Regal on October 27. We kicked off the meeting with activity reports from the previous weeks. Most significantly, President Elect Jason helped us to refresh our memories of our participation in End Polio Walkathon and Carnival on October 22. We then welcomed Dr Laura Lo, an Associate Vice President at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) and Chairman of HK Tech 300 Incubation Subcommittee. She is no stranger to members of our Club; she is not only a good friend and colleague of our Rotarian Fei, but also a good friend and scouting colleague of President Eliza’s brother. She came to talk to us about tech and innovation in Hong Kong, and specifically about HK Tech 300, an entrepreneurship program organized by CityU to encourage young minds to take their first steps to become entrepreneurs. Eligible participants receive some training before applying for HK$100k seed funding. After this initial funding period, eligible participants compete for angel funding, up to HK$1 million. Anyone affiliated with CityU is eligible to enter this program, including the general public who enters into licensing agreements to deploy intellectual property developed by CityU’s academics. Dr Lo admitted that while most…
Past Presidents Eddie, Grace, Samuel, WT, Lily and Mark, together with President Elect Jason and Sara and Mango started off with a brunch fellowship at NO BOUNDARY in Kennedy Town. Afterwards, they began an easy walk from Kennedy Town to Cyber Port (3.5 km), arriving at Cyber Port just in town for the End Polio festivities. Past District Governor Belinda received a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of our Club for our Donation to The Rotary Foundation’s End Polio Fund.
Regular Club meeting was held on October 13. We welcomed back President Eliza, whoreturned after taking some time off recovering from a medical condition. We also welcomed Past President Mark’s son, Wally, who was enjoying his term break and managed to join our meeting and say hi to all the Harbour aunties and uncles. Members took turns to give activity reports from the past weeks, including one adventurous trip to Lai Chi Wo (荔枝窩). Members thanked Past President Webster for the arrangements. President Elect Jason reported that President Eliza and himself attended District Incorporation Committee’s Consultation Session regarding reorganization of District’s legal entities. President Elect Jason further encouraged members to sign up for End Polio Walk, to be held on October 22. Past President Mark, our Club’s Preserve Planet Earth Chair, also encouraged members to sign up for District’s Carbon Reduction and Ecology Summit (October 30) as well as Mangrove Sapling Plantation and EcologicalConservation Tour (November 5). Ms. Sandia Lau, Director of Centaline Property Agency, was our speaker. She talked about Hong Kong real estate market’s transformation during the pandemic. In the pandemic, Sandia argued that “work from home” has changed how buyers perceive a home, now often preferring larger…
Several of our members were active at this year’s End Polio Now Walk & Carnival. Past District Governor Belinda, chair of District Rotary Foundation Committee, led the District’s End Polio work this year along with support from Past President Grace and Past President Eddie from our Club and others. Rotarian Jason, on the other hand, led our Club’s effort. President Sam, Past President Grace, Past President Dora, President Elect Eliza and Rotarian Jason’s friend Ken had lunch at Tai Po Cooked Food Centre. The group was guided by food recommendations from Charter President Patrick, as well as Past Presidents Ka Hing and Lily. After lunch, Past President Grace went ahead to Science Park to help to set up the special ceremony. Rotarian Jason, President Sam, Past President Dora, President Elect Eliza and Ken went on a 5.5km walk from Tai Po to Science Park as part of the End Polio Now Walk. The Carnival was full of games, and arts and crafts booths. Our Club was recognized by District Governor Keith Chow and Past District Governor Belinda for its contribution to the PolioPlus fund. The ceremony was also live-linked with Macau and Mongolia.
Poliomyelitis is a highly infectious disease that most commonly affects children under the age of 5. While polio cases have dropped in recent years, there has been a recent resurgence of the disease in areas thought to have been polio free. Although there is no cure, vaccination is safe and effective in immunizing children and reducing the risks of further outbreaks. For over thirty years, Rotary has contributed more than $1.8 billion to fight the disease. On October 19, over 500 Rotarians in Hong Kong and Macau gathered together to raise awareness of the disease and to raise more funds to help to vaccinate children in impoverished communities around the world.