On September 24, our Club welcomed Mr. Marco Kwong from UNESCO Hong Kong Association, who introduced members to the Peace School program. Mr. Kwong shared the program’s vision of promoting peace through education and encouraging young people to develop a greater understanding of peace and harmony. Our Club was encouraged to sponsor its Interact schools to participate in the program, offering students an opportunity to explore these important values and put them into practice. The meeting also featured a visit by President Victor Lau from Rotary Club of The HUB Hong Kong, who updated members on the planned Area 3 Global Grant project. His sharing provided an opportunity for members to learn more about the proposed collaborative service initiative. It was an informative and engaging lunch meeting, bringing together the themes of peace, youth development and cooperation among Rotary clubs.
On February 26, President Elect Victor Lau of Rotary Club of The HUB Hong Kong visited our Club to explain to us in detail the upcoming joint-club project. The project leverages the knowledge-base and resource network of Rotary WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) program to deliver clean water to approximately 50 families in rural Thailand. President Elect Victor Lau explained that, before committing on the project, of which our Club is a supporting partner, he and several of his Club members traveled to rural Thailand to assess the needs and feasibility of delivering and installing WASH equipment there.
On January 9, our Club invited film director Ho Cheuk-Tin to share with us his recent experience making films in Hong Kong about Hong Kong. Several visiting Rotarians were in attendance, including: Past District Governor Eric Chak of Rotary Club of Peninsula, Past President Douglas Hsia of Rotary Club of Walnut Grove, Past President Elizabete Fong of Rotary Club of Macau, Past President Donald Chan of Rotary Club of Golden Bauhinia Hong Kong, and Immediate Past President Tony Leung of Rotary Club of The HUB Hong Kong.
On December 12, our Club conducted our Annual General Meeting. After business was conducted, our members enjoyed a joyous and relaxing lunch with free-flow conversations. Past President Mark also brought back “inni”, the mascot of Everyone is Beautiful.
On November 29, Past President Grace and Rotarian Ka Man attended the 50th Anniversary Celebrations of Ho Fung College, which is home to our Club’s first Interact Club. There, they met two Rotarians: Immediate Past President Tony Leung of Rotary Club of The HUB Hong Kong, a alumnus of Ho Fung, and Past President Alex Lau of Rotary Club of Central, a Board member of Ho Fung College.
Everyone is Beautiful is a community project providing opportunities for various minority groups to demonstrate their abilities to the public in different ways. This Diversity, Equity and Inclusion project, hosted by Rotary Club of The HUB Hong Kong, has two main goals: (1) to educate the general public on the capabilities of our minority groups so that they know the groups we believe to be “burdens” of our society, have the power to contribute to the society and better our community, and (2) to empower the minority groups in our community, affirming them that they too have the right and the power to serve our community. This year, carnivals booths were hosted by our 9 NGOs’ social workers and members, giving them a chance to serve the public. Also the public was provided with a chance to really “experience” our minorities groups’ abilities. Over the weekend, over 9,000 people were served, educated, and inspired with the motto: “It is ability, not disability, that counts.” Our Club is a sponsor of the event. Past Presidents Lily, Mark and Immediate Past President Jason attended the event.
On October 12, 7 Clubs of Area 3 — Rotary Club of Hong Kong Island East, Rotary Club of Hong Kong South, Rotary Club of Hong Kong Northeast, our Club, Rotary Club of Happy Valley, Rotary Club of The HUB Hong Kong and Rotary Club of Uplift Actions Hong Kong co-organized Mental Health Awareness Day, an all-day event aiming to increase mental health awareness in the community. The day was filled with sharing sessions and workshops. Deep appreciation goes to President Josephine Mak and Rotary Club of Uplift Actions Hong Kong for taking a lead in making this event a great success.
On July 25, two representatives from Caritas HK visited our Club meeting to summarize the project that our Club partnered with them in the previous Rotary Year. Representatives from Rotary Club of The HUB Hong Kong were also in attendance as they were a joint organizer of the project that provides free eye-sight checkup services for children of grassroots families.
On January 28, President Jason observed an eye-check session at Caritas Tsuen Wan as part of our District Grant project with Caritas and Rotary Club of The HUB Hong Kong. President Tony of Rotary Club of The HUB Hong Kong was also in attendance.
On 26 October, 2023, our Club co-hosted a Joint Club meeting with four other Rotary Clubs: Rotary Club of Hong Kong Northeast, Rotary Club of Hong Kong Bayview, Rotary E-Club of Lantau and Rotary Club of The HUB Hong Kong. We invited Ms Bonnie So, CEO and Secretary General of Hong Kong Red Cross, who shared in-depth ideas on the topic: “An integrated approach on community resilience”. We all benefited and got inspired by Bonnie’s speech.