Letters to the Editor

Please send your comments to Managing Editor PDG Y K Cheng c/o Rotary Information Centre
14/F Capitol Commercial Building, 26 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong.
Phone: + (852) 2576 4343
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E-mail: ykchkcpl@netvigator.com

Contents

District launched Work Shadowing Scheme
Governor's Monthly Letter - By DG John Wan
March Governor's Monthly Letter in Chinese
I went on "Spirit of Hong Kong" - By Alice Liu
Did you know - From the Internet
God's Boxes - From A Friend
Lady Rotarians in the District - By Rotarian Michael Chiu
Attendance Report - January 2001

District launched Work Shadowing Scheme

District 3450 and the University of Hong Kong jointly launched the Work Shadowing Scheme on 14 March 2001. The Scheme was sponsored by South China Morning Post and administered by the Career Education and Placement Centre.

Hong Kong University Vice-Chancellor Professor W R Davis was all praises about the Work Shadowing Scheme at the Launching Ceremony which took place on 14 March 2001 at the Rayson Huang Theatre of the University of Hong Kong. Professor Davis said that it was another excellent example of co-operation between town and gown. He thanked the Rotarians who had volunteered to be work-guides, SCMP for funding the project and HKU's Careers Education and Placement Centre (CePc) for administering the scheme.

Board of Education Chairman Moses Cheng, who of course is a Rotarian and a Past Governor, officiated at the ceremony and underlined the importance of partnership in education. He congratulated the students and the Rotarians who joined the Scheme.

Billed as the first of its kind and launched as a pilot project, the Work Shadowing Scheme seeks to provide HKU undergraduates a taste of what it would be like working full time. The scheme brings together students and professionals on a one-to-one basis in the work place. It is the brainchild of CePc Director Louisa Li who first discussed the plan with District Governor John Wan before he took office. She suggested that Rotarians could volunteer to be work-guides for students who would be their shadows. A work-shadow would follow his work-guide in the same way a person's shadow follows the person. In order to create awareness of the scheme, they brought in the Business Development Director of SCMP Classified Post who also agreed to sponsor the project.

Under the scheme, the shadow and guide relationship would last 16 hours over a one-month period at times convenient to both. During the 16 hours, the shadow would follow the guide to meetings and meals, stay in his office, watch him work and ask him questions where possible, but without being intrusive.

Both guide and shadow will report on the scheme after the month through a structured evaluation form. The returns will then be reviewed by the Steering Committee consisting of representatives from CePc, RI District 3450 and SCMP Classified Post.

About 150 students have joined the scheme on a voluntary basis and will be paired up with the 50 to 60 Rotarians based on the choices of their profession.

The scheme differs from the better known mentorship schemes that operate in a number of universities in which students are assigned mentors over a period who would be their role models and mentors. The Work Shadowing Scheme, on the other hand, is primarily work related and seeks to give students an opportunity to experience the occupation they aspire to go into after graduation.

District 3450 is represented on the scheme by Governor John Wan and Past Governors Joseph Lee and Y K Cheng. All are now work guides.

Governor's Monthly Letter - March 2001

Rotaractors celebrated World Rotaract Week; Ask a friend to join Rotary now; Don't miss the next District Conference

My Dear Action Presidents, Club Secretaries and Rotary Leaders,

World Rotaract Week is the week in which 13 March falls. This year, our Rotaractors celebrated the week by launching a campaign to create awareness in the community that spina bifida in children can be a largely preventable and hence avoidable condition. Spina bifida is a congenital abnormality affecting the spinal cord and spinal column. During the early life of the embryo the outer layer of cells running down the back of the body curls over to form the neural groove and this closes right over to become a tube lying just below the surface skin. The tube then develops into the spinal cord and spinal column. In spina bifida the primitive neural groove fails to close and the vertebral canal becomes deficient at the back causing anatomical and functional abnormalities of varying degree. The condition could be life threatening at worst and causes severe clinical management problems as well as social, educational and emotional adjustment problems at least. Research has now indicated that 80% of the condition in the newborn can be avoided if the mother takes sufficient folic acid three to four weeks before pregnancy. Folic acid is available in all vegetables and fruits.

Our Rotaractors created awareness for spina bifida by preparing information cards and distributing them to passers-by in busy streets. They also motivated the over 100 graduating Rotary Youth Leadership Award campers to be volunteers. Speaking of RYLA, this is the first year the District RYLA Committee had Rotaractors as full members. They participated fully and actively in the planning, organizing and running of the RYLA Camp. At the Closing Ceremony, participants demonstrated their enthusiasm and newly gained Rylarian spirit. It was a highly successful operation and I am positive that both Rotarians and Rotaractors have learnt useful lessons in the process. Hopefully, we have planted Rotary seeds in these youths' mind that would last them for a life time, regardless of whether or not they would become Rotaractors or Rotarians one day.

By the time you read this, there would be less than 100 days left in this Rotary Year. I thank you to ask yourself what you have done to create awareness for membership growth and what action you have taken. Remember that long before our year began, President Frank Devlyn challenged each club to increase its net membership by five Rotarians. In response, I set ambitious goals to achieve a quantum increase in membership. I was glad that PDG Moses Cheng agreed to be the District Membership Development Task Force Coordinator. Moses and I have since been urging each club to take up President Frank's challenge. Indeed, Moses further designed the "Challenge 2001" scheme with the object of bringing the District membership to 2001, or an all time high, by 30 June 2001.

So far, only a handful of clubs have met President Frank's five-a-club challenge, and we are still a long way to the membership goal set by PDG Moses. For the past eight months, our membership strength has been hovering around the 1,700 mark. We recorded 1,702 members at the end of February. During this period, we actually brought in some 160 new members, but we also lost 130. At this rate, it would seem that we would never make our goal.

But this cannot be the attitude or mindset of Action Presidents and Action Team Members. We have all been encouraged from the outset to emulate the spirit of Don Quixote - to dream the impossible dream and to reach the unreachable star. More than that, we have been reminded that we are to be Don Quixotes with a mission and a goal. This month, President Frank Devlyn asked, "Have you asked someone today to join Rotary?" President Frank went on to say that now is the time to ask, to ask someone to join Rotary today. If every member in District 3450 does that between now and end of June, we would over-achieve our target of 2001 before 30 June; and even if only a fifth of the membership succeeds in bringing in a member each, we could achieve our District membership goal comfortably.

Take action now. Talk to a friend. Talk to your friends about Rotary. Tell them not just the wonderful fellowship and the great time that they can expect from you and your club. Tell them that Rotary is about service. Tell them the great deeds that many quiet men and women have been doing for their less fortunate fellowmen. If they are still interested in joining us, you can be sure that they will be joining Rotary rather than a Rotary club.

Before I sign off, I would like to appeal to you again to register for the District Conference. We have good and solid programmes lined up. For speakers, we have from the Government, the Secretary for Home Affairs Mr W K Lam, from the academia, Professor Michael Enright, author of The Hong Kong Advantage, from the Mainland, a committee member of All China Youth Federation, and from the media, Bonnie Chiu from TVB. And I have yet to mention RI President's Personal Representative Director-elect Toshio Itabashi and the many experienced and learned Rotarians from the District all of whom are worth their weight in gold.

Still on the programme, we are going to have, for the first time in a District Conference, a face-to-face encounter with the RI President himself through a satellite link-up. RI President Frank will be speaking to us live from Manila at the Asia-Pacific Presidential Conference. The theme of his conference will be "Youth and Service Opportunities" which is along the vein of ours, "Back to the Future."

On entertainment and fellowship, Past President Haywood Cheung has promised a Governor's Banquet with a difference and in style. There will be no long speeches, no endless presentation of awards and definitely no dull moments. For a preview, watch the recent broadcast of the Oscar Awards Presentation.

Talk to you soon.

Your Governor John Wan

March GML in Chinese
[Already Uploaded - click to view]

I went on "Spirit of Hong Kong"
By District Secretary (Committees) Alice Liu

Alice Liu is a past president of Rotary Club of Bayview Sunshine Hongkong. In 2000-01, DG John Wan appointed her District Secretary (Committees) which means that she is privy to the discussions and proceedings of the Governor's Policy Committee. It means she is the equivalent of a Cabinet Secretary of an administration. Alice admitted on her own volition that she was motivated to become a legger after reading about the voyages of "Spirit of Hong Kong" in a letter in DG's series. She applied to go on the yacht and went through a tough selection process . She was selected. She went on the training and then the leg from Wellington to Sydney. Spirit of Hong had a very good start in the leg and was leading for a few days, but the nature of sailing is that there are too many variables and uncertainties. It lost its lead after it failed to find wind. This is her first person account of her frame of mind before and during the leg-Ed.

Before setting sail

I would begin by asking you to go back to Issue 37 of "Letters from Governor John" published in November last year. For those of you who have missed it, you can always look for it in the District Governor's web page on the District Web site, but please read on in the meantime.

The word "challenge" takes on a different meaning for me after I read John's 3-paged (yes, 3 pages!) letter. The letter vividly described what the BT Global Challenge Yacht Race is all about - a round the world yacht race covering some 30,000 miles over a period of ten and a half months, and more - they call it "the world's toughest yacht race". The significance of the letter is certainly a vehicle for John to share with us what he is involved in and for the readers, an exciting piece of leisure reading. But for me, it's an inspiration of a lifetime. I whispered to myself, "I want to go for this."

I started to follow the race through the web site and how "Spirit of Hong Kong" (the yacht sponsored by Invest Hong Kong) was doing, often a few times a day. I became a "fan" of the challenge race. Then, one day, during the occasion of the Governor's Official Visit to Rotary Club of Hong Kong Harbour, I chatted with John about the race and indicated to him my intention to be a legger (a crew to join a section of the race). I was then referred to the officials who were responsible for organizing the recruitment of leggers for the Spirit of Hong Kong. I was thrilled. I was determined to grasp this opportunity. It's like I would rather give up my career and all to become part of the challenge team. It's like I have suddenly found THE reason for my existence. It's a very strange feeling indeed. May be it's what they call inspiration. My impossible dream has come true.

The next thing I knew was that I was on board the plane heading for an intensive 2-week training in Plymouth. The wind and chill in southern England coupled with heaving waves helped me prepare for the tough offshore conditions during the race. The night sailing was a test for sailors even in calm weather, but it was worth the while when you see the stars and dolphins. Upon completion of the training, I am now ready and prepared to GO FOR IT!

I'll set off to Wellington in New Zealand a week prior to the start of Leg 4 of the race on February 18. With an Australian skipper, Spirit of Hong Kong would stand a high chance for this leg. I hope to bring you good news when I arrive in Sydney, a week after. If you are too eager to know where I will be, you can do so by tracking the race through the web site www.btchallenge.com upon the start of Leg 4.

At Sea

I spent eight days trying to sail across Tasman Sea from Wellington to Sydney. This is Leg 4 of the BT Global Challenge Yacht Race.

For the first three days, the yacht I was on - the Spirit of Hong Kong - was doing fine. We were leading at one stage. But we were cautious to maintain our favorable position and kept on trimming the sails to get the most speed out of them.

Then came the time when the wind left us in the glaring sun, cruising along. The crew spent the next three days struggling to get the yacht moving. The wind had become so light and variable that a slight human error would stall the boat.

It's like life… ups and downs…. frustration, boredom, excitement, thrill, happiness, dream, hope… except that onell experienced them all in one short voyage.

Then came the most enjoyable time I had - it was when we had about 25-30 knots of wind with us. Unfortunately it lasted for only about 24 hours. Racing across the rough sea, the crew had to sit and sleep on the high side of the boat to help balance it. Moving around can only be made possible with a tight grip. Putting on the foul weather gear was not an easy thing to do while the boat was rocking and tilted.

I just loved the speed and the sound of the waves banging on the side of the 42-ton boat. I was overwhelmed when I was hit by a splash of wave which made me all wet. I thought to myself, "That's more like it!" You can image the thrill I had especially after the boat has been floating in quiet waters for days. I even "refused" to go below deck after our watch was over!!! Even the core crew were happier with that wind and speed - they all felt like home. The skipper even requested to play his favorite music in this heavy weather - Faure's Requiem!!! It was really an experience!!!

Did you know?
From the Internet

1. No piece of paper can be folded more than 7 times if folded in half repeatedly.
2. 1 in every 4 Americans has appeared on television.
3. Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.
4. The first CD pressed in the US was Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the USA."
5. The three most valuable brand names on earth: Marlboro, Coca-Cola, and Budweiser, in that order.
6. The citrus soda 7-UP was created in 1929; "7" was selected because the original containers were 7 ounces. "UP" indicated the direction of the bubbles.
7. Mosquito repellents don't repel. They hide you. The spray blocks the mosquito's sensors so they don't know you're there.
8. Dentists have recommended that a toothbrush be kept at least 6 feet away from a toilet to avoid airborne particles resulting from the flush.
9. The liquid inside young coconuts can be used as a substitute for blood plasma.
10. American car horns beep in the tone of F.
11. You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.
12. Oak trees do not produce acorns until they are fifty years of age or older.
13. The first product to have a bar code was Wrigley's gum.
14. The king of hearts is the only king without a mustache.
15. A Boeing 747s wingspan is longer than the Wright brother's first flight.
16. American Airlines saved $40,000 in 1987 by eliminating 1 olive from each salad served in first class.
17. Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.
18. Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.
19. The 57 on the Heinz ketchup bottle represents the number of varieties of pickles the company once had.
20. The plastic things on the end of shoelaces are called aglets.
21. Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin. Gross!
22. The first owner of the Marlboro company died of lung cancer.
23. Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts.
24. Betsy Ross is the only real person to ever have been the head on a Pez dispenser.
25. Michael Jordan makes more money from Nike annually than all of the Nike factory workers in Malaysia combined.
26. Adolf Hitler's mother seriously considered having an abortion, but was talked out of it by her doctor.
27. Marilyn Monroe had six toes.
28. All US Presidents have worn glasses. Some just didn't like being seen wearing them in public.
29. Walt Disney was afraid of mice.
30. The sound of E.T. walking was made by someone squishing her hands in jelly.
31. Debra Winger was the voice of E.T.
32. Pearls melt in vinegar.
33. It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs
34. Thirty-five percent of the people who use personal ads for dating are already married. VeRy intrrrrrresting!
35. Richard Milhouse Nixon was the first US president whose name contains all the letters from the word "criminal." ... The second? William Jefferson Clinton

God's Boxes
From A Friend

I have in my hands two boxes which God gave me to hold.
He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black, and all your joys in the gold."
I heeded His words, and in the two boxes both my joys and sorrows I stored.
But though the gold became heavier each day the black was as light as before.
With curiosity, I opened the black. I wanted to find out why.
And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole which my sorrows had fallen out by.
I showed the hole to God, and mused aloud, "I wonder where my sorrows could be."
He smiled a gentle smile at me." "My child, they're all here with me."
I asked, "God, why give me the boxes, Why the gold, and the black with the hole?"
"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings. The black is for you to let go."
We should consider all of our friends a blessing.
Send this to a friend today, just to let them know you are thinking of them and that they are a joy in your life.
A ball is a circle, no beginning, no end. It keeps us together like our circle of friends. But the treasure inside for you to see, is the treasure of friendship you've granted to me.

Today I pass the friendship ball to you.

Pass it on to someone who is a friend to you

Lady Rotarians in the District
By Rotarian Michael Chiu

Michael Chiu Wai Hung has been a Rotarian since 1981. He was Rotary Foundation Chairman of the Rotary Club of Shatin for nine years before he became Secretary of his Club in 1999-2000. In 2000-01, he resumes chairmanship of the Rotary Foundation in his Club.

Michael is a keen advocate for having lady Rotarians in the District. He wrote an article in Chinese for the anniversary souvenir programme of his club in October 2000 with the object of encouraging his club to admit lady members. Past Governor Raymond Wong (Kowloon East) having read the article decided and with his agreement to print it in full in "Looking East", the award winning weekly bulletin of his club, of which he has been editor for over 12 years. This is the full article, published with Michael's agreement.
In this article, Michael referred to his experience at Joint Secretaries' Meetings and the fun and fellowship he had while he was Club Secretary, due primarily to the fact that nearly one-third of the club secretaries were ladies.

He found the lady Rotarians very enthusiastic and keen on Rotary work on the one hand, and very cheerful, open and gregarious on the other, so much so that he had concluded that lady Rotarians generally made better members. For example, he noticed that lady club secretaries tended to have higher attendance at these meetings and were generally more proactive. He urged his club, the Rotary Club of Shatin to consider admitting lady members. He further said that the prejudice that lady members in clubs would disrupt family life and cause disharmony was totally unfounded.

To date, his Club has yet to admit lady members-Ed.


國際扶輪和區總監都呼籲和鼓勵我們吸收女仕們加入扶輪社做社員。自從我在本年度當選了社秘書後，覺得它們的呼籲和鼓勵是十分正確的。由1999年7 月到2000 年1 月止，社秘書聯合會議共開了四次。女性社秘書在本區48 個社中差不多佔了三分之一。所以在會議聯誼晚宴中，我有機會與她們接觸和傾談，我發覺女社員對扶輪比男社員更加投入和更活躍。她們也都是來自各行各業的專業人仕，例如：律師、會計師、工商界和金融界的高級行政人員等。她們大部份都受過高深教育和具有良好的品格。她們對扶輪社的工作很熱情和主動：她們健談和對男社員表現毫無拘束：她們出席率高。

灣仔扶輪社的社秘書和半島旭日扶輪社的秘書就是一個典型的例子。灣仔社的秘書主動為社秘書聯合會議擔任司庫，而半島旭日社的秘書則主動為會議做記錄。她的會議記錄十分詳細，正確和有條理。在第四次社秘書聯合會議後的聯誼晚宴中，我很幸運地坐在她們兩人傍邊。她們健談、不拘束和大方，使我對女社員更加了解。在這次聯誼晚宴中，鄧錦添區秘書還安排了抽獎（頭獎一安士金幣一枚）和KARAOKE的節目。在晚宴後，我厚著面皮唱了一首國語歌。我唱了不久後，她們其中一位靚女也加入和我一齊唱。初時我有點拘束，但後來還是開心的。

從上述女社員的表現看來，我認為我們沙田扶輪社應該考慮吸收女仕們入社，使她們成為優秀的女社員。如果我們接受女社員，在社員增長方面會有很大的幫助，社員人數有機會增長超過30 人；在出席率方面，亦會大大提高：由於她們對社的工作熱情，做社長的就不愁找不到社員擔任重要的職務，因此社務會搞得更好；其次由於有女社員參與各種聯誼活動，由於她們活躍和主意多，我們會玩得更開心。

本社如果有女社員是好的。但我們也有社員擔心：第一，由於她們多數是較年輕貌美，大方和熱情奔放，我們有可能對她們很容易產生愛慕和甚至暗戀。第二，也因為如此，我們的社嫂也有可能擔心自己親愛的丈夫會被女社員搶走，尤其是那些年青和英俊社員的社嫂們。其實上述的擔心是不必要的。當然有些男仕們在街上遇見一位眉清目秀個子高高的妙齡淑女時，他們心也許這樣想：『嘩！我的太太現在這樣美貌就好啦！』。這是一剎間的傾慕，也是一般男仕的心態，對男仕本身及自己的太太沒有害的。所以即使我們男社員對女社員有所傾慕和好感，這是無害的。反而，當女社員做社長時分配職務或工作給那些對她傾慕的男社員，他們會樂於接受和把任務及工作做得更好。對於上述第二點，只要男社員意志堅定和『愛錫』自己的太太和兒女，就不會發生上述的事情。事實上，自從有女社員以來，3450（港澳）區的扶輪社從沒有發生過此類事件。所以，我認為我們應接受女社員，不分性別和彼此、不拘束，共同為本社社務而努力，共同為社會和為扶輪作出頁獻，那麼有女社員不是人件好事嗎？

Attendance Report - January 2001

Go to District Web site for the January Attendance Report

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