Contents

Editorial (Lend a Hand) - By John Wan
News from President Anwer
Letters to Editor
Is Rotaract still relevant - By Alexander Mak
The new Board

editorial

Lend a Hand
[Contents based on RI material on the RI Theme 2003-04]

By now, many of you would have known that on 27 January 2003 in Anaheim, RI President-Elect Jonathan Majiyagbe unveiled the theme for 2003-04 during the Opening Plenary Session of the 2003 International Assembly to Rotary leaders all over the world. Citing the many disasters which had struck various parts of the world over the years, big and small, which had caused so much sufferings and afflictions to countless individuals, he pledged that in the coming year he and the Rotary leadership would lead Rotarians worldwide in a united effort to address the many disasters that would continue to afflict our world.

PE Jonathan is aware of the enormous challenge and the many complicating factors ahead, but is optimistic that the simple and straightforward theme for the year will express the natural impulse Rotarians would feel when they come face to face with human need. He said he would ask all Rotarians to Lend a Hand.

PE Jonathan went on to say that these three words express the fundamental instinct we all share - to reach out in fellowship and service, to Lend a Hand wherever it is needed - in our clubs, in our vocations, in our communities, and in our world.

"We will Lend a Hand to alleviate abject poverty, Lend a Hand to educate the illiterate, Lend a Hand to relieve the scourge of disease, Lend a Hand of fellowship to all of the family of Rotary." Specificially,

Lend a Hand in your club by helping to strengthen and diversify its membership. Focus on retention by making all members feel that they are an integral part of the group with an important contribution to make. Show concern for the well-being of members and provide help and support if they are troubled by illness or other problems. Keep in touch with the spouses of diseased members so that they remain part of the Rotary family.

Lend a Hand in your vocation by upholding high ethical standards and encouraging others to do the same. Use your professional knowledge and skills to assist people in need. Mentor young workers and help them to progress in their careers. Develop programmes for prisoners that teach vocational skills, preparing them to lead productive lives upon their release.

Lend a Hand in your community by working to help those in dire need. Develop projects that provide food, clothing, and shelter and improve the quality of life for all improvished community members, giving at-risk children a better start in life. Promote literacy efforts and vocational training to help jobless adults gain the necessary skills for gainful employment.

Lend a Hand in the world by reaching out to people of all cultures, races, and religions. Through RI and Rotary Foundation programmes, work to alleviate the abject poverty that afflicts so many people and obstructs the path to peace. Join with your twin club to develop projects that educate women, address population issues, establish microcredit programmes, and help to meet the basic needs of the world'd poorest people.

Yes, this is the theme which embodies te dream of the incoming leader, to go forth into the world with resolve to do more good and to lend a hand - for great is the hand that lifts humanity from disease, distress and desolation.

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Letters to Editor

You are welcome to write to Club Webmaster John Wan on any topic, particularly in response to articles published in Kingspark News. We would publish all contributions as long as the authors identify themselves, the contents are not offensive or abusive, and would not offend common decency or common sense. You need not be a Rotarian to write to us and you have a choice to withhold your name in the published version. Where the contents make reference to statements or policies of individuals or organizations, we would try to obtain a response fro the latter for publication in the same issue if possible.

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Is Rotaract still relevant
By Alexander Mak

After talking to a Rotaractor this afternoon, I feel obliged to share the subject that we discussed with you and fellow Kingsparians.

The Rotaractor was a fervent Interactor before he became a Rotaractor two years ago. Since then, he was also heavily involved in a few major Rotaract projects. I was, therefore, surprised when he said that he shared, with many fellow members of his Rotaract club, the feeling that Interact, Rotaract and Rotary were really the same to them in that they do the same, or similar, boring services. He also added that this idea had also prompted a fellow Rotaractor of his, who was formerly an Interact leader, to consider quitting Rotaract to participate in a more interesting service club outside Rotary.

When asked about what community service projects they carried out, he mentioned visits to old age homes and giving free private tuition to new immigrants. He commented that these were nothing new to him, since he did the same services while he was still with the Interact.

In the area of training and leadership development, he said that his club organized some training for them on how to do volunteer service and was also planning to do a camp on communication skills. In spite of this, since young people like him used to receive a lot of training these days on almost anything, including leadership training, he considered that a camp like this was the most that his club could offer.

I then asked if his club had speakers during its regular monthly meetings and who those speakers were. He said that, because of the difficulties in getting good speakers, his club had abandoned the idea of having formal meetings with speakers every month, and had replaced them with monthly service projects. According to him, long time ago, he had heard speeches by a lawyer and an insurance agent, but both of them were boring and uninteresting.

I also asked if they had done any international service. He said that he recently participated in an overseas international understanding trip organized by his club, but remarked that he did not derive much from it afterwards.

Finally, I asked him whether he enjoyed the fellowship with his fellow members. He replied in the affirmative, but was quick to point out that he could have the same fun with the same people outside Rotaract.

I then took his points one by one and tried to explain to him what the problems were and what caused his disillusionment.

First of all, it is obvious that his club and fellow members were very much on their own, with little involvement and/or guidance from their sponsoring Rotary club. Rotaract is 'Rotary in action'. Without the involvement of Rotarians in their activities, both in the planning as well as the implementation stages, it is hardly surprising that the Rotaractors could not distinguish Rotaract from other service clubs.

Whilst I explained to him that Rotaract means fellowship, training and service, I stressed that fellowship can only be sustained if it is enjoyed through training and service, and that having fellowship for the sake of fellowship would not last in Rotaract nor even in Rotary.

In response to the boring and uninteresting speakers, I asked him whether his club ascertained what its membership wanted to listen to instead of just getting whoever was available - with disappointing results. He said that they would like to have advertising agents and fashion designers to talk to them but did not know how to approach them. He admitted, though, that they had not tapped into the network of Rotarians in this regard.

I explained that community service projects should not be taken as a responsibility for being a Rotaractor, and that they are meaningful in themselves, even if they are small and routine in nature, in the sense that a drop of water in the ocean is still better than none, in the eyes of the recipients of the service. I then challenged him to rainstorm with his club members on what service projects would be more meaningful to them. This would make them take more ownership, thereby deriving more satisfaction from the projects they choose.

Moreover, I also pointed out to him that the process of brainstorming among members - when they discuss among themselves what each one thinks are the most pressing needs of the community, arrive at a consensus as to which need they want to address, explore different ways in which this can be carried out and look into means to finance such a service project, is a very good training in itself.

I also hastened to add that, since they treated the international understanding trip as more of an opportunity for them to get a bigger exposure to foreigners and foreign culture, than as an opportunity to do international service, it had lost its meaning. It would, therefore, appear that, international service projects should appeal to them more, if they took the pain to understand more about the needs of the less fortunate residing overseas and then took steps to help them to improve their lives. In that case, they would derive more satisfaction from an overseas trip consisting of visits to such needy people and providing help to them during the process.

I conclude the discussion by advising the Rotaractor to go back and do some serious thinking about the points that we discussed, and about the meaning of being a Rotaract. I told him that what I said was nothing new to a Rotarian, and that they should consider seriously to involve some Rotarians in this 'thinking process'.

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