| This
is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||||
| Tsunami toll exceeds 150,000 and counting | Kingspark News Rotary
Club of Kingspark | Take Immediate Action Now. Call President Thomas with your pledges. 9386 9295 | ||
| Email President Thomas Chan with your pledges now. Simply click his name. | ||||
| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||||
Editorial
(Prove That You Care) - By Francis Wann | ||||
District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||||
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Prove That You Care
Life can be so fragile. Here today; gone tomorrow. For the 125,000 odd tsunami victims (at time of writing), and millions of their families and relatives, especially the children who have been made orphans and homeless, life will never be the same again. It was only on December 29 when we saw ITN's Trevor MacDonald appealing on television for the Disaster Emergency Committee, an umbrella organization representing 12 leading aid agencies. Over the past week, the work of Oxfam and the Red Cross has been very much in evidence. And as the horror stories unfold, we're also beginning to realise the almost unbelievable scale of damages and human costs. Yes, it's time to give. Inevitably, confronted with a tragedy of unimaginable scale, there exists an almost palpable desire to 'do something', to try to help to relieve the suffering in any small way. But like most people, we tend to rely on Governments to take the lead. In Britain the Government has finally pledged £50 million towards the relief fund, but in real terms that translates to less than £2 per taxpayer's money, and that's a very small bit indeed. RI President Glenn Estess Sr in his appeal letter has said Rotary does not have funds earmarked for such purposes, and neither are we specialists in disaster projects. While Rotary is still exploring possible venues of service with other international agencies to make it official, we would appeal to our members' own conscience to, as DG Alex Mak said, use all our means to help. There's confusion as to where we should direct our money, and there's real fear that the aid agencies may not know how to deal with the avalanche of donations and relief materials. Some people are hesitating and wondering if their contributions could reach the victims as there've been numerous reports that the international aids are not getting through. But as we hesitate, a few more lives might go. The Queen is 'deeply saddened'. Our Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa is 'extremely concerned'. But pious words are not enough. We have to remember people's memories are short-lived. Soon the cameras will leave those countries and papers would not carry the sensational pictures, then it would be business as usual again. Do not just pledge. Do not simply promise. Do not 'think about it'. Give. And give now. | ||||
President's
Column New
Year Message Dear Kingsparicans, I wish you a prosperous and productive 2005. Our Christmas party was held successfully on 18th of December. Thanks to Elsa and her organizing committee, over 100 participants with nearly one third are children enjoyed the food, games, presents and evening. I like Christmas party very much because it is a family function that I can see most of our members' families. I love watching the children playing around and the young performers who surprised all of us. Certainly, I also enjoy chatting with members who were busy in the past. I hope to see them more to share our fellowship in the future. With December as the Family Month in the Rotary calendar and "Rotary Family" being one of our emphases this Rotary year, I strongly encourage you to integrate your family into Rotary. Through the integration, we can not only spend more time with our family, but also enable them to enjoy Rotary so that they will give you full support on your commitment. Like all of you, I was shocked by the horrible earthquake and tsunami that tragically affected our neighbouring countries. Being Rotarians, its time for us to show our care to our world. With your support, we are glad to donate both the "December's Red Box" and our future 6-months' contribution to Community Service Fund of HK$60K to the Disaster Relief Committee. By all means, your own and continuous donations are always welcome. Regarding the coming up events, I would like to highlight 3 major ones. The first one is our first regular luncheon meeting on 6/1/05 because our District is going to make use of our club meeting to host a press meeting for the Centennial District Sports Day. Your attendance will not only show your support to our Club, but also to our District because we have invited the media to report on this meaningful event. Another one is the Inter City Meeting to be held on 13/1/05 in honour of our RI President-Elect Carl-Wilhelm Stanhammer. Since it is a golden opportunity for us to know more about our incoming leader, the Board has agreed to re-schedule our luncheon meeting to be held in the afternoon the same day so that all of us can take part in this important meeting. Lastly, I would encourage you to participate in the Centennial District Sports Day to be held on 16/01/05. Being the DG club, I would like to invite your participation and urge you to get as many medals as possible. Thank for your generous support again and I wish you & your family a happy & peaceful New Year. | ||||
By Joyce Mak Here are three upcoming district events. (1) Centennial Walk on 1 Jan 2005 This is an event co-organized by the District PPE (Preserve Planet Earth) Committee and the District Rotaract Committee and consists of a series of hiking challenging the 100 km MacLehose Trail. It is for Rotary family and their service groups, aiming at - -
raising environmental awareness and enhancing nature appreciation Date:
Saturday January 1, 2005 Programme Rundown 9:00am
- Free bus pick up service outside the Romantic Hotel in Kowloon Tong 10:00am
- Arrive at Pak Tam Chung Bus Terminus, taking taxi to the end of High Island
Reservoir East (Main) Dam (costs about $50, sharing between 4 to 5 persons), and
start the walk. (2) Inter City Meeting in honour of RI President-Elect on 13 Jan 2005 RI President-Elect Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar will visit Hong Kong in January 2005. Area 2 Clubs will host an Inter City Meeting in honour of RIPE Carl-Wilhelm. This is an excellent opportunity for Rotarians in our District to meet RIPE in persons. Date: 13
January 2005 (Thursday) The key-note speaker for the evening is, of course, RIPE Carl-Wilhelm. The Organising Committee has also arranged entertainment and lucky draw to make the event more enjoyable to RIPE and the participants. To show our usual hospitality, I would strongly encourage your attendance to show your support. (3) Centennial District Sports Day on 16 Jan 2005 To celebrate 100 years of Rotary service in the community the district has partnered with the Hong Kong Rehabilitation Power to launch an outdoor event for a group of 100 disabled young people. This centennial project is integrated with the annual Sports and Family Day. The other objectives of this centennial project are - -
To celebrate Rotary Centennial with a jointly collaborated social service programme
to generate friendship, happiness and fun for all participants. This centennial project will be held on 16th January, 2005 (Sunday) at the Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground 10:00 am. I would urge you and your family members to fully support this event. | ||||
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More Joy of Giving
No one would need to be reminded of what happened six days ago when tsunami hit Asia causing untold damages and suffering across more than 10 countires. The first count was 12,000, which quickly doubled and quadrupled; and this morning a US source had put it at 150,000. While political statements in local and international media continued to denouce governments and relief agencies for their lack of preparedness and their slow reaction, all of us should take pride in the overwhelming, spontaneous, outpouring albeit uncordinated responses from all quarters. This is proof that the human nature is built upon love, compassion and kindness, or a reflection of God Himself, for God is love [1, John 4:16]. As 2004 ended in tears for many, let us find solace in the loving and compassion human nature and display the same by practising and continue to practise giving thereby experiencing more joy of giving. Our compassionate Governor Alex Mak has wasted no time to urge all Rotarians and their friends to contribute according to their means, and has issued a general appeal for donations in the name of District on New Year Eve. Such prompt and effective public action on the part of a Governor in our district is rare and is to be applauded, and for which we can all take pride. However, let me quickly add that we can take pride in the episode only if we take action now and heed the Governor's appeal, by donating or pledging donations as soon as possible. The surviving victims in the region, in millions, cannot wait too long or indefinitely. Call President Thomas now [9386 9295] or email him with your pledges, now. | ||||
Views in any article in Kingspark News reflect those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the Rotary Club of Kingspark or of District 3450. You are welcome to write to Chief Editor Francis Wann or 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. | ||||
Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Thomas Chan | ||||
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