KINGSPARK NEWS

Club Number: 30119

2007-08 Rotary Year : Issue 12 : 16 December

Contents

Editorial (Were You at The TRF Forum?) - By Francis Wann
From the Charter President (Mentorship Scheme) - By CP John Wan
Letters to Editor
The Board

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EDITORIAL

Were You at the TRF Forum?

I thought some of you might have been amazed at the magnitude and comprehensiveness of the questions posted in the Foundation forum this week. It was also the first time Rotary International leaders and TRF trustees came face to face with Rotarians from all corners of the world. And in the word of Louis Piconi, the ¡§enthusiasm is infectious¡

¨. The discussions did not all focus on the Foundation, or its recent windfall of US$100 million from the Gates Foundation although the unexpected injection of revenue has prompted members to do a bit of soul searching for that matter.

There were understandably queries about the future directions of TRF, and the Rotary foundation¡¦s strategic plan, termed the Future Vision Plan (FVP) Which will be implemented in selected districts to identify its strengths and weaknesses. As Piconi put it, the plan will simplify programs and sharpen program focus; balance project options, both locally and globally; and increase sense of ownership locally through participation.

It¡¦s interesting going through the maze of the forum, and perhaps members may be able to come to grips with a new visions of Rotary. Interestingly enough, stewardship, which refers to developing a business model for the FVP, was mentioned as one of the most important absolute necessities and would become an integral part of Rotary at club and district level.

Dan Mooers, ICUFR director, put it bluntly to Piconi the countless projects and programs the RI Board has got involved over the years. Apart from PolioPlus, RI also oversees other structured programs which include Interact, Rotaract, Rotary Community Corps, Friendship exchange, Rotary Volunteers, RYLAs, World Community Service, Youth Exchange, Rotary fellowships, Rotary Action Groups, and the ¡§Menu of Service Opportunites¡¨ which include Children at Risk, Disabled Persons, Health Care, International Understanding and Goodwill, Literacy and Numeracy, Population Issues, Poverty and Hunger, Preserve Planet Earth, etc.

It¡¦s all very clear there¡¦re no shortages of initiatives under our banner of service, but as Dan asked Piconi, advisor to RI President, ¡§¡Kdo you think that RI tries to keep its fingers on too many things, trying to be all things to all people?' Indeed, why can't Rotary be more focused?

We all know there cannot be definite answers. Piconi shared his personal thoughts on the issue. He said every year RI presidents travel the globe listening and seeing Rotary at work from the grassroots up. They see the needs and pleas and ask Rotarians to consider, and this tradition is what makes Rotary relevant and effective.

I was personally amazed at the openness of the discussion, and the two-day forum did iron out some of the misconceptions among members. They were not all praises, and through the exchanges, you understand more about the mentality of other Rotarians, and perhaps they have asked your questions.

Perhaps it¡¦s also through this communication that we understand more about what we believe. There were grumbles about Rotary bureaucracy, and there were also expressions of uneasiness over some of the practices. And here and there, you¡¦d also detect a good sense of humour ¡V Rotary style, of course.

And according to Trustee Piconi, PDGs stand for Previous District Governors. They are never past.

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From the Charter President

Mentorship Scheme

Our club has been invited by the Ho Tung Secondary School to participate in a Mentorship Scheme; and a number of members have volunteered to be mentors.

On the face of it, there can be nothing but good in such a scheme. The school likes it, the students want it, some of our members would have an opportunity to render service to some students, and it looks like a good youth project.

Indeed there was a lot of enthusiasm among teachers and students at the warming up session last week, held after school hours and attended by many Form 6 students, the School Principal and a number of senior teachers. Of course, our club was represented by a number of potential mentors.

I said potential mentors to be cautious and because I would like to sound a word of caution.

It is important that everyone involved in the scheme should be clear what the scheme seeks to achieve and more important that there is no misunderstanding between the school and the club. The parents must also be kept fully in the picture.

The Ho Tung Secondary School has actually chosen a title for the scheme, namely, "Be My Mentor; Be My Friend" which would be somewhat indicative of the expectation from their side.

A mentorship scheme for students under the age of majority normally is remedial in nature, where the students fall short of their academic achievements either because they lack the motivation to learn or the environment that would be conducive to effective learning. Typically, they come from families with parents that cannot find the time or who are unable to provide them the attention and guidance they need. Very often, they are from single parent families. They are strict guidelines and rules developed for these mentors who need to go through a selection process followed by training. One of the first requirements is that the mentor and mentee should be of the same gender.

The scheme we are about to embark on could have been Inspired by the success and practices of mentorship schemes in tertiary institutions, where mentees are all adults and where the mentors are carefully selected by the university authorities.

The circumstances under which a school mentorship operate are different and would create potential problems that could involve legal, social and moral issues.

It is therefore vital that the club and the school agree on a set of ground rules for the scheme before full implementation.

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Letters to Editor

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 from the latter for publication in the same issue if possible.

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The Board

President : Marvin Lai
President-Elect and Membership: Joyce Mak
Vice-President and Public Relations: Michael Eyles
Secretary : Kennedy Tsang
Treasurer : Ted Ho
Rotary Foundation : Patrick Wong
Club Administration : Edward Lau
Service Projects : Peter Lo
Sergeant-at-Arms : Alexander Kar

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