Kingspark News
Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong
Club No. 30119. GPO Box 248 Hong Kong
Volume 10 Issue 12 - 21 November 2001
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Kingspark News Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong |
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This is the weekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of
Kingspark Hong Kong, District 3450
Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong |
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President's
Message - By Raymond Sin |
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Bulletin Editor : Alexander
Mak
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By President Raymond Sin (2001-2002) |
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As I said in the last meeting, I have scheduled our second Club Assembly to be held on 29th November at our dinner meeting. The Club Assembly is an occasion for us to discuss club projects for the different avenues of services, for members to voice their opinions or make suggestions towards these projects and for other club business. This is a very good opportunity for us to share our views on such matters. We could not do much of this in the regular meetings which are usually very rushed, let alone the fact that we have speakers for the meetings as well. The reasons why we would like our members to discuss about club business and our projects among ourselves are easy to understand. I hope that by creating such an awareness among members and through their discussion on the same, we could have more member involvements in the projects. Examples of the projects include the setting up of another Interact Club and the having of a second oversea sister club. Although the Board agreed in principle to work on the setting up of another Interact Club, Rtn Dominic and I are very worried that only a few members could put their efforts into helping it. Many of you would agree with me that it is not healthy at all when only a few of us keep working all the time. Thus, this will be one of the topics in the Assembly. I will try to send you a list of the discussion topics before the Assembly by e-mail. On the same evening of 29th November, the new committee members of our Interact Club of Wah Yan HK will come to visit us for the first time. They will share with us their year plan and, most important of all, get to know us better. We also have our birthday party on that evening. I hope to see more of you that night. The trip to the Rotary Club of Sathorn, our sister club in Bangkok, will take place from 22nd November to 25th November i.e. from the coming Thursday to Sunday. This year we have 11 members and spouses going together, making it the biggest delegation to Bangkok ever. However, out of that, only seven are our members. The delegation consists of PP Ted, VP Peter, Rtn Stephen, myself and our spouses, IPP Tom, PP Marco and PE Anwer. As I mentioned earlier, when the Board discussed the issue of having a second sister club, members’ involvement would be the key consideration for not doing it at this moment. As expected from each one of us, our sister club members will give us a very warm welcome and also good hospitality during the visit. I am sure Rtn Stephen, our International Service Director, will tell us more about the trip after we have come back. I had proposed at the last meeting that we tried to achieve 100% attendance in December 2001. I think that could be easily achieved since there are only three meetings in December. The first meeting is on 6th December when we will have our AGM to elect our next year’s officers. The date of the second meeting will be changed from 13th to 15th December since we will have a Christmas Party on 15th December. The third meeting is a regular luncheon meeting on 20th December. There will be no meetings in the last week of December. So let us make it a 100% attendance month. |
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Why did he join Rotary? Before he became a Rotarian, he thought that Rotary was a club for rich men to kill their spare time. As a result, he refused to join Rotary, despite the many invitations received from his friends to do so and despite that he had also spoken in Rotary meetings. Nevertheless, he finally became a charter member of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong Harbour, not because of the Rotary ideal of service, but because a very good friend of his asked him to join his new club. CP Patrick Poon was asked at the time by the Rotary Club of Hong Kong Island East to form a new club. He later became the Charter President of the Rotary Club of Hong Kong Harbour. Indeed, CP Patrick was a very close friend to him – they were classmates in the University of Hong Kong, graduated on the same day, joined the civil service and started to work in the same government department at the same time. “Many people joined Rotary for the wrong reasons,” John said, “so sponsors need to spend time to explain to the new members [they introduced].” In his view, service is essential to Rotary clubs and fellowship is only incidental to that. Because of that, clubs that act purely as social clubs can easily fail. “It is so difficult to get a new member,” John went on, “and if a new member identifies himself with the service element, it is likely he would remain in Rotary, come what may”. John became a president of Hong Kong Harbour less than two years after he joined Rotary. He did not want to be the president at that time. This was because two months before he took over the office of presidency, he was posted by the Government to Tun Mun and it was extremely difficult for him to drive from Tuen Mun to Central to attend his club’s regular luncheon meetings, due to the heavy traffic between the two places and the frequent traffic congestions. Other than this, he enjoyed his presidency. There were a few very dedicated senior Rotarians at that time. For example, PDG Peter Hall was an advisor to the club and he gave a lot of guidance,” John said. The traffic was better in the evening, so he attended many of the district’s meetings e.g. the Joint Presidents’ Meetings, which were usually held in the evening, and enjoyed very much the fellowship of his fellow presidents. Why did he charter the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong? He did so because PDG Raymond Wong said that the District wanted to form a new club to house some of the Rotarians who had left Rotary at that time, and he wanted to form a club that implemented his ideals of Rotary. For example, it had to be affordable. It had to have an ideal of service above self. It had to focus on the younger generation. This belief and commitment originated from his observation, at that time, that many clubs used young people to do menial work and some Rotarians might take advantage of their membership to enhance their social status. Because of the international dimension of Rotary, he insisted that Kingspark should be an English-speaking club. In this connection, he noted that some clubs had made it a point to use Putonghua in the lead up to the transfer of Hong Kong’s sovereignty, and well before 1997. He said that he did not agree with the approach, which he described as backward thinking and not helping Rotary, having regard to Rotary’s international dimension. PDG Raymond Wong had a plan whereby CP John and CP Lawrence Lam would each bring in a group of people to become the charter members of the new club. After a few provisional meetings held at the Victoria Hotel, the two discovered that they had different approaches to the new club. As a result, each took back his own group and each chartered a new club. At that time, John had thought of calling his new club the Rotary Club of the Peak, but could not do so when the name was taken up by CP C N Ma in chartering his own club. During the formation of Kingspark, John’s understanding was that he would only be the club’s advisor and would give Rotary information and that PP Edward Lau would be the charter president. Otherwise, John would not have accepted the job because of the amount of work involved. Later, he assumed the charter presidency because Edward became very busy with his work due to a re-organization of his company and thus had to postpone his presidency by one year. What motivated him to stand behind Kingspark all the time? “Apart from my responsibilities as a charter president, the experience that I have gone through was unique and very personal, “John said. When John was the charter president, he put in a lot of effort into the club. For example, he took over the editorial work of Kingspark News when Roberto Chard left the job and the club for personal reasons after completing only the first issue of Kingspark News. He spent a lot of effort organizing the regular meetings. Immediately after one meeting, he would start planning for the next one. In the process, he had learnt a lot more about Rotary and this reinforced his understanding of the Rotary ideal of service. “On reflection,” John said, “as a member, if you have no involvement in the club’s activities and programmes, it is difficult for you to develop a commitment to the club.” Apparently the interaction with fellow members is an important element in keeping one motivated as a Rotarian. He was very proud of Kingspark and, of course, Kingspark News. When he left the editorial post, he thought that ‘the baby’ was old enough and he decided to let ‘the baby’ stand up on his own. He believed that he needed to give ‘the baby’ a chance to grow, develop and be independent. He also gave a detailed explanation in his first open letter to the District in July 1999. Under John’s capable editorship, the newsletter attracted a wide readership, with more and more readers coming from the District. In fact, it was so successful that it resulted in a lot of pride for Kingspark, its members and also district awards for Kingspark for three to four consecutive years. “I started the newsletter as a vehicle to bring the club together,” said John, “and it worked ….. I’d not published it in order to get an award….. during the period of publication. There was a time when about ten members left Kingspark. It was also the time when our newsletter failed to be published. But I am not sure there was any casual relationship.” [Editor: This is the first part of an interview with John By PP Alexander Mak who put the usual questions to John. In the next issue, John will talk about his expectation of Kingspark and respond to the comment that, when he was the DG, he acted like a dictator and did not listen to others.] |
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Shortly after I published my book, Letters from a Rotarian, I sent a copy to RI Past President Frank Devlyn. He sent me an email back with some encouraging words and asked me to promote his book, Frank Talk, and the avoidable blindness projects for which he started a Task Force in his year as president. He also suggested that I could do so through my letters. It makes me feel good that my letters are read in Mexico and by an RI past president. Frank Devlyn began promoting his book in the months leading to the Rotary International Convention in San Antonio. He had excerpts of and comments on the book loaded on his website with instructions on how to place orders. I promptly ordered 25 copies so as to get the maximum discount offered. At San Antonio, Frank spared no time and effort to advertise his book. He did a first class job. He would give away the book to most speakers and guests with his autograph and indeed every participant of the Convention received a complimentary copy. All proceeds from the sale of the book would go the Rotary Foundation to support avoidable blindness projects. There was a counter in the House of Friendship in San Antonio promoting the book. When I found that they offered even more discounts, I ordered 50 copies more. I was thinking of giving a copy each to the presidents of my year and members of my own club who could not be in San Antonio. I read the book on the flight back to Hong Kong. It was compelling reading. Once you pick it up, you will not put it down until you have finished it; and it is a very readable book. Those of you who have heard Frank Devlyn speak would agree that he is a motivating speaker. He speaks well, he speaks with sincerity, he speaks from the heart, and he speaks to you. Reading the book would be like having Frank talking to you beside you. Frank Talk has had third party endorsements from no less than 15 RI presidents, the UNICEF Executive Director, the Prince of Monaco, and chief executive officers of charity foundations, all highly complimentary. Frank Talk is Frank explaining to us how one person can make a difference in one’s career, one’s community and one’s world through membership in Rotary. The publisher told me that all 15,000 copies from the first printing ran out after 10 days, so that he had to wait for the second printing to fill all my orders. It has been sometime since all the copies were delivered. I could have begun distributing the book, but somehow I haven’t yet got round to doing so. This is my plan. I would give a copy to each member of my club. I would then give a copy to anyone who would come to my office to collect it and as long as stock lasts, provided that he or she undertakes to read it and to give a small donation to any charity, preferably the Rotary Foundation. One more secondary but non-obligatory condition is that he or she would try to pass the book along to a friend after he or she has read it and suggest the friend to do the same. I think this would be more meaningful than passing along chain letters or chain emails; and if each club in the District gets at least one copy, there is a good chance that most members in the District would have read Frank Talk in a few months from now, which in turn would go a long way towards membership development and promoting Richard King’s Global Quest. Hopefully, the Rotary Foundation would receive more donations in the Rotary Foundation Month. I mentioned earlier that proceeds from Frank Talk would support avoidable projects. This is something very close to Frank’s heart and Rotarians of District 3450 may wish to know that their District contributed a good proportion of the uncommitted District Designated Fund towards the programme and hence would enable thousands of people to see again. It is such thoughts that would make Rotarians feel proud of being members of the Rotary family and of being ale to fulfill our international obligations towards our fellow human beings. Some of you may be aware that ORBIS’s DC-10 aircraft is now in town and parked at Chek Lap Kok. Rosita and I had the opportunity to visit the plane this week and were rather impressed with its work. ORBIS is of course an international organization with a mission to preserve and restore sight by helping its local partners in their efforts to prevent and treat blindness. Since its plane first took flight in 1982, ORBIS has carried out over 450 programmes in more than 80 countries and has trained more than 54,000 doctors and nurses in sight-saving skills. But the work seems never ending. In Asia alone, mainly in China and India, there are 20 million cases of blindness most of which could be avoidable. ORBIS or any charity, including Rotary cannot possibly handle the work, but the work needs to be carried out. If you are reading this, it means you are more fortunate, much more fortunate than the 20 million brothers and sisters in China and India who cannot see and who are waiting for their sight to be repaired or restored. I urge you to think along with Frank Devlyn, think of how one person can make a difference, think of the avoidable blindness projects and think of what you can do to make a difference. Before I sign off, and still on the subject of giving, let us congratulate the Rotary Wheelers who completed the Trailwalker 2001 as a team and has raised more than $1 million for the Trailwalker Charitable Trust. The four Rotarians – David Lindsay, Gilbert Collins, Howard Davis and Bill Benter – have done the Rotary and the District proud. The team would remind clubs and Rotarians who have pledged towards the Team to send their donations to David Lindsay as soon as practicable. And remember, you can send your donations even if you have not pledged. As far as charity is concerned, past consideration can still be consideration. |
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Soledad Condore, Chilean United Nations Volunteer for Human Rights |
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Soledad, 32, is an indigenous Chilean and a history teacher by profession. She is working as a United Nations Volunteer (UNV) with the UN Verification Mission in Guatemala (MINUGUA). MINUGUA was formed in 1994 as part of the peace process designed to end 36 years of internal armed conflict, in which 150,000 people were killed. Most of the MINUGUA field officers are United Nations Volunteers (UNVs). Their work is to verify and support the terms of the 1996 peace accords. The main areas of work are human rights; the resettlement of refugees; social, economic and agrarian issues; indigenous rights; the strengthening of civilian power and re-addressing the role of the armed forces in a democratic society. Soledad specializes in indigenous rights and women's' rights. Years of exploitation during the colonial era and persecution during the internal armed conflict have seen the oppression of the indigenous Guatemalans and their culture. Sixty percent of Guatemala's population is indigenous. Much of their land has been stolen from them, their communities are usually the poorest and even today, Mayan religious men and women are accused of witchcraft and even arrested. "It is a big advantage being indigenous myself. I have experienced discrimination throughout my life, hearing people calling us 'los Indios sucios' ('those dirty Indians'). I remember being ridiculed even at school because I spoke bad Spanish. The indigenous people in Guatemala have suffered great discrimination, but things can change and I have great hope for this country. I wouldn't be here if I didn't." Soledad's work as a UNV isn't normally dangerous, but some situations can get very tense. "I was once caught up in an attempted lynching. The police had arrested two men accused of stealing, but the community wanted to lynch them. So, they blocked the road and wouldn't let us leave. The crowd were screaming and shouting and they had gallons of petrol ready to pour over the thieves. It took over three hours to calm things down. My job was to assist in mediating between the crowd and the authorities." "Yes, I've made sacrifices to come here. I've left all my family in Chile. My mum is always asking when I'm coming back. And the work gets stressful too. I get tired and run down and I often get ill. I have to make a real effort to clear my head. But it's what I want to be doing. This work fulfills all my human needs." |
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(1) 22 to 25 November 2001 - Visit to Rotary Club of Sathorn. (2) 3 December 2001 - Inter City meeting to welcome RI President at Inter-continental Hotel, Tsimshatsui. (3) 6 December 2001 - Annual General Meeting of our Club at luncheon meeting. (4) 7 - 8 December 2001 - District Tennis Competition at Hyatt Regency Hotel, Macau, organized by RC of Kowloon Northeast and RC of Hou Kuong. (5) 9 December 2001 - Annual Ball of the Rotary Club of Kowloon East at Inter-Continental Hotel, Tsimshatsui. Kingspark has reserved a table. Members must register with VP Peter Lo by 2 December. (6) 15 December 2001 - Christmas Party at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. Details to be confirmed by Sunny. The venue will be the outdoor garden overlooking the harbour with a beautiful view and having BBQ Buffet. Members attend free and guests, at $220 (adult) and $160 (child). Members to refister with Sunny So by 8 December. (7) 16 December 2001 - Christmas Party of our Rotaractors with the Spina Bifida Group. (8) 25 December 2001 - No Dinner Mmeeting, it being a public holiday. (9) 13 January 2002 - District Sports Day at Wan Chai Sports Ground. (10) 22 to 24 February 2002 - RYLA Camp. (11) 16 to 17 March 2002 - District Conference. (12) 4 May 2002 - Our Club's annual ball. (13) June 2002 - RI Convention in Barcelona, Spain. |
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President |
Raymond Sin Tom Hui Anwer Islam Peter Lo Michael Eyles Thomas Chan Ho Chi Ming Amy Chow Stephen Lin Sunny So Jane Fung Patrick Wong Alice Chau David Cheung |
Bulletin
Editor : Alexander Mak
Bulletin Publisher : Terence Leung
Club Webmaster : John Wan
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