Operation UNITE is a multi-sector, action-oriented campaign to draw the community together to fight against the challenges posed by atypical pneumonia or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

As more and more people fall ill, the community of Hong Kong is worried and concerned, especially as almost all sectors are affected. Numerous organizations, agencies and bodies have been doing their utmost to keep spirits alive. All these initiatives need to be lauded and hopefully converged into a more consolidated effort. Operation UNITE is conceived as an Action Campaign to boost solidarity and morale in Hong Kong during this anxious time.

Purpose of Operation UNITE

As Hong Kong faces one of the toughest challenges, Operation UNITE is initiated to unite the community and mobilize major sectors to make concerted efforts to:
·encourage Hong Kong people to face the SARS crisis head-on;
·call on Hong Kong people to continue to play their parts faithfully;
·promote solidarity and mutual support in the community; and
·show appreciation to all those in the front line of this battle, particularly the medical personnel.

Key Components of Operation UNITE

Operation UNITE will launch a series of activities under an umbrella theme entitled “United We CAN”. The core components under the “United We CAN” theme include:
·United We CARE
·United We ACT
·United We NURTURE

Programs

The first set of Operation UNITE initiatives will be launched over the Easter weekend of April 19 and 20. They include (but are not limited to) the following:

United We CARE
·Caring in Action
oDistribution of SARS prevention hygiene kits to the vulnerable and needy
oPraying by religious groups on Easter Sunday
oVisitations to 2,000 elderly singles and people suffering from prolonged illness by 6,000 volunteers to:
§show we care;
§help with basic home cleaning;
§provide health and hygiene information; and
§distribute health cards.
oFund-raising activities involving the public and business sectors will be organized.

United We ACT
·Territory-wide Cleansing Day
oA government and District-Office-driven campaign to encourage everyone to clean their homes, offices, schools, public areas and districts.
·Driving Hygiene Best Practice
oThe outbreak of SARS has taught us the importance of hygiene. As an effective cure and vaccine against SARS may take some time to develop, we must drive hygiene best practices across different sectors for Hong Kong, starting with ourselves, our homes and extending to public areas.
oAn expert panel will be set up, comprising public health professionals to help formulate hygiene best practices for different social settings
oPublic education on hygiene best practices will be launched.

United We NURTURE a positive spirit to face up to the challenge
·Theme Song
oA theme song will be specially produced to capture the “United We CAN” spirit to boost morale.
·36-hour Marathon Broadcast
oA variety of programming will be produced by the six electronic media outlets (ATV, TVB, Cable TV, Commercial Radio, RTHK, Metro Radio) and broadcast on April 19 to 20 in support of Operation UNITE.

Organizers of Operation UNITE

Operation UNITE is conceived and driven by a Steering Committee made up of community leaders and media representatives, with Mrs. Betty Tung as the Honorary Advisor and Dr. Rosanna Wong as the Convenor.

Funding of Operation UNITE

The Steering Committee is very grateful to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for agreeing to sponsor this Campaign, on a matching basis of up to a maximum of HK$5 million, with donations raised from the community. The Steering Committee will continue to seek the support of the community in order to sustain the momentum of the Campaign beyond the Easter weekend. Any residual funds will be donated to the Community Chest of Hong Kong.

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Steering Committee

Dr. Rosanna WONG (Convenor )* / Dr. Edger CHENG / Dr. Philemon CHOI /
Dr. Raymond WU ** / Mr. Bernard CHAN

*Rotary Scholar ** Rotarian (Past President, The Rotary Club of Kowloon West)

Honorary Advisor

Mrs. Betty TUNG

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The Kick Off and Promotion

The Operation UNITE was officially launched at 11 AM on Wednesday, 16 April, 2003. Operation UNITE will start with a plan to mobilize the whole Hong Kong community on April 19-20, Easter. There will be marathon coverage on radio and TV. It is expected that the activities during the weekend to lead to ongoing efforts to raise the hygiene standards in Hong Kong and bring the community together to enhance the city's attraction as a destination and its competitiveness as a place to do business.

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Committment of Rotarians in Hong Kong

Coordinator

Jones WONG (District Governor Elect )
(The Rotary Club of Mid-Level)

Tel: (852) 9492 1190 Fax: (852) 2388 5173 Email : jones127@netvigator.com

Action

United in Showing Care – 1. Thousands of social workers and volunteers will visit the elderly and other vulnerable people to show concern and to distribute SARS prevention kits to them. 2. Rotarians and their children will send letters and goodwill cards to medical personnel in frontline, to show Rotary's appreciation and support. Outer wall giant TV broadcast will also be utilized. 3. Support the medical frontline by contacting Hong Kong Hospital Authority to identify treatment and/or protective equipment in need.

United in Spreading Positive Image – 1. To call upon more people and companies in Hong Kong to join in an united voice to spread the message of encouragement, appreciation, support and goodwill. 2. To disseminate an unbraced and positive message to Rotarians world-wide informing the true situation in Hong Kong, and how the Rotarians there have been taking positive actions, and to ask them to share the message within their communities and/or with their business associates.

United in Cleaning Up – A territory-wide movement to clean apartments, schools, offices, and public area to fight against SARS and to raise public hygiene standard.

United in Setting New Hygiene Standards – Hong Kong must set up new standards of hygiene and cleanliness in homes, offices, and public area for the future.

Any other suggestions are welcome .....

Funding

The Rotary International District 3450 has set an initial funding target of HK$600,000. Rotarians are encouraged to support by free will contributions.