Volume 02 Issue 20
Dear Fellow Rotarians,
We were guests of the Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile last week and the room was full. For all those of you who were not able to attend and who have, on occasion, thought our Sergeant at Arms was rather demanding, I can only say “you ain’t seen nothing”! Not for nothing have RCKGM christened their Sergeant at Arms, Susie Misini. “Madam Lash” … she was merciless with the fines. Some members were fined for wearing blue jackets (for no other reason than that she decided she was “off” blue that day) and one poor chap was even fined for his “scary kiss” when he greeted her.
Full House!
It was very interesting to watch how another club handles their business and after addressing her own members, President Ebe Tung graciously yielded the floor to President Ramesh for our own club business.
He welcomed guest Mr Tommy Tam, congratulated both PP Bruce and Rotarian Dan on reaching their 21st birthdays (again!) and reminded members that this week’s meeting is DG Johnson’s visit to our club – a very important meeting not to be missed.
Presidents Ramesh and Ebe with PDG Dipo
VP Nic then reported on the vocational visit he has arranged to Ocean Park to visit the dolphin facility with Dr Fiona Brook on Saturday 17th. Since the response from our own Club has been dismal (come on guys – show some interest) he invited members of RC Kowloon Golden Mile to join us. For those of you who find that they are in fact free on Saturday morning, please let VP Nic know by no later than 5.00 pm on Tuesday 13th. We will be meeting at the main car park at 10.00 am and it will surely be a fascinating trip behind the scenes with Ada and Gina and their calves.
Till later …
Yours in Rotary,
Nicole Burt
SPEAKERS
Last Week’s Speaker (7th November) The guest speaker at Rotary Club of Kowloon Golden Mile last week was Mr Larry N Cambron, President for the Asia region responsible for DBM operations and client services, whose talk was entitled “The Changing World of Work”.
Guest speaker Mr Larry Cambron
This Week (16th November) is DG Johnson Chu’s visit and the induction of new member May Chan.
Friday 23rd November: Joint Meeting with Rotary Club of Macau – Guangxi Schools Project
Friday 30th November: Dr Mark Houston (a noted acupuncturist) – Traditional Chinese Medicine & the Fitness Industry
Friday 7th December: Mr Terry Hart, MLI Limited – Investments & Life Assurance
Friday 14th December: TBA
Friday 21st December: Katherine Ma, The House of Energy – Psychic Reading
Friday 28th December: ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – Election of Officers for Rotary year 2002/3
VP Nic is planning your programme for speakers for next year and he would welcome any names and addresses of speakers for January and early February.
WELCOMING COMMITTEES
Friday 16th November: Nicole Burt & M S Kalra
Friday 23rd November: Raju Wadhwani & Daniel Hackston
Friday 30th November: Nigel Montague & Albert Lam
Friday 7th December: Howard Davies & Steve Lan
NEWS – NEWS – NEWS
ROTARY NEWS
The Rotary International Centennial Logo
The Centennial Planning Committee has developed 3 logos, one of which will be used in the commemoration of Rotary’s 100th Anniversary in 2005. Votes will be accepted through 31 December, 2001 and the winning logo will be announced at the International Assembly in Anaheim, California which runs from 28th January – 4th February, 2002. It will also be spotlighted on the Web site and in an upcoming issue of THE ROTARIAN.
If you have not already voted, please visit this web site to do so:
http://www.rotary.org/logo/index.html#top
Rotary Foundation Month
November is Rotary Foundation month. Rotarians can boast of great accomplishments but there is still work to be done. With the current financial conditions Rotary’s funds are being challenged and many people need our support, so if you are not yet a Paul Harris Fellow, visit the Rotary Foundation website for more information about the fantastic work undertaken by them and consider making Rotary Foundation the charity of your choice.
DISTRICT NEWS
District Sports Day
The Rotary Club of Tai Po will be the host club for the District Sports Day to be held on Sunday 13th January 2002 at Wanchai Sports Ground from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
They have added two new events to the programme; the high jump for men and ladies and shot putt for men. and there will also be a number of games and family relay events. There is no charge for the event and lunch will be catered, so don’t miss this chance to flex your muscles and have fun with your family members and fellow Rotarians.
Registration Forms have been e-mailed to everyone for advanced registration, although on-the-spot registration will also be accepted. For enquiries, please contact Claire Mak (Tel. 28525906) or PP Kenneth Chow (Tel. 94604888).
CLUB NEWS
New Member
PDG Joseph proposed a new member who has become well known to us over the past few weeks – Mr Tam, Hok Lam Tommy who is a Director of National Electronics Holdings. The Board has approved his candidacy and he will be inducted at the District Inter-City Meeting on Monday 3rd December, at which the guest of honour will be RI President Rick King.
Election of Directors
PE David has e-mailed members a Nomination Form for the election of Directors for the 2002/2003 Rotary Year during the Annual General Meeting to be held on 28th December 2001. Please fill out your name, make your nominations and send them back to him as soon as possible.
MEMBER’S NEWS
The Rotary Wheelers
Congratulations to our team, who crossed the finishing line at 12.48 am on Sunday 11th November after walking for 35 hours and 48 minutes. When I met up with them at 10.30 pm on Friday evening, they were all in wonderful spirits and did not look as though they had just walked for 9½ hours straight through. PE David’s wife Eve had come armed with her own “Grandma’s Homemade Chicken Soup” which disappeared in no time at all and PE David had baked an enormous fruit cake, into which we stuck a candle and sang Happy Birthday to Rtn Howard.
The atmosphere at the rest stop was very friendly and almost festive, with cars parked wherever they could find a spot along the side of the road and people laying out supplies for the walkers.
Our intrepid Trailwalkers
In no time at all, they had all eaten and were preparing themselves for the next stage; topping up their water bottles and batteries and supplies for the trail. Trust me when I tell you that you don’t want to know what Rtn Howard was doing with the Vaseline at this stage … and in public too!
Having raised a record amount of money, they all deserve to feel proud of their achievement and of finishing as a team.
THE YANTU PROJECT UPDATE (written on 7th November 2001 by Veronique Faure)
Dear all,
Yesterday was Sun Haibin’s 26th birthday and this was duly celebrated by inviting 20 guests to the boat for a party: the guests, however, respectful of the race rules (no outside assistance is permitted), stayed well clear of the boat and contented themselves with swimming around for a while. A whole family of 10-metre long grey whales turned up to celebrate Sun Haibin’s birthday! Christian and Sun Haibin have a small digital video camera on board, so some of us will be able to see how the party went.
Another key highlight of the party was Christian’s singing Happy Birthday (in Chinese), which did not even have a bad effect on the weather… and Sun Haibin receiving the minuscule and very light-weight (these were my shopping instructions from Christian) gift we got for him on Tenerife: a blue, translucid dolphin-shaped keyring with real sand and real starfish in it!
Those of you who follow their progress on the internet will have noticed that they have climbed back up to the 13th to 15th position. It seems that their strategy to go South is finally paying off. This is very good for their morale, but their focus remains to finish the race, not to worry too much about their position. After all, they still have half of the way to go!
They set themselves a goal for mileage every day (between 50 and 55 miles generally) and try to focus on that, one 24-hour period at a time. Sometimes they adjust the basic routine to reach their goal, for example they row together, or eat separately (except the hot meal for dinner, which they always share).
The main difficulties mentioned by Christian have remained constant over the last week: uncomfortably high temperature, tiredness due to lack of sleep, and very,very sore bums! All pains of a physical nature, the psychological aspect seems easier to handle now. Both of them really get along very well, and when you know that they met this year in January for the first time, this is good to hear!
Finally, they have made more attempts to find out how to repair the broken hinge on the cabin hatch, but these have remained unsuccessful so far. As long as the weather remains as good as it has been lately (regular 2-metre waves) this is not a problem. Christian does not sound too worried by the situation.
If you would like to check the boat’s position in the race, please visit www.yantu.com. There you can also read more about the Yantu project and make a donation to enable Mainland Chinese students to study at the United World College of the Atlantic – a school based in the UK, which aims at promoting international understanding. Please contact me at veronique.faure@bigfoot.com if you encounter any difficulty in accessing the website.
I look forward to updating you next week!
Veronique
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY
Sunday 11th November:
1790 – Chrysanthemums are introduced into England from China
1851 – The telescope was patented by Alvan Clark.
1880 – Australian outlaw and bank robber Ned Kelly was hanged at the Melbourne jail at age 25.
1918 – At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month, World War I came to an end when the Allies and Germany signed an armistice.
Monday 12th November:
1859 – The first flying trapeze act was performed by Jules Leotard at Cirque Napoleon in Paris, France. He was also the designer of the garment that is named after him.
1892 Pudge Heffelfinger receives $500 and becomes the first pro football player. (With a name like that, I just Had to include this item!)
1927 – Joseph Stalin became the undisputed ruler of the Soviet Union when Leon Trotsky was expelled from the Communist Party.
1940 – Walt Disney released “Fantasia.”
Tuesday 13th November:
1805 – Johann George Lehner, a Viennese butcher, invented a recipe and called it the “frankfurter.”
1850 – Robert Louis Stevenson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is best known for “Treasure Island” and “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”
1974 – Karen Silkwood, a laboratory analyst at the Kerr-McGee plutonium processing plant in central Oklahoma who had exposed unsafe practices at the plant, was killed in a car crash under suspicious circumstances
1994 – Sweden voted to join the European Union.
Wednesday 14th November:
1666 – Samuel Pepys reported on the first blood transfusion which was between dogs.
1940 – During World War II, German war planes destroyed most of the English town of Coventry when about 500 Luftwaffe bombers attacked.
1969 – Apollo 12 blasted off for the moon from Cape Kennedy.
1991 – After 13 years in exile Cambodian Prince Norodom Sihanouk returned to his homeland.
Thursday 15th November:
1492 – Christopher Columbus noted the first recorded reference to tobacco.
1864 – General Sherman burnt Atlanta during the American Civil War.
1920 – The League of Nations met for the first time in Geneva, Switzerland.
1965 – The Soviet probe, Venera 3, was launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. On 1st March 1966, it became the first unmanned spacecraft to reach the surface of another planet when it crashed on Venus.
Friday 16th November:
1621 – The Papal Chancery first adopted January 1st as the beginning of the calendar year. Previously, March was the first month, which explains why our modern names for the 9th to the 12th months begin with prefixes meaning “7” (sept), “8” (oct) “9” (nov) and “10” (dec).
1918 – Hungarian People’s Republic declared
1955 – 1st speed-boat to exceed 200 mph (322 kph) (D.M. Campbell)
1997 – China released Wei Jingsheng, a pro-democracy dissident from jail for medical reasons. He had been incarcerated for almost 18 years.
Saturday 17th November:
0003 (BC) – According to early Christian theologian Clement of Alexandria (ca.155_ca.220 AD), Jesus Christ was born on this date.
1558 – Elizabeth I ascended the English throne upon the death of Queen Mary Tudor.
1869 – The Suez Canal opened in Egypt, linking the Mediterranean and the Red seas.
1988 – Benazir Bhutto became the first woman leader of an Islamic country. She was elected in the first democratic elections in Pakistan in 11 years.
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY
Friday 16th November: DG Johnson Chu will be joining our Friday luncheon meeting. This will also be the induction of Miss May Chan, so let’s all make an effort to attend this meeting and welcome May as a fellow Rotarian.
Friday 23rd November: Rotary Club of Kowloon North and Rotary Club of Macau Joint Meeting to be held at Macau Military Club, No. 975 Avenida Praia Grande (less than 5 mins. by taxi from the jetfoil pier). Bring your spouses and families or friends with you so that we can enjoy an evening of fellowship with our Rotary friends in Macau, followed by a relaxing weekend in Macau. Reservations have been made of the jetfoil leaving Hong Kong at 6.30 pm and for those who are returning, the jetfoil leaving Macau at 1.00 am.
Sunday 25th November: White Ribbon Day – the International Day for the Prevention of Violence Towards Women.
Saturday 1st December: Wear a Red Ribbon today to commemorate World AIDS Day
Monday 3rd December: Rotary International President Rick King, will be guest of honour at a District 3450 Inter-City meeting to be held at the Intercontinental Hotel, Tsimshatsui at 19.00. This will be a unique opportunity to meet the incumbent RI President. In addition, Mr Tommy Tam will be inducted as a new member of our club at this meeting, so please make the effort and let President Ramesh know by 23rd November if you wish to attend..
Sunday 13th January: The District Sports Day will be held at the Wanchai Sports Ground from 9.00 am to 5.00 pm.
FROM THE BREADBASKET
Treasure Chest of Memories for Aids Orphans
The ‘Mother and Child Memory Box’ Project
(Submitted by Derrick Couper)
Throughout our lives most of us retain fond childhood memories of our loved ones, our parents, our siblings, our close relatives, and these images stay with us forever, etched indelibly in our minds. Things are a little different for nine-year old Mbali Zulu. She has never known the happy times of childhood. She never knew her father and her only uncertain memory of her mother is the shadowy outline of a pathetically thin body, wasted limbs and never a smile on a lined and pain-wracked face. Soon she will have no real memory even of that. She will be an AIDS orphan, just one of millions, with no past and no future.
But she will have one small consolation in the midst of her misery. A little tin box with a wire handle. Her memory box. Every time she opens it she will be reminded of who she is and who her parents were. She will know there were people who loved her and that there are still those who care. Most of all, she will no longer be just another HIV/AIDS statistic. She will have an identity when she needs to find employment, get married or for any of the myriad of activities required by Government. Mbali is one of the children to benefit from the “Mother and Child Memory Box” project for AIDS orphans run by, amongst others, the South Coast Hospice in Port Shepstone and the Sinosizo Home Based Care Aids Centre based in Chatsworth.
The organisers of the project recognised that HIV-infected mothers find it extremely difficult to explain to their children that they are ill and about to die, not least of all because death is a concept not fully understood by young children.
The project organiser’s feel it is vitally important for parents to be given the opportunity of having their dreams for their children documented to ensure some measure of peace before death From the children’s point of view, knowing that they were loved and cherished by their parents is a real source of consolation. It can also impact profoundly on their future development in the adult world. The recognition that, in fragmented families, childhood memories and important aspects of family history can, all too easily, be lost forever in the trauma of grief and confusion. This was the starting point for the idea of providing soon-to-be-orphaned children with their own sturdy little treasure chests in which to store mementoes and documents.
The typical contents of a memory box, usually collected on the child’s behalf by a Caregiver, are identity documents, birth and death certificates, a brief family history and family tree.
Important as these official documents are, the sentimental contents of the memory boxes are probably even more so. Ideally, they will contain letters from the child’s mother probably dictated to a Caregiver-telling of her dreams and hopes for the child. Where possible, photographs of mother and child and the home and family groups will be taken and these will be put in the memory box together with small mementos like bangles and brooches and so on. A bonus is the inclusion of an audiotape interview with the dying mother in which she evokes memories of the past.
Maintaining and cherishing the memory of the family, no matter how broken it is, helps the child to recognise the importance of his or her own identity and is thus able to better adapt to his or her future social, economic and cultural environment. As the child grows up, he increasingly feels the need to know and understand where he comes from. This faint remnant of the family history can be highly significant in the child’s search for identity and meaning.
The children are encouraged to make their memory boxes more personal, more their very own special possessions, by painting them in bright colours or by covering them with pasted-on cut-outs.
The durable galvanized boxes used by the South Coast Hospice cost Rand 25 each, the costs have been covered by a generous donation from “The Diana, Princess of Wales, Memorial Fund”. The Sinosizo Home Based Care Aids Centre use old shoeboxes as these are cheaper and easier to decorate.
For more information contact Derrick Couper, Rotary Club of Westville, Durban, South Africa.
AND FINALLY ….
A grieving Australian widow has had her husband’s ashes injected into her breast implants, a British newspaper has reported. Sydney woman Sandi Canesco, 26, took the bizarre step after her husband Dustin was killed in a car accident, the tabloid the Daily Star reported. “It dawned on me that if I carried Dustin’s cremated remains in my breast implants, I’d never really have to part with him at all,” the paper quoted Canesco as saying, under the headline “Dust to bust.”