Projects

This year we are supporting the following:

The Open University of Hong Kong

The Bursary Fund for Prison Inmates was established in 1994 to provide financial assistance for inmate students to study at the Open University of Hong Kong. The Bursary Fund is solely supported by donations from private sectors and is a charitable foundation.  This funding encourages more inmates to engage in different learning and to have a focus in life.

Open University of Hong Kong has launched a one-year project to set up learning support for inmate students.  For the past 6 months, more than 40 tutors and staff have been recruited as volunteers to visit students in prisons.  Textbooks and audio visual learning materials are in urgent need.

Vocational Training Council – Hospitality Training & Development Centre

Starting from 1990’s up to present, we have supported the skill competition and scholarship for hospitality industry.

Starting from 2009/10 academic year, the Club donated H$25,000 per year to the Hospitality Industry Training and Development Centre & Chinese Cuisine Training Institute by setting up a Rotary Club of Wanchai Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to 22 full time trainees with good overall academic and extra-curriculum performance each year. Each trainee will be given from H$1,000 to H$1,500 as a scholarship.

Po On Commercial Association – Wong Siu Ching Secondary School

Since 2002 we give scholarships every year to two secondary school students from grass root families consisting of a summer English programme in England. It is highly appreciated by the club members and we have put more focus to motivate these students from low income families to have the chance to have an adventure based learning experience in England. As a result the school has raised from Band 3 to Band 1 and will soon become a EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) school.

The students act as ambassadors of our club. They help their school and classmates to share in their learning experience in UK upon their return.  We arrange for them to give a talk at our club and at a Rotary Club while in England. The school has now a website dedicated to Rotary and the history of our club’s scholarships (see in Friends & Link).

City Contemporary Dance Company

City Contemporary Dance Company (CCDC) founded in 1979 by Mr Willy Tsao and it is a Hong Kong registered charitable arts organization. The generous support from sponsors and donors help CCDC’s contribution to Hong Kong’s cultural dance growth.

CCDC commits to educate and develop dance. It is a Flagship modern dance performing arts charitable touring company, representing HK and enlightening audiences worldwide with innovative dance works of the highest artistic standard. It nurtures local talent through dance education and development. CCDC provides dance courses for 40,000+ students, organizes 5,000 creative workshops, and brings 42 free performances to schools, housing estates, parks & shopping arcades each year. CCDC stages original dance creations for audiences of 53,000 people every year.

Harmony House

Harmony House was established in 1985 and is a non profit social service organization specialized in addressing issues related to domestic violence.

Harmony House provides shelter for victims of domestic violence, a hotline for individual counseling and treatment groups for abuses.  It also provides crisis support to domestic violence families and neighborhood watch projects.

Christian Action - Chungking Mansions Asylum Seekers Food & Education, & child school attendance support

Christian Action non-profit and NGO in HK provides assistance to refugees. They promote the welfare of the poor and disadvantaged with particular emphasis upon displaced persons, irrespective of race, gender, religion or nationality. They do this through education, vocational training, health and social services, recreation and other appropriate means. Refugees cannot work in HK and wait for UN assistance.

Correctional Services Department - Parent & Child Centre in Lo Wu Correctional Institution

The Parent-Child Centre in LWCI is a platform for incarcerated mothers to have more adequate opportunities to parent and nurture their infants and young children up to the age of six through parent-child contact visitation.  As LWCI is earmarked to open in August and has begun transferring in women inmates from other women institutions like Lai Chi Kok Correctional Institution since early July 2010, CSD has already proceeded with the design, decoration and procurement of various items for the centre on the advice of Playright Children’s Play Association, a non-profit making organisation founded in 1987.  The whole centre is divided into various play areas namely, exploratory, social, creative, reading and free play areas.  The range of toys includes education, concentration, imagination and construction.  All of the toys within each range should be of high quality and brightly coloured with child friendly paints to encourage children to pick them up and play.  

CSD officers will be responsible for purchase of items from various sources.  In so doing, they have to comply fully with the Government Stores and Procurement Regulations (SPR).  Regarding the price of items, the SPRs require officers to invite more than one supplier for quotations and accepts the lowest conforming offer for purchases with a value not exceeding $50,000.  The procurement process is also subject to audit.
Sufficient government funds have already been earmarked for the project but the sponsorship from community organizations will be more meaningful and signify public support for offender rehabilitation.

Alliance for Smiles

Alliance for Smiles, Inc is a non-profit organization underprivileged to make a permanent difference to the lives of  children suffering from cleft and palate anomalies by providing free reconstructive surgery.

Medical professionals, Rotarians and service groups work hand-in-hand to repair children’s broken smiles and create lasting bridges of friendship.

Save the Children China

In China a lack of access to early childhood care and development (ECCD) for children aged 3-6 is becoming one of the biggest drivers of inequality and poverty. The Ministry of Education reports that 51% of children under six from the poorest households in rural China and 31% from the poorest migrant households in cities can not access any ECCD at all.

A specific Project was set up to significantly increase access to the quality of ECCD services for marginalized children in rural and urban areas in China. The Project length is three years (2010 – 2012), and it will be located in: Sichuan, Beijing, Anhui, and Xinjiang to directly impact the lives of 18,000 children under 8 - 10 and 600 parents. And benefit indirectly to 72,000 children and 750,000 members of the wider community through replication, networking and advocacy that will change government policy and practice in the target provinces.

Community Institute of Education (CIE)

The institute was set up in 2004 and run by the Neighborhood Advice-Action Council (NAAC). The center’s mission is to provide training and job opportunities in different fields for disabled persons after they complete 12 years of free education.

Government regulations stipulate that special needs students must complete their schooling by the age of 18. However, the policy has come in for criticism for failing to bridge the education gap for disabled students.

Habitat for Humanity - Tai O project in Lantau

Habitat for Humanity is an international non-governmental organization dedicated to eliminating poverty housing. They work with people of all backgrounds, races and religions to build homes together in partnership with families in need. Using volunteer labor and financial contributions from caring people, they build with partners and communities to provide simple, decent, and affordable housing for low-income families. Since 1976, Habitat has built and renovated 350,000 homes in dozens of countries and territories, some 86,000 of them in the Asia- pacific region. Today, an estimated 1.75 million people, many of them in the region, live in homes that Habitat built.

WHY TAI O
The restoration of Tai O’s stilt houses is needed because almost one-third of the 2,000 residents of Tai O are elderly, retired Tanka, also known as “fishing people”, descendants of Hong Kong’s first settlers.  Many of these residents live in poor conditions that are a danger to both themselves and the community.

Despite the fact that the materials used to build Tai O’s stilt houses have evolved over the years, the homes remain particularly vulnerable to floods, typhoons, landslides, poor hygiene, a lack of air circulation, pollution and the effects of a substandard sewerage system.  Many residents simply cannot afford the cost of repair and maintenance.  To make matters worse, they have been unable to receive government grants for repairs of their homes due to their unique circumstances.  However , even had they been able to do so, there is a lack of trust among villagers and professional builders, who must comply with complicated government regulations covering the materials used, and the dimensions and function of the house.  Compounding this is the fact that the villagers believe strongly that only they know best to improve their unique living environment.

WHAT HABITAT FOR HUMANITY WILL DO
Habitat for Humanity China (HFH China) is joining hands with the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), Tai O Rural Committee, and the villagers themselves to launch a restoration project in three phases :

Phase One
The first phase involves repairs to stilt houses for four low-income, elderly residents who have been identified in consultation with the villagers as having an immediate and urgent need for improvements.  These include repairs to structures and access; the replacement of old/worn out waterproofing, windows, doors and other internal fixtures; the repair and upgrade of the fresh water supply system; the repair/upgrade of the houses’ electrical appliances/safety devices; and waste management.

Phase Two
The next phase will see HFH China undertaking repairs and maintenance work on 20 more stilt homes for elderly low-income residents.  The work will also involve the installation of solar panels as part of HFH China’s efforts to protect the environment.

Phase Three
In addition to home repairs, HFH China also plans to make initial improvements to the existing sanitation/sewage facilities that will complement government plans to upgrade and improve water quality and hygiene between 2013 and 2017.  Then, to ensure that its work continues to make a difference in the lives of the residents of Tai O over development, HFH China will arrange community meetings and provide residents with training on the proper upkeep of their stilt houses.
An important part of HFH China’s Tai O project is the opportunity to demonstrate the effectiveness of Habitat programs to other communities, would-be Habitat supporters and donors, as well as government officials.  It will also showcase the fact that substandard housing remains an issue in Hong Kong, and that long-term, sustainable programs like those of HFH China can make a real difference.

Sichuan Teachers

Sichuan Teachers is a registered non-profit organization in Hong Kong. It is initiated and organized by volunteers here and abroad who are greatly concerned with education in  areas affected by the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. Professors and students from some of the best universities in the world together with professionals from industry have a common goal to provide long term academic help and tutorials to children directly affected by the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake. Sichuan Teachers are running  a website and organization for matching. This will allow teachers, students and parents in earthquake affected Sichuan to register their needs; and volunteers from all over China and the world can register their qualifications and interests. The two parties can then match and help can be extended to the needy schools and children.   

Karuna Shechen

Humanitarian projects in Sichuan province and in Nepal since 2001 are supported by Tibetan monks, namely by Matthieu Ricard, a monk of French origin who is the interpreter of the Dalai Lama since 1989. Up to now the organization has built 16 clinics and 7 schools.

Last year we helped to finance the building of a new college in bamboo in Kathmandu. Construction was started in July 2010. Next year we will help the construction of a school that could resist earthquake in a remote area of the Sichuan province.