By PDG Belinda Yeung, JP, Rotary Club of Hong Kong Harbour
March is Water and Sanitation Month
Clean water, sanitation, and education on personal hygiene are fundamental requirements for a healthy environment and a productive life.
When people have access to clean water and sanitation, waterborne diseases decline, children remain healthier and attend school more frequently, and mothers can devote less time to carrying water and more time to caring for their families.
Clean water is a fundamental human right that is frequently denied to many. There are 2.5 billion people who lack access to adequate sanitation and 748 million who lack access to safe drinking water in the globe. Every day, about 1,400 children die from illnesses related by poor sanitation and hazardous water.
Let’s join forces together and do our part in supporting Water and Sanitation efforts both locally and globally.
HOW ROTARY MAKES HELP HAPPEN
Through water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs, Rotary’s people of action mobilize resources, form partnerships, and invest in infrastructure and training that yield long-term change
The Rotary Foundation is changing the world by providing grants for projects and activities around the globe and in your own backyard:
01.WASH Global Grant Projects:
lobal Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Grant Projects: Since 2013, the Rotary Foundation has contributed over $130 million in over 2000 projects globally. Through this initiative, our volunteers have increased community, school, and healthcare facility access to basic WASH services that are securely maintained, while saving water resources.
02.Rotary-USAID WASH Partnership:
Rotary and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) collaborate to help communities and governments plan, fund, and provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene services while managing water resources sustainably.
03.WASH in Schools Target Challenge:
Rotary encourages its members to create sustainable programs that address the most urgent water, sanitation, hygiene, and education needs in Belize, Guatemala. Honduras, India, and Kenya.
Rotary Video: Creating Access to Clean Water and Sanitation
Rotary in Action: WASH Global Grants
Rotary International had initiated a pilot program called WASH in Schools Target Challenge to motivate Rotary clubs to develop sustainable water, sanitation, hygiene (collectively referred to as WASH) in schools in countries where needs were the most prominent.
Rotary Club of Belur (Dist 3291, India) in partnership with Rotary Clubs Danville/ Sycamore Valley, Alamo, Danville, Richmond, San Ramon, San Ramon Valley ( Dist 5160 in USA) implemented WASH program in 20 underprivileged schools in and around Kolkata, India. Rotary Belur had also partnered with Rotary Clubs Calcutta Chowrenghee, Chandannagar and Calcutta North Suburban in Dist 3291.
The project was very successfully implemented from April 2019 through mid-2022 and helped improve WASH practices of 15,000 students and teachers and 50,000 community members.
We hope this Global Grant Sharing on WASH inspires you to seek out opportunities for your club to support WASH service projects.
Rotary in Action: WASH Global Grants
Rotary Foundation Recognition Spotlight
About President Adrian:
Adrian Lau (B.Sc. (Hon.), LL.B. (Hon), LL.M.) is the President of the Rotary Club of Star Avenue (2022/23). He joined the Rotary in October 2017, shortly after its chartering. He became a member of the Board of Directors of the club in 2018 and had taken up the roles of Chair of International Service (2018–19 and 2019–20), Treasurer (2020–21), and President-elect (2021/22) before being elected as the President of 2022–23.
Adrian first became a Paul Harris Fellow (“PHF”) in 2018. He then contributed as a Multiple PHF and had also been a member of the Paul Harris Society. In September 2022, he was recognized as a Major Donor (Level 1).
Adrian is the Founder and Principal Partner of the law firm Adrian Lau & Yim Lawyers. He first qualified as a solicitor in Hong Kong in 1995 and was admitted as a solicitor of England & Wales in 1997. His major areas of practice are Corporate and Commercial, Banking and Finance, Employment, Intellectual Property, Compliance and Regulatory and China-related matters. He has also served as a securities regulator at the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC).
He is currently a member of the Employment Law Committee of the Law Society of Hong Kong and has been the author of certain published legal articles. On the pro bono service side, apart from actively participating in the Rotary service, he is also the legal adviser of the SME Sustainability Society. He has also joined the “Future Stars—Future Stars Mentoring Programme” organized by the Commission on Poverty as a mentor.
PP Maki: President Adrian, congratulations on becoming a Major Donor Level 1 in this Rotary Year. We would love to know more about you.
Why did you become a Rotarian? What do you love about being a Rotarian?
It has been my standing belief that I have been given many opportunities and benefits by the community, and it is my duty to give back.
Rotary is one of the renowned service organizations that I have known for years. In 2007, I had the opportunity to know much more about it because one of my friends, who was a charter member of the Rotary Club of Star Avenue, invited me to join its meetings and community service activities. I found that Rotary’s core values and areas of focus matched my own values and preferences. After consideration, I decided to join RC Star Avenue as a Rotarian.
Being a Rotarian, I can have easy access to organizing and/or participating in the various services (such as community services, vocational services, youth services, PPE services, international services and so on). Through carrying out services and assisting in Club affairs, I’ve discovered that these are all great opportunities for leadership skills to be polished. Besides, I also foster friendships with more people because the Rotary world has many nice Rotarians and their affiliates.
What inspired you to become a Major Donor? How does giving to The Rotary Foundation enhance your experience with Rotary?
There must be resources if we wish to help others. Same for Rotary. Through the allocation of resources by The Rotary Foundation (“TRF”), different Rotary Clubs over the world may receive grants (Global and District) if certain criteria are satisfied. The question is: where are such resources in TRF from? This is a reality issue, and TRF must have sufficient donations to achieve its goal of allocating resources to meaningful and valuable projects and services.
I have been a Multiple PHF for a couple of years and have also joined the Paul Harris Society.
It’s a commitment to me to help TRF by way of donation, especially because I am a member of the Paul Harris Society. To be a Major Donor, I need to contribute more to TRF.
Taking into consideration the overall economy status these few years, I noted that many organizations had encountered difficulties in fundraising. I understood that TRF had been putting much effort on appealing for donations to sustain its good deeds. As the Club’s President, I wished that my decision of becoming a Major Donor could set an example to the fellow Club members in respect of support to TRF, and it could be more convincing when I appealed to them for making donations. All in all, I wish to help the Rotary and thus decided to become a Major Donor in September 2022.
It is natural that before I donate money to an organization, I will try to understand more about it. This was the same before I decided to become a PHF and later a Major Donor. I learnt more about TRF’s operation, allocation of resources, sources of income, and so on and so forth. In connection with giving to TRF, I paid more attention to the grants awarded by TRF to the various projects, as well as the features of such projects. This helped me bring back (to my Club) more information and ideas about what the fellow Rotarians have been doing, thus improving the quality and impact of our Club’s activities.
What impact do you hope your donation will have on society or future generations?
I donate to TRF because it has a high charity rating and I believe that the trustee is managing it with the highest standard. It is Rotary’s charitable arm and has been giving grants to the Rotary Clubs for meaningful services, as well as responding swiftly to offer relief to emergencies such as the recent Turkey and Syria earthquakes.
I hope that with TRF’s effort, my donations, together with others’, can be used and allocated in the most effective manner. My wish-list is too long to mention, but as examples, I hope that Polio can be eradicated soon, poverty can be relieved, illiteracy can be diminished, peace can be promoted and disease can be prevented as much and as far as possible.
TRF has been running very well because it has the support of many Rotarians all over the world. TRF is a means to group together the donations and effort from various sources, and then allocate wisely to the parties in need. With TRF’s management of such donations, I am confident that our society and future generations can benefit more and more.
When you think about The Rotary Foundation’s future, what are you most excited about?
With the subsidy of TRF, more service projects of the Rotary world can be sustained and/or materialized and more people will be helped. Taking “End Polio” as an example, it will be eradicated sooner or later and the world will be free of this horrible disease.
We always talk about “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion”. To achieve equity, we need to help different people in need in a more “bespoke” manner. Rotary can definitely play a role in this aspect. Different Rotary Clubs have many service projects and different projects fit the needs of different people. By appropriate allocation of grants, TRF helps promote equity.
What are you most proud of in your life?
This is a matter of relativity.
I would say what I am most proud of is having become a member of the Rotary family to jointly help the world. There are so many people in need of assistance, and I know that with my personal effort, very little can be achieved. Yet, in the Rotary world, there are many People of Action contributing with the same goal. The collective power is immense and the impact of the Rotary services is huge. In this connection, TRF has been playing an important role financially, and it offers a reliable channel for the Rotarians to make contributions.
What’s your message to other Rotarians?
It is more blessed to give than to receive. It is true that there are many ways to help others. The assistance can be physically, spiritually, financially or through other means. Every means is equally conducive and valuable. Financially speaking, if possible, please set aside some money daily and contribute to TRF because it is managed at the highest possible standard and knows the best way to allocate resources to the targets.
Thank you so much President Adrian for your heart to serve.
You are truly living Service Above Self!
Thank you for supporting Rotary Foundation!
Mark Your Diary
- 19 April 2023 – Paul Harris’s Birthday cum Major Donors Appreciation Dinner.To show appreciation to all AKS members and Major Donors, DG Norman Lee and the District Foundation Committee will be hosting a dinner on 19 April 2023 (Wed) to celebrate Paul Harris Birthday and at the same time, to say “Thank You” for their support to the Rotary Foundation.
- The evening is a black tie event, to take place at the Ballroom II, Regala SkyCity Hotel; the dinner is fully sponsored by the Regal Hotels.
- All AKS members and Major Donors are invited. For enquiry, ric@ric3450.org or 9291-1790 (WhatsApp).
- 22 April 2023 – Grant Management Seminar