Globe-Trekker Rotaract by RAC Penang
Transcription
Globe-Trekker Rotaract by RAC Penang
ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 the rotaract club of penang Sponsored by the rotary club of penang In collaboration with RAC Penang Page 1 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 ROTARACT DISTRICT 3300 AWARDS SUBMISSION 2012/2013 INTERNATIONAL SERVICE GLOBE-TREKKER ROTARACT Prepared by: Nicholas Goh I.S Director Ry2012/13 RAC Penang Page 2 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Part A: Executive Summary Globe-Trekker Rotaract is a concept project initiated by the Rotaract Club of Penang. The project is to help participating Rotaract clubs around the world to understand each other's culture as well as to learn more about other countries’ tradition and interesting landmarks. This project allow Rotaractors who are interested in gaining knowledge of different cultures from different countries to do so in a cost saving and efficient manner. The reason being that instead of spending lots of money travelling from one country to another, a mascot will travel around and visit all the designated destination and ‘experience’ life in different countries. For this term of RY2012/13, The Rotaract Club of Penang had decided to collaborate with 3 different Rotaract Clubs from different districts in the Asia Pacific Region. Details of Project Type of Event: International Service and Rotaract Awareness Project Name of Event: Globe-Trekker Rotaract Date: 1st July 2012 - 31st May 2013 Venue: Various Districts Participating Rotaract Clubs: RAC of Kuching RAC Chinatown Manila RAC The City University of Hong Kong RAC Penang Page 3 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Part B: Objectives To gain an in-depth understanding on the culture, lifestyle of rotaractors from different Rotary International (RI) districts and countries To share the cultures and tradition among various countries and RI districts as well as to promote peace and understanding through International Service. To promote the awareness of Rotaract to the public and society. To strengthen the bond between various Rotaract Clubs in different districts through effective and constant communication as well as the sharing of respective culture. Organizing Committee Name Chang Shea Speare Tan Hui Zhen Nicholas Goh Wei- Lik Lee Bin Hong Paramakanes Lennard Chua Alvin Lee Polycarp Junior Wong Pin Pin Sy Janice Cyrus Cheung Yuen Sil Designation President Vice President Project Coordinator Asst. Project Coordinator Asst. Project Coordinator Project Treasurer Facebook/ Webmaster D3310 Head Coordinator D3810 Head Coordinator D3450 Head Coordinator RAC Penang Page 4 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Globe-Trekker Rotaract's Directory Name: Club: District: Position: Address: Email: Contact: Nicholas Goh Wei Lik Rac Penang D3300 (Malaysia) International Service Director 2C-16-5, Regency Heights, Cangkat Kenari, Sungai Ara, 11900 Bayan Lepas, Penang, Malaysia nick_elninojr@hotmail.com (+)6017-4883465 Name: Club: District: Position: Address: Email: Contact: Cyrus Cheung Yuen Sil Rac The City University of Hong Kong D3450 (Hong Kong) President 12/13 Room 2403,Tak Nga Court,Wan Tau Tong Estate,Tai Po,N.T., Hong Kong cyrus.cityurotaract19@gmail.com (+)852 98000892 Name: Club: District: Position: Address: Email: Contact: Polycarp Junior Wong Pin Pin Rac Kuching D3310 (Malaysia) President 12/13 182, Lorong 4A6, Tabuan Laru, 93350 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia polyjunior@hotmail.com (+)6017-8541314 Name: Club: District: Position: Address: Email: Contact: Sy Janice Rac Chinatown Manila D3810 (Philippines) International Service Director Block 6 Lot 8 Meiling Village A. Bonifacio Avenue Balintawak Quezon City, Philippines icesy016@yahoo.com (+)63922-860-8585 Part C: Accounts Expenses Description Courier Cost Amount RM 8.62 Note: All clubs had agreed that any expenses incurred during the hosting of 'Ninja' are to be borne by respective clubs. RAC Penang Page 5 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Part D: Photos and Press Cuttings Rotaract Club of Kuching (23rd September 2012 -23rd November 2012) Ninja making his presence in Kuching, Sarawak RAC Penang Page 6 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Ninja at Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) Group pictures with Rotaractors of UNIMAS RAC Penang Page 7 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Outing and Good Food Can I have those prawns??? RAC Penang Page 8 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Ninja with his new Traditional Male Iban Hunter Costume RAC Penang Page 9 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Rotaract Club of Chinatown Manila (5th December 2012 - 1st April 2013) Ninja calling the 8th D3810 District Meeting to Order? Ninja with District Governor Maeng Mercado of D3810, Philippibes RAC Penang Page 10 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Superstar much? Ninja with Sy Janice, International Service Director of Rac Chinatown Manila RAC Penang Page 11 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Ninja leading the present giving ceremony!!! Ninja at Project 12 days of Christmas RAC Penang Page 12 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Ninja-The Guardian Ninja at Christmas Party RAC Penang Page 13 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Ninja at the Largest mall in Philippines - Mall of Asia RAC Penang Page 14 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Ninja enjoying his night life RAC Penang Page 15 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Ninja enjoying awesome Philippine food Ninja and the awesome Philippines Rotaractors RAC Penang Page 16 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Ninja celebrating the 45th World Rotaract Week Nice Cake!! RAC Penang Page 17 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Rotaract Club of City University of Hong Kong (13th April 2013 - 31st May 2013) Ninja announcing his arrival ! Ninja with the Hong Kong Rotaractors RAC Penang Page 18 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Smile for Ninja ☺ RAC Penang Page 19 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Ninja at a War Game organized by Rac NAC The Chinese University of Hong Kong RAC Penang Page 20 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Globe-Trekker Rotaract Press Cuttings The Star, 19th November 2012 RAC Penang Page 21 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Chinese World News (Philippines), 20th January 2013 RAC Penang Page 22 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Part E: Project Planning How does Globe-Trekker Rotaract work? Globe-Trekker Rotaract adopts the concept of ‘Foster family’ and applies it by sending a mascot over to the participating Rotaract Clubs to ‘experience’ the lifestyle there. The mascot by the name ‘Ninja’ will begin his journey from Penang, Malaysia. Before Ninja begins his journey, a ‘travel plan’ will be drawn up with the participating Rotaract Clubs to determine the order of the countries that Ninja will visit. After determining the order of travel, Ninja will be sent through a courier to the first designated location (eg: Australia). Upon arrival to the designated location, the Rotaractors will receive Ninja and take him under their club’s care for approximately a month or so (depends on the number of participating clubs). The Rotaractors or the new ‘foster family’ will bring Ninja around to visit interesting places as well as joining various club activities & projects organized by the Rotaract club. In all the outings and activities, the foster family will bring Ninja along and take pictures with him. After the stay, the foster family responsible for Ninja will send him via courier to the next pre-determined destination. The process will be repeated with the next foster family and so forth. Upon completing his stay in a country, pictures of Ninja with the foster family throughout the stay will be sent to us (The Rotaract Club of Penang) via email/ Facebook. A simple and eventful write up regarding Ninja’s stay in the country should be attached along with the pictures. We will then compile all the pictures & write ups of Ninja’s journey throughout the term and produce a magazine/journal. This journal/magazine will then be sent to the participating Rotaract Clubs so that everyone can view the journey that Ninja had taken throughout the whole Rotary Year 2012-2013 and all the amazing experience he had encountered with each foster family. RAC Penang Page 23 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Background of Ninja Ninja is originally part of the Dooodolls® family, a soft toy series created by a Malaysian artist named Chen. Chen created Dooodolls® out of his love of characters doodling; a passion so great that we wanted to bring his creations to live and share it with his loved ones. The reason Ninja was chosen is because of his personality and his abilities. The Red colour of Ninja’s outfit has a close resemblance to the red colour of the Rotaract emblem. Ninja is a brave warrior who is ever ready to defend humanity from all forms of harm. Being a silent protector of mankind, Ninja also loves travelling around the world to know more about places where he can lend a hand. Besides helping people, he loves sightseeing and making new friends from all around the world. Ninja’s ability helps him greatly in his travelling. He can move as fast as lightning. One second he’s there and the next second, he is in another location. This helps him to travel to places he loves to go in a very fast speed. Although being a brave hero, Ninja just like most of us, loves to be pampered, loved and cared. Therefore Rotaract Club of Penang decides to send him on to a journey and become the Globe-trekker Rotaract. RAC Penang Page 24 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Part F: Project Execution August 12, 2012 - a memorable day for all the members of Rotaract club of Penang because this very day, we welcomed a new family member into our humble little Rotaract family. This new family member of ours is no ordinary member. He is relatively small in size even compared to our Rotaractor Soo Hoo but he is adorable beyond words. Ninja, his name is legendary warrior who is ever ready to serve the community and give back to the society. Due to his versatility and his micro size, we've decided to send him on his first journey to Kuching, Sarawak as our club representative in learning new cultures as well as participating is meaningful Rotaract projects. On 18th of September 2012,Ninja took his maiden flight to the land of Hornbills, Sarawak. He was received by President Polycarp Junior Wong who took him under his care alongside the members of Rac Kuching. Upon arrival, Ninja was immediately red-carpeted to the Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) as the ambassador of peace for the 1st Chartered Meeting of RAC Unimas. Since it was Ninja’s first time stepping foot in Sarawak, the fellow Kuching Rotaractors awarded Ninja with a traditional male Iban hunter costume as a souvenir. WOW!!! Ninja just got promoted to.Legendary Iban warrior status' ! For the following month, Ninja attended a number of projects carried out by the Kuching Rotaractors such as, Sarawakian cultural dance ceremony, Project Peace Through Service and he even got the privilege to attend Rac Kuching’s 30th Installation Night. The wonderful project carried out by the Kuching Rotaractors known as Peace Through Service was featured in the Star Newspaper. And Guess what? Ninja is on it! -Please proceed to Appendix A for a full write up on Ninja’s journey in Sarawak – 23rd November came like a breeze and it was time for Ninja to say goodbye to his super caring and loving foster family. Ninja had a wonderful stay at Kuching and had learned so much in terms of culture and tradition. With a last few pictures taken with his Ninja, the fellow Kuching Rotaractors sent him off to his next destination – The Philippines. On 5th of December, Ninja had arrived safely in Philippines. The fact that Ninja had gone from one super caring foster family to another just shows that the hospitality of Rotaract goes beyond humankind. This time around, Ninja is being taken care of by Charter President Alexiz Tan, his International Serivce Director Sy Janice and the fellow members of Rotaract Club of Chinatown Manila. Ninja partook in many extraordinary projects and activities carried out by the Philippine Rotaractors. The first activity that Ninja attended was the 8th District meeting where he had the honour to meet District Governor Maeng Mercado of D3810, Philippibes. The Philippine Rotaractors organized many meaningful projects and was kind enough to allow Ninja to participate in every one of it. Projects such as Bottle of Hope, 12 days of Christmas where Ninja had the chance to be give out gifts to approximately 1000 kids and the Project Rac RAC Penang Page 25 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Builders 2013. That is not all because the dedicated Philippines Rotaractors do know how to enjoy themselves too! They took Ninja out to the largest mall in Philippines, threw an awesome Christmas party where everyone took turns to take picture with the ‘superstar’ and lastly celebrated the 45th World Rotaract Week with him. -Please proceed to Appendix B for a full write up on Ninja’s journey in Philippines – There’s an old saying that goes: “All good things must come to an end”. Well, sadly it is the case for Ninja’s fun-filled journey in the Philippines. Ninja had served the community hard and at the same time played hard too and he sure did gained a huge insight on the culture of both Philippine Rotaract movement as well as the lovely country. Heavy-heartedly, Ninja followed a Philippine Rotaractor down to Hong Kong where his next journey began there. 13th of April marked the first day Ninja came across the Hong Kong Rotaractors. Well just within minutes, Ninja clicked immediately with the fun and whacky Rotaractors of Hong Kong. Ninja was under the care of President Yuensil Cheang where he got the opportunity to experience university life. Ninja attended a couple of Rotaract Club of The City University of Hong Kong and even attended their Rotaract seminar talk. On May 20th 2013,Ninja’s warrior skills was tested when he joined a war game organized by the Rotaract club of NA of Chinese University of Hong Kong . As far as I know, the Rotaractors never disclosed the outcome of the war game. I have a good feeling that they got their buttock kicked by Ninja! Just kidding ☺ At the present moment, Ninja is still enjoying his stay in Hong Kong where he is enjoying the life of a student and playing hard. I guess he played to hard till he forgot to fill me about his life there so I guess we will all just have to wait for the next report to know more about Ninja’s incredible journey around the world, globe-trekking. RAC Penang Page 26 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 Part G: Project Impact Have you ever thought of travelling around the globe visiting different countries, meeting new friends, Rotaractors and gaining fresh knowledge on local cultures and traditions? I bet you do! However, we as Rotaractors can sometimes find it hard to meet our financial budget or even holiday schedule due to work and other commitments. The world as we know today is no longer the same as the one during our forefather’s time. It is without a doubt that globalization has indeed brought the world closer together. We need not travel to a certain destination to know practically everything there is to know about the place. All these is thanks to the technology advancement and social media sites such as Facebook and twitter. Therefore. sharing of knowledge can be done almost instantaneously and capable of reaching out to a huge number of people. With the notion above, Globe-Trekker Rotaract was created. This project was conceived mainly on two of the Rotaract goals which are: To develop knowledge and understanding of the needs, problems and opportunities in the community and worldwide and To provide opportunities for personal and group activities to serve the community and promote international understanding and goodwill toward all people (Rotaract Handbook, page 1). This project is a one of a kind project due to mechanism involved as well as the nature of it. Project Globe-Trekker Rotaract helps develop a strong bond between Rotaract Clubs from different districts all around Asia Pacific. It also encourages constant communication among clubs to keep each other updated regarding Ninja's wellbeing. With so many Rotaract clubs coming together in making this project work, we have successfully reached out internationally to share the projects and activities of each respective clubs. By doing so, the participating Rotaract clubs can learn more about the different cultures and tradition from various countries/ districts. This project also gives us the opportunity to address current issues that are being tackled by various participating Rotaract clubs. By sharing the community service projects undertaken by them, more resources were able to be channelled to them for their project usage. For instance, Rotaract Club of Penang donated RM 300 to Rac Chinatown Manila which is equivalent to 6,600 Pesos for their 12 days of Christmas project. Besides that, this project encourages the participating Rotaract club to bring Ninja out for local tours and this helps to create more Rotaract awareness as a whole. Ninja also managed to participate in two projects which were published on the local newspaper: RAC Penang Page 27 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 • The Star, 19th November 2012 - Project Peace Through Service • Chinese World News (Philippines), 20th January 2013 - 12 days of Christmas Finally, to top it all, one of the many things that satisfied us all when we carried out this project is that we were able to execute a project that is related with the Rotary theme this year which is “Peace Through Service”. In the process of the event, we managed promote Peace by rendering our service to those who are in need internationally and bring unity and international understanding among various Rotaract clubs with different cultures across the Asia Pacific region. Prepared by: Nicholas Goh Wei – Lik International Service Director Ry12/13 Rotaract Club of Penang RAC Penang Page 28 of 28 ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 RAC Penang Page 1 of 1 ROTARACTOR NINJA’S VISIT TO RAC KUCHING Rotaract Club of Kuching Newsletter Issue 1# Rotaractor Ninja’s Visit To RAC Kuching WELCOMING NINJA AT KUCHING INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT! IN THIS ISSUE A Hero’s Welcome! by Polycarp Junior Wong The Land of the Hornbills On the 1st of October 2012, Rotaractor Ninja arrived in Sarawak after a long trip of disguising himself as a stuffed toy onboard a plane. Sarawak is one of the 13 states that make up the majestic country of Malaysia. It has always been said that Sarawak, with all its natural forests, rich culture and unrivalled diversity earned itself the nickname “The Jewel of Borneo”. To the local indigenous people, Sarawak was also known as Bumi Kenyalang which in Bahasa Malaysia (our national language), it means “The Land of the Hornbills”. Coincidentally, Ninja has always been curious about how the inhabitants of Sarawak attend to their dailylives. When he arrived in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, the Rotaractors from the Rotaract Club of Kuching (RAC Kuching) and Rotaract Club of Unimas (RAC Unimas) were waiting for him and welcomed him with open arms and much fanfare. Immediately, he was whisked away to Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS) as the st ambassador of peace for the 1 Chartered Meeting of RAC Unimas. Culture Shock!!! Rotaractor Ninja enjoys a unique Sarawakian cultural experience which you can only find in the island of Borneo. Page 3 Ninja Visits RAC Unimas At the 1st Chartered Meeting of RAC Unimas, Charter President Natasha Nicole Deser of RAC Unimas greeted Ninja enthusiastically and proceeded to give Ninja a presentation of what Rotaract was about. In addition, Ninja was awarded a souvenir in the form of a traditional male Iban hunter costume to show that it is still fashionable to be old school! After the meeting, Ninja bunked in at RAC Kuching President Polycarp’s abode to unpack and get ready for a whole month of adventure in the Land of the Hornbills! Peace Through Service Project Rotaractors from RAC Kuching and RAC Unimas working together with Trienekens to clean up the beaches of Pantai Buntal. Page 5 ROTARACTOR NINJA’S VISIT TO RAC KUCHING | Issue 1# 2 RAC Kuching’s 30th Installation Night by Polycarp Jr. Wong It was a dark and stoooooormy night! Hahaha nah I’m just kidding! Au contraire, the night of October the 13th in the year 2012 was a cool and casual affair and it was also the night th where the 30 Board of Directors for RAC Kuching were appointed with much celebration and dance! Held at the majestic Hilton Hotel equipped with a poolside party and all‐you‐can‐eat buffet line overseeing the open‐air starlit sky of Kuching, the Installation Night was akin to a Midsummer Night’s Dream. Rotarians and Rotaractors alike were mingling around and very much enjoying themselves. Rotaract Club of Kuching’s Incoming President Polycarp and Rotary Club of Kuching’s President Mohd. Bin Siphon were trying their best to mimic the belly dancers from Studio 23 who gave a spectacular dance perfomance for all who were witnesses to the wonderful event. Not forgetting Rotarian PP Chong Chan Nam who could not resist showing off his talent as a Sarawak Idol whenever there is a karaoke set available! As luck would have had it, we were rather privileged to have the visiting District Governor, Rotarian Lee Kong Hwee and our District Rotaract Representative Abdul Wahid to be present to witness this auspicious event. Props to DG Lee and First Lady Nana Lee for being good sports to do a dance duet on stage! With a glint of mischieviousness, Rotarian Advisor PP Dr. John Chan, called upon the power of the audience and started chanting. Unimas President, Natasha had no other choice but to sing a duet of the timeless classic “Close To you”. Needless to say, they sang well and the crowd exploded in cloud of applause. As the event came to a close, a group photo was taken with Rotarians, Rotaractors and our special guest, Ninja, to preserve this moment as one to remember till the very end of time. All’s well ends well. RAC KUCHING B.O.D RY2012/2013 by Polycarp Junior Wong In order to appease the chanting crowd, RAC Kuching President, Polycarp and RAC ROTARACTOR NINJA’S VISIT TO RAC KUCHING | Issue 1# 3 EVENT HIGHLIGHTS Semenggoh Wildlife Centre !Culture Shock! Getting to know more about the Orang Utans and learning all about how we can help our orange furred friends to find a place where they belong. by Polycarp Junior Wong Sarawak Museum Rotaractors learning about the history of Sarawak and having fun while at it! After having a rather crazy night of installing our Board members, we were having a casual meeting thinking of ways to have a fellowship event with the Unimas Rotaractors to get to know them better. That’s when a lightning bolt struck (No, I mean a real lightning bolt just flashed across the sky!) and that’s when we all had an epiphany! Why don’t we have an outing together to cultural destinations in Kuching? (since most of the Rotaractors from Unimas are students from West Malaysia and have seen little of what Sarawak has to offer). There was a throng of tourists and visitors besides us who were all eagerly waiting in anticipation for our orange coloured friends. After a few minutes of waiting, we finally caught a glimpse of orange fur in the trees as a group of orang utans made their way to wards breakfast. And so the die was cast, a few calls were made and plans were put into motion... Going to meet the orang utans! Sarawak Cultural Village Rotaractors treating Ninja to a cultural treasure trove at SCV while learning all about the different races and culture that makes up the Land of the Hornbills. It was a sunny Saturday morning on the 26th of October 2012, with 30 Rotaractors on board of a Unimas rented bus, we headed for our first destination : Semenggoh Wildlife Centre. The Semenggoh Wildlife Centre has been established since 1975 to care for wild animals which have been found, orphaned, or previously kept as illegal pets. The animals that are sheltered there includes the endangered sunbears, orang utans, porcupines, crocodiles and river terrapins. After buying our tickets and making sure we left all our snacks and shiny objects on the bus (orang utans are known to snatch food and shiny objects from visitors), we started down the trail that leads to the feeding areas of the orang Utans. A worker was placing a basket of fruits on a wooden platform and was whistling for to tell the orang utans that it was breakfast time! It was a really breathtaking sight seeing the mother orang utan feeding her kids. Makes you feel closer with nature as compared to the usual hub‐bub of city life. Past, present and future! After the heart‐warming session with our orange jungle friends, we boarded the bus and headed for our next destination : The Sarawak Museum. The Sarawak Museum was built in 1891 and was used to permanently house and display local native arts and crafts which are meticulously chosen to represent the various ethnic groups and natural history of Sarawak. In the Old Building section of the Sarawak Museum, we saw many exhibits of ethnographic artifacts such as longhouses of the various ethnic groups in Sarawak, musical instruments, interesting types of fish and animal traps, handcrafts, models of ROTARACTOR NINJA’S VISIT TO RAC KUCHING | Issue 1# 4 small boats called “sampan” and life‐size models of the unique animals we have in Sarawak. Let’s Get Cultural RAWRRRR!!! Other than that, we also visited the Sarawak Art Museum right next to the Old Building. The art museum was completed in 1949 and has been used as reading rooms and libraries thoughout the State. It is also used to house numerous art pieces on display inside ranging from sculptors to mounds and paintings since the Rajah Brooke administration period. After lunch at McDonalds, we headed up to Santubong for our last and final destination : The Sarawak Cultural Village. The Sarawak Cultural Village (SCV) is a large 17 acre land which was turned into a cultural reserve with the idea of condensing all of Sarawak’s ethnic culture and heritage into a single location. There are the Bidayuh, Iban, Orang Ulu and Melanau longhouses, the Penan hut, the Malay village house and a Chinese farm house on display at the SCV. the “Tarian Ngajat” which is usually accompanied by the traditional Iban musical instruments, “taboh” and “gendang”. The ngajat dance involves a lot of precise body‐ turning movements. The ngajat for men is more aggressive and depicts a man going to war, or a bird flying (as a sign of respect to the Iban God of War, Singalang Burong). The women’s form of ngajat consists of soft graceful movements with very precise body turns. We had a tour of the Art Museum and saw various traditional clothing and textiles for all the races you can find in Sarawak such as the tawuop and jomuh from the Bidayuh, pua kumbu from the Iban, cheongsam and samfu from the Chinese, baju kurung from the Malays and many more. Also, Ninja was having fun with the arts and crafts section where the Sarawak Art Club was showcasing some of their finest works. When we were about to leave, we also bought some souvenirs made by the local Bidayuhs and Ibans in order to show our support for the handicrafts industry. Apart from that, the Sarawak Cultural Village also showcases Iban musical instruments, tools, weapons and other artifacts. The typical Iban musical set will include a set of engkerumungs – a small set of agungs (percussion‐oriented ensembles composed of large hanging, suspended or held Gongs) arranged side by side and played like a Xylophone, named “Tawak”, a “Bendai” which acts like a snare drum and also a set of ketebunga single sided drum/percussion. The Ibans are also known for playing an instrument resembling a flute called “Sapek” which is also the official musical instrument for the Malaysian state of Sarawak. In addition, the Ibans celebrate the Gawai st Dayak festival every year on the 1 of June at the end of the harvest season, to worship the Lord Sempulang Gana. On the day itself, the Ibans get together and celebrate, often visiting each other. To celebrate, the Ibans perform a unique traditional dance, known as After witnessing a tantalizing session of Ngajat dance and other assorted dance performances , it is time to bid the Sarawak Cultural Village adieu and with that, the Rotaractors headed home with fulfilled minds and contented hearts bringing back many wonderful stories and memories which they will be able to share to friends and family alike. ROTARACTOR NINJA’S VISIT TO RAC KUCHING | Issue 1# 5 HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVENT b y Polycarp Junior Wong On the 11th November 2012, the Rotaract Club of Kuching, the Rotaract Club of Unimas and Trienekens (our local waste management company) have organized a joint‐community beach cleaning event, codenamed Peace‐Through‐Service. The purpose of the Peace‐Through‐Service project is to increase public awareness of the need for the local community to actively participate in the preservation and beautification of our natural heritages such as our local beaches. In addition, we also hold the belief that by setting an example of showing the community that the local youths are actively taking matters into their own hands, we are able to touch the hearts of the community to resolve petty conflicts and instead, focus all of their energy to more constructive efforts such as community service and helping the needy thus, promoting peace as a way of life in the process. The day started with the Rotaractors from RAC Kuching and RAC Unimas boarding a 45‐seater bus at 7:30am headed for Pantai Buntal , Kuching. The idea of the location was given by one of the Rotaractors from Unimas as she had lived close to the area and the beach was notorious for being a local dumping spot for rubbish and other unmentionables. Whenever the high tide recedes, you could see a wave of rubbish littering the coastline. As per our previous arrangement, we rendezvoused with the volunteers from Trienekens and Kampung Buntal at the local community hall for the briefing. The village head, En. Jemari, has been gracious enough to lend us the hall and promote our event to the entire village. A briefing was given by President Polycarp and President Natasha, from RAC Kuching and RAC Unimas respectively, on the purpose of the event followed by a briefing from Miss Janet Balong, representative from Trienekens, on the merits of the 3R concept (reduce, reuse and recycle) and also some safety issues to consider while beach cleaning. At 9 am, the beach cleaning begins with roughly around 60 participants scouring the beach for rubbish, equipped with biodegradeable plastic bags, gloves and cleaning equipment provided by Trienekens. The weather was hot and the rubbish that we have collected quickly grew into a small mountain. We were all covered with sweat and grime but the funny thing was, everyone was smiling and laughing! Beach Cleaning Together As One Rotarians, Rotaractors, Trieneken volunteers and the local community working together in harmony to keep our natural heritage clean. At the end of the day, we weighed the rubbish collected and came to a total of a whopping 677 kilograms of rubbish collected! In addition, to make the event more memorable, we were divided into groups and a rubbish‐collecting competition was held by Trienekens. Prizes were given to the team with the highest amount of rubbish collected. The Competition Winners The Rotaractors and Trienekens volunteers of group 3 who won the competition for picking the largest amount of rubbish. To sum it all up, though the participants were exhausted, the impact was tremendous as everyone of us discovered how fun and refreshing it was to give back to society in a productive way while getting to know our community better. Our only regret was due to the lack of time, we could not make the programme bigger and better. For the year 2013, we are planning to continue with the beach cleaning programme with more volunteers and also including a health screening session for the local community. “Love Our Beach” Banner Rotaractors proudly displaying their handmade banner to increase public awareness on the need to take care and preserve our natural heritag ROTARACTOR NINJA’S VISIT TO RAC KUCHING | Issue 1# 6 Rotaractor Ninja’s Visit To RAC Kuching ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG (SPONSORED BY ROTARY CLUB OF PENANG) Rotary International District 3300 RAC Penang Page 1 of 1 THE JOURNEY OF THE GLOBE TREKKER ROTARACT – “NINJA” IN THE PHILIPPINES A PROJECT OF THE ROTARACT CLUB OF PENANG, MALAYSIA NOVEMBER – JANUARY 2013 ROTARY YEAR 2012-2013 8TH DISTIRCT MEETING / CHRISTMAS THANKSGIVING The Rotaract Club of Chinatown - Manila Officers and Members participated in the 8th District Meeting and Thanks Giving party last Dec. 8, 2012 at Asia Pacific College with our very special guest from Malaysia non other than the Global-Trekker - "NINJA". The Ninja was able to meet (courtesy call) to D3810, Philippines DG Maeng Mercado together with Chief Of Staff Gabe Trias and Rotaractors from different Rotaract Clubs in our district during the said meeting. 2 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT 3810, PHILIPPINES / ROTARACT CLUB OF CHINATOWN-MANILA COLLECTION OF BOTTLE OF HOPE Bottle of Hope" project is our club's way to generate funds thru its members, friends or any individuals who wants to support the project for the upcoming 12 Days of Christmas program for 12 different foundations from Dec. 12-23. The NINJA joined the members of the club in counting of donations to be deposited to the bank. 3 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT 3810, PHILIPPINES / ROTARACT CLUB OF CHINATOWN-MANILA THE 12DAYS OF CHRISTMAS PROJECTS The NINJA joined the volunteers in doing the gift giving with the almost 1000 kids in 12 days from December 12-23, 2012. 4 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT 3810, PHILIPPINES / ROTARACT CLUB OF CHINATOWN-MANILA NINJA TOUR IN THE LARGEST MALL – SM MALL OF ASIA Dec. 8, 2012: The NINJA was able to have a tour in the largest Mall in the Philippines, SM Mall of Asia, Pasay City and followed by in Fort Bonifacio High Street in Taguig. This is very unexpected and unplanned tour these guys just decided to give the NINJA a tour and fellowship instead going home till 3AM of Dec. 9 ;-) 5 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT 3810, PHILIPPINES / ROTARACT CLUB OF CHINATOWN-MANILA CHRISTMAS PARTY FELLOWSHIP 6 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT 3810, PHILIPPINES / ROTARACT CLUB OF CHINATOWN-MANILA RAC BUILDERS 2013 In cooperation with Rotaract Club of Singapore East, Rotaract Club of Santa Isabel College, Rotaract Club of DLSU-Manila and Habitat for Humanity Philippines. 7 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT 3810, PHILIPPINES / ROTARACT CLUB OF CHINATOWN-MANILA CELEBRATING THE 45TH WORLD ROTARACT WEEK 8 ROTARY INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT 3810, PHILIPPINES / ROTARACT CLUB OF CHINATOWN-MANILA