Rotary Club of Beijing

updated 15 April 2009

Dulwich College: The Club’s Interact Club

Thousands of people age 30 and younger worldwide participate in Rotary programs to learn skills that will help them become future leaders. Youth programs allow participants to discover more about themselves and the world by participating in community projects, leadership training, or cultural exchanges. Young people also learn about the principles of ethics, service, and fellowship that Rotarians exemplify. The youth program of Rotary consists of:
- Interact Club
- Rotaract Club for young professionals age 18-30
- the Rotary Youth Leadership Award
- the Rotary Youth Exchange Program.

Interact has become a worldwide phenomenon. Almost 200,000 young people are involved in Interact, Rotary’s International’s service club for young people ages 14 to 18. Interact clubs are sponsored by individual Rotary clubs, which provide support and guidance, but they are self-governing and self-supporting. Club membership varies greatly. Clubs can be single gender or mixed, large or small. They can draw from the student body of a single school or from two or more schools in the same community. Each year, Interact clubs complete at least two community service projects, one of which furthers international understanding and goodwill. Through these efforts, Interactors develop a network of friendships with local and overseas clubs and learn the importance of
* Developing leadership skills and personal integrity
* Demonstrating helpfulness and respect for others
* Understanding the value of individual responsibility and hard work
* Advancing international understanding and goodwill

The Dulwich College has been identified as a school where to base the Club, and it was established in the period 2005-2006, with the help of the school and its teachers. It took some time, until in 2007 Rotary International chartered this Interact Club of Beijing at Dulwich College as the first Interact Club in China after Rotary has been reintroduced to the country in 1995.
See also here an earlier entry dated 14 December 2007, mentioning the contribution of RMB 20,000 of our Club to their Cambodia project:
http://rotaryclub-beijing.org/?p=71

More about Dulwich College:  http://www.dcbeijing.cn

The RI Charter Certificate was presented to the Dulwich College Interact Club at their Interact Club Meeting on 6 June 2008. President of the Interact Club received the certificate on behalf of the Beijing Rotary Club.
Featured in the pictures are Richard Jones, ICT Teacher and Organizer of Interact Club last year; Kevin Liu, President Interact Club; Sam Lee, Vice President Interact Club; Ms. Bridie Anderson, teacher and Interact Coordinator.
Also from the Beijing Rotary Club: Mike Ma, Kevin Fong, Steve Jones, Bunrei Hirata.

More about Dulwich College and their Cambodia Project; summary written by one of the year’s 12 Interact members, dated November 2008:
“After several months of fundraising, 35 students and staff flew to Cambodia to build houses for the poorest of the poor. What we witnessed and experienced was like nothing we had ever seen. We visited the ‘Killing fields’ and ‘S21’-the school that had been turned into a prison, where thousands of people were tortured and executed during the Pol Pot regime. Many of the peoples’ bones and clothes still remain untouched at the fields. Around 2 million Cambodians perished from 1976 to 1979.
The aim of our trip was to help the survivors, but also to bring back and share what we’ve learned from our experiences. The students and teachers, with the help of the local villagers, built 15 houses for 15 families, many with over a dozen members. On our last day in Phnom Penh, we met Janne Ritskes, the founder of Tabitha Cambodia. She told us the story of Tabitha and also something a villager told her: ‘In six months, or a year, you will forget us, and that is only natural. But because of what you have done, we will never forget you. When I die, my last image will be of all your faces’.
We would like to thank everyone who donated their time, money and energy to make this powerful opportunity possible.”

See also their earlier report: 071201 InteractNewsletter.pdf

and their latest: 081114DulwichnewsNews.pdf
(Carmen, the daughter of Rtn. is pictured working on a house)

Submitted by Rtn. Carl – edited by Rtn. Gilbert

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The Club’s ROTARACT CLUB

See the announcement with the following link:

http://rotaryclub-beijing.org/wp-content/uploads/foundingBeijingRotaract.pdf

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Ambassadorial Scholarship

We welcome applications from students. Below some guidelines to check if candidates fit the requirements:

* who have Chinese citizenship
* who have completed at least two years of undergraduate studies.
* who have an excellent command of the language of the country they plan to study in. Having passed exams such as TOEFL is a plus, but can also be passed after acceptance by Rotary.
* who show a strong academic background and objectives that will have long-term impact on their home community upon their return home
* who have engaged in community service activities. Candidates are required to submit an essay outlining their current community service activities and explaining how they hope to impact their local and world communities upon completion of their studies.
* Candidates cannot have lived, studied or worked in the location they wish to go to. In general candidates who have not studied or lived abroad will be given priority.
* In their applications candidates should carefully research 5 study locations and be prepared to study in either
* There is no age limitation for ambassadorial scholars
* Disabled candidates are welcomed!

If they comply with above, they can then submit a complete application for the year 2010-11 in the form required, available on the Rotary International website (see on our website the link to Rotary International website).
Applications can be sent to us until 15 June 2009: info[at]rotaryclub-beijing.org, att. Rtn. Regula