President s Message Fellow Rotarians, Rotary Club of Raffles City. Rotary International Calendar: April Maternal and Child Health Month

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1 President s Message Fellow Rotarians, Singapore District 3310 Chartered 13 August 1980 Rotary International Calendar: April Maternal and Child Health Month Weeks of 27 th of March and 3 rd of April 2016 Konichiwa! We just got back from our trip to Japan and what an exhilarating experience! With Sakura in full bloom, we were warmly welcomed by our sister club, Nagoya Meihoku, who prepared a superb program for all of us during the Joint Friendship Meeting held on the 6 th of April at the Apa Hotel in Nagoya. The event was well attended by their club members, and included District 2760 Governor Yoichi Kato and Rotarian Tetsuzo Fukuda of Rotary Club of Nagoya Wago. My deepest gratitude to President Masayuki Katou-san and all Rotarians of Nagoya- Meihoku for their hospitality, and this wonderful opportunity for our clubs to be reunited after nine years. It is our hope that we can strengthen our bond through partnership in future projects and occasions for fellowship. The trip was special as fellow Rotarians took the time to have fun together exploring Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa, Fukui, Ise, Nagoya and Kyoto. The fellowship was quite extraordinary! I thoroughly enjoyed trying the Onsen with the ladies, having sake as we savored terrific Japanese cuisine and matcha tea latte in between road trips, running into Rotarian (RTN) Karen Tan s family, shopping late at night at Don Quixote, making numerous wishes as we visited famous shrines and capping our evenings with a stroll around town or downing a ramen supper on a nippy night! It was a delight to create special moments and good memories with all Rotarians in attendance. All the stories and good laughs we shared during the trip will be cherished. With this, I would like to extend my deep appreciation to our International Service Committee, especially RTN Shigenori Ezaki-san, who worked hard to ensure that the trip was seamless and memorable. My heartfelt thanks to PP Dr. Chin Koy Nam and RTN Gina Teo who were also indispensable to organizing this trip. Lastly, thank you to all for sharing your time and support, and thus, making this trip unforgettable. Arigato Gozaimasu! - Sigrid G. Zialcita Page 1 of 20

2 RCRC Lunch Meeting 29 th of March RTN Geoff Hogg PP Aaron Tan opened the meeting at followed by PE Nidhi Swarup formally welcoming our overseas visitors, President Jenny Partridge and Treasurer Phil Smith from the Rotary Club of Dorking in the UK along with Ms. Laurence Vadenborre, our guest speaker. Our inimitable RTN Chris Mertz then proposed a toast to Rotary international. There were 15 members in attendance including the much missed RTN William Wan swelling total numbers to 18 including our guests. Meanwhile everyone was tucking into lunch which included broccoli, pine nuts and feta salad, a rather tasty mushroom soup, grilled lamb chop with dijon mustard and cream basil pesto sauc e, seasonal vegetables and baby potatoes, spaghetti with miso cream sauce and trip mushroom, followed by fresh fruits and mini french pastries. Welcome back RTN William Wan! The duty fell upon RTN Judy Tan to introduce the speaker Ms. Laurence Vadenborre; founder of the Red Pencil (Singapore), an NGO helping people through arts therapy. President-elect Nidhi Swarup exchanged banners with President Jenny Partridge and Treasurer Phil Smith from the Rotary Club of Dorking in the UK. Laurence is a registered Art Therapist. Her interest has included working with adults and family dynamics, in a multicultural context, dealing with self-esteem and self-confidence, relationship issues, stress and emotional traumas, addictions, depression, bereavement, and parenting issues. For the last 10 years, she has also been pioneering and practicing art-therapy at the Singapore Changi Women Prison where she handled individual and group cases, as well as programs specially designed by the prison to help inmates struggling with mental issues: The Recovering Grace Program. Laurence is a Board Director of Very Special Arts Singapore, a charity whose mission is to bringthe benefits of the arts for people with disabilities. Her role at VSA is to oversee the visual arts initiatives and programs. The mission of Red Pencil is to bring the benefits of art-therapy to reach out to children facing overwhelming situations for which they have no words. Laurence is also a Board Director of Very Page 2 of 20

3 RCRC Lunch Meeting 29 th of March (Cont.) RTN Geoff Hogg Special Arts Singapore, a charity providing people with disabilities with opportunities to access the arts for rehabilitation and social integration. In Singapore, The Red Pencil reaches out to a wide spectrum of beneficiaries including children, adults and their families as well as the elderly. The beneficiaries have generally experienced a variety of situations prior to treatment, including difficulty in regulating emotions, anger management issues, tendency to self-harm and display destructive behaviour, abuse and trauma faced due to the demise of loved ones. Sometimes words are not enough to convey deep emotions, yet they need attention, expression, release, and ultimately, healing. The objective of The Red Pencil is to allow these beneficiaries to express their feelings though Arts. The Red Pencil (Singapore) offers both creative and clinical Arts Therapy services to various organisations in Singapore: hospitals, family centres, homes, shelters and schools with a target audience of those from the low income families. They also organise creative workshops for executive corporations as a way to raise funds for the foundation. The main goals of the organisation are to promote Arts Therapy as a profession through scholarships and research as well as to intervene in Singapore by partnering with hospitals, family centres, homes, shelters and schools to attend to the emotional needs of children, adults and their families. Several questions followed, then it was left to PP Jeffrey Chan to thank the speaker for such an inspiring talk about a most worthwhile cause. Meanwhile, RTN Judy Tan, Acting Sergeant-at-Arms, quietly set about raising funds for the sunshine box. President-elect Nidhi Swarup enjoying a light moment with RTN Lim Hua Min. Finally, with the clock showing 14.00, PP Aaron announced that the sunshine box collection had raised $270 which was duly presented to our guest speaker as a spontaneous gesture, after which he closed the meeting. President-elect Nidhi Swarup thanked Ms. Laurence Vadenborre for her inspiring talk. Page 3 of 20

4 Joint Friendship Meeting with RC of Nagoya Meihoku 6 th of April PP Jeffrey Chan Twenty one RCRC members and spouses joined our sister-club Rotarians and spouses from the Nagoya Meihoku Club for a Joint Friendship evening on Wednesday, 6 th of April Like all the previous occasions, this was at the Apa Hotel in the very heart of Nagoya. The last time such an event took place in Nagoya was 9 years ago. To recall that event and other joint fellowships, numerous photographs of past events were passed around. Many who were there were also at the past events. Of course, they are all much older now. The Meihoku Club has 37 members with 5 lady members. It would appear that nearly all turned up for this joint fellowship with us. We were joined by District Governor (DG) Yoichi Kato of District 2760 as well as RTN Tetsuzo Fukuda of Rotary Club of Nagoya Wago. He was asked by DG Kato to assist this event after receiving a letter from our member Endo-san regarding our visit. The first part of the evening was formal with the singing of the Singapore, Japanese and Rotary anthems and the usual toasts. Our lack of competence with respect to the Rotary Anthem was plain to see. This was followed by speeches, first by our President Sigrid recounting the long ties between our club and looking forward to strengthening these ties, then by President Masayuki Katou of the the Meihoku Club. Then PP Jeffrey Chan gave a short account about Singapore and Rotary in Singapore, followed by short speeches by DG Kato and RTN Fukuda, who is the District 2760 Vocational Chair. He had attended many of our District 3310 events. Written translations of all the speeches were distributed in advance. The real fun began after the formal part when everyone let their hair down. This was helped President Sigrid Zialcita exchanged banners with President Masayuki Katou. President Sigrid Zialcita provided a brief overview of RCRC activities for the Rotary Year. PP Jeff Chan delivered a short talk on Singapore. Page 4 of 20

5 Joint Friendship Meeting with RC of Nagoya Meihoku 6 th of April PP Jeffrey Chan by the Pampadour ladies 5 gorgeous extremely well-dressed ladies and their mama-san engaged by the Meihoku Club to make sure that we are all happy, very happy. They made sure we were piled with food and, especially, drink, and engaged (some of) us, sitting with us, and expressing great interest in our conversation. We thanked our spouses for their patience and kind understanding of the goings-on. The ladies apart, the Meihoku members, many of whom recall our previous visits, went around all of us making sure we feel most welcome and showing off photographs and other momentoes of our previous visits. The food, which was an excellent buffet with several live stations, and the highly talented jazz band which used both Japanese and western instruments, appeared almost secondary to the great fellowship that we had that evening. All too soon it was time to part and we exchanged gifts batik bags for all the Japanese (yes the Pampadour ladies as well!) and in turn all of us received Japanese tie-dyed cloth and, additionally, rising sun sewing pads for our ladies. We noted that this time language was not that much of an issue. Many of the Meihoku Rotarians were able to speak to us in English. They all studied English in school but previously were reluctant to use it. Now that is past and they are much more comfortable with us. The evening ended with an excellent speech by our Shigenori Ezaki-san, a true blue homegrown Nagoya boy. We then joined hands in a circle and sang together the Japanese Rotary fellowship song before we very sadly said our very much prolonged goodbyes. With Ezaki-san as one of us, and with our very hardworking International Service committee, we can surely look forward to many more fruitful interactions with the Meihoku Club, our very first sister-club! ROTARY S GUIDING PRINCIPLES The Four Way Test Object of Rotary In 1932, Rotarian Herbert J. Taylor created The Four-Way Test. The test, which has been translated into more than 100 languages, asks the following questions: Of the things we think, say or do 1. Is it the TRUTH? 2. Is it FAIR to all concerned? 3. Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? 4. Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned? The Object of Rotary is to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and, in particular, to encourage and foster: FIRST: The development of acquaintance as an opportunity for service; SECOND: High ethical standards in business and professions; the recognition of the worthiness of all useful occupations; and the dignifying of each Rotarian s occupation as an opportunity to serve society; THIRD: The application of the ideal of service in each Rotarian s personal, business, and community life; FOURTH: The advancement of international understanding, goodwill, and peace through a world fellowship of business and professional persons united in the ideal of service. Page 5 of 20

6 Joint Friendship Meeting with RC of Nagoya Meihoku 6 th of April PP Jeffrey Chan Photos taken during the Joint Friendship Meeting with Rotary Club of Nagoya Meihoku on the 6 th of April 2016 at the APA Hotel. To view more photos, please visit our Facebook page. Page 6 of 20

7 Joint Friendship Meeting with RC of Nagoya Meihoku 6 th of April PP Jeffrey Chan Photos taken during the Joint Friendship Meeting with Rotary Club of Nagoya Meihoku on the 6 th of April 2016 at the APA Hotel. To view more photos, please visit our Facebook page. Page 7 of 20

8 Joint Friendship Meeting with RC of Nagoya Meihoku 6 th of April PP Jeffrey Chan Photos taken during the Joint Friendship Meeting with Rotary Club of Nagoya Meihoku on the 6 th of April 2016 at the APA Hotel. To view more photos, please visit our Facebook page. Page 8 of 20

9 Joint Friendship Meeting with RC of Nagoya Meihoku 6 th of April PP Jeffrey Chan Photos taken during the Joint Friendship Meeting with Rotary Club of Nagoya Meihoku on the 6 th of April 2016 at the APA Hotel. To view more photos, please visit our Facebook page. Page 9 of 20

10 RCRC Fellowship Trip to Nagoya April 3 to 9 Sunday Day 1, 3 April: NAGOYA - GERO ONSEN TAKAYAMA RTN Geoff Hogg Following an overnight flight, 21 happy but slightly jaded Rotarians arrived at Nagoya airport around 9 am on Sunday to be met by Takada-san, our local tour guide for the next 7 days who was about to become our new friend and counsellor in all Japanese traditions and customs. In no time at all, we were are all aboard on our luxury coach and heading towards Gero Onsen, enjoying the cool Japanese air and stunning scenery. Famous for its hot springs, Gero Onsen is surrounded by rich nature and has been known as a hot spring resort since the 10 th century. It is considered one of the three best hot springs in Japan. These hot springs are said to be effective for treating all sorts of ailments from rheumatism to nervous disorders so ideal for relieving the fatigue of a group of weary travellers. After enjoying our first traditional Japanese lunch of the trip, some of us opted for a walk to survey the scenery while some nine or so of the more adventurous of our number ventured into the Onsen. This was a first time experience for most and we were guided on etiquette by Takada-san. Remember no clothing or swim suits permitted at a Japanese hot spring bath but at least the men and ladies were saved any blushes by being segregated into different units. We were each given a small towel and left to soak our weariness away. Towels, of course, are not permitted in the water but must place on one s head. The soaking in the hot mineral waters was interspersed with ritualistic washing allowing one to cool down a little. Who would believe it? All these equatorial folks happily sitting naked in the open air on a drizzly Sunday afternoon in temperatures of 15 degrees and we have photographic evidence for the sceptics; admittedly, somewhat restricted only by modesty and fear of Facebook. Duly refreshed we then took to the road once more for Takayama in mid-afternoon. On leaving, we glimpsed a public onsen from the road bridge and by the side of the river. Arriving at Takayama in good time to check into our very spacious accommodation at the Associa Takayama Hotel, we were all so pleased to discover that it too had magnificent Onsen facilities on the 6 th and 8 th floors. After a delicious Japanese dinner which included the locally renowned hida beef, some of the veterans were back in the onsen and joined by a few novices. Page 10 of 20

11 RCRC Fellowship Trip to Nagoya April 3 to 9 (Cont.) RTN Geoff Hogg Monday Day 2, 4 April: TAKAYAMA - SHIRAKAWA-GO KANAZAWA Come daybreak, it was no surprise to find the v eterans were back in the onsen before breakfast, then by shortly after nine, we were checked out of the hotel and back on the coach to explore the morning market of Takayama. The Town Village still stands on the east side of the Miyagawa River flowing through Takayama, and in the middle of it is Sanmachi, where Edo period houses remain. We were free to explore the small shops and visit the over one hundred year old streets of merchant houses with latticed bay windows standing in a row. This district was designated an area of important traditional buildings by the Japanese Govern ment. There were more photo calls by the banks of the Miyagawa with its sakura the before heading off to another traditional lunch in a thatched restaurant near on the way to Shirakawa-Go. This village with its praying hand style buildings is listed as a world heritage site composed of 112 Gassho-styled houses that remain from historic times. Some are still inhabited, such as the Wada house. Others have been converted to museums. These include the Gassho-styled Life Museum and the Gassho-styled Jin Homura museum of art. The weather was cool with some drizzle making the walk up the steep road to the viewing point quite pleasant for those that ventured as far. Soon it was time to be heading to Kanazawa and the Grand Hotel Hakusan to check in and freshen up. Dinner was booked at the Yamashita Izakaya which has limited seating and served delicious local Kappo style dishes. Page 11 of 20

12 RCRC Fellowship Trip to Nagoya April 3 to 9 (Cont.) RTN Geoff Hogg Tuesday Day 3, 5 April: KANAZAWA The morning was spent exploring Kanazawa s Kenrokuen (Garden) one of Japan s three most famous and beautiful gardens. The spacious grounds used to be the outer garden of Kanazawa Castle and was constructed nearly two centuries ago. The sak ura which was in perfect bloom was everywhere to be admired along with plum blossoms, large pine trees, small lakes and fountains with a delightful teahouse nestling on the banks where some of us tried the traditional Japanese sweets with green tea. There was just enough time for a brisk walk around part of the castle walls before we were whisked away for lunch at Kagaiya Restaurant in Kanazawa. After lunch, we were off to Higashi Chaya district with its many old teahouses and shops. First to a specialty teahouse, Hakuza, which sells gold leaf products and displays the tea ceremony room which is completely covered in gold leaf. Wandering around the old town we learn some of the teahouses reputedly have geishas performing songs and dances for company but we understood that evening time the whole area comes to life. It was just a short coach ride to explore the nearby Omi-cho Market selling fresh produce as well as all varieties of seafood. There was much to sample; quality oysters ranging from 200 yen to 1,800 yen each. Johnson took little convincing to buy a plateful of whoppers and a small Page 12 of 20

13 RCRC Fellowship Trip to Nagoya April 3 to 9 (Cont.) RTN Geoff Hogg carafe of sake to share enormous snow crabs were everywhere as well as strawberries and other fresh fruit. There was just enough time left to hurry to the Samurai House street where samurai and their families used to live. We managed to reach before closing time one of the main attractions, the Nomura-ke, a restored samurai residence displaying the lifestyle and artifacts of the era when samurai were prosperous. After soaking in the culture it was back on the coach for the trip to our fine dining gourmet meal at Yamashita Restaurant. The meal included several unusual but delicious Japanese dishes notably the bamboo shoot with whole minture crab, sizzling whale sperm, the sashimi selection included prawns as well as other fish to mention just a few and all was washed down with two large bottles of premium sake. The whole bill for all 21 of us was a very reasonable 101,000 Yen (around $50 each). There was plenty of time for some wonderful Rotary fellowship before a photocall with the restaurant owner and then we made our way to the station to experience a Japanese train back to the Grand Hotel Hakusan. Wednesday Day 4, 6 April: KANAZAWA NAGOYA It was a bright and sunny morning as we set out after breakfast for our first stop at the rugged cliffs of Tojinbo which stretch over one kilometre and design ated as a precious natural monument. Our party clambered over the rocks and down towards the sea. Some went further than others to capture the stunning views before retreating to the street of shops with some unique local produce and seafood products like Wakasa Blow fish, pickled shallots, plums, and more sake. Even Ezaki-san was buying a lot Page 13 of 20

14 RCRC Fellowship of dried fish Trip so it must to have Nagoya been good April value and 3 to special. 9 (Cont.) RTN Geoff Hogg Then we hit the road for the long drive to Nagoya. There was plenty of time to check into Nagoya Tokyu Hotel and freshen up before the special reunion dinner meeting hosted by our sister club RC Nagoya Meihoku at the APA Hotel. Our Hotel was in fact a pleasant 10-minute walk away from APA as we appreciated on the return by foot when the Don Quixote shopping complex was conveniently discovered and lured many of us inside. Thursday Day 5, 7 April: MIKIMOTO PEARL ISLAND ISE NAGOYA This day was cooler and drizzling continuously. Our first stop was the Mikimoto Pearl island, an excellent museum about pearls, pearl cultivation and Mikimoto Kokichi, the first person who succeeded in cultivating pearls. We were treated to a live demonstration by women divers who have traditionally been planting and harvesting the oysters for many years. Gosh, it must have been cold for those ladies diving into that seawater! Lunch was in the Mikimoto Pearl Island restaurant.but no oysters! Next to the Ise Shrines which are built in a purely Japanese architecture style and show almost no influence from the Asian mainland although very simple they are considered to be the most sacred Shinto shrines. Plenty of walking exercise for everyone before heading back to Nagoya for a delicious crab dinner at the Kanishogun restaurant followed by more shopping at Don Quixote and the ladies discovering Japanese horse oil. The evening ended for many with a late night ramen. Page 14 of 20

15 RCRC Fellowship Trip to Nagoya April 3 to 9 (Cont.) RTN Geoff Hogg Friday Day 6, 8 April: KYOTO NAGOYA It was an early start at 8 am in order to reach Kyoto in good time to visit Kiyomizu Temple. This is probably the most popular best known spot in Kyoto and effervescing with gorgeous Kimono dressed ladies as well some traditionally dressed gentlemen. Many of whom we came to realize are also tourists. The cherry blossom too was everywhere to be seen. This day we were without Johnson, Juliet, Koy Nam and and Ezaki-san who had opted for further day together in Nagoya but there were still plenty of shoppers remaining to enjoy the exquisite boutiques lining the crowded but charming streets from the temple. Soon it was time for lunch in Kyoto and to continue on to the Arashiyama Sagano Bamboo grove and past even more shops. We were all tempted by the array of Japanese sweet snacks, green tea flavoured goodies before heading back to Nagoya for our final dinner a sukiyaki style hotpot with beef and bacon. This followed by even more last minute shopping at Don Quixote and rumour has it another late night ramen! Page 15 of 20

16 Upcoming Events Month Date Time Event 12 12:45 Andrew Psarianos 16 10:00 Tampines Junior College Career Symposium April 19 12:45 PP Khushroo Dastur 26 12:45 Speaker - TBD 29 District 3310 Conference 3 12:45 PE Nidhi Swarup - Club Assembly: Presentation of RY Goals May 10 12:45 RTN Eddie Chng - The Boom and Burst of the Financial Sector and How Hedge Funds Affect the Real World 17 12:45 Alvin Yapp Peranakan Culture 21 17:00 Inter-City Dinner Meeting SAVE THE DATE: Tampines Junior College Career Symposium 16 th of April 2016 Contact: PP Ron Pereira District 3310 Conference 29 th of April 2016 Chiang Mai, Thailand Contact: PP Jeffrey Chan Intercity Meet with RI President K.R. Ravindran 21 st of May, 17:00 pm Venue: TBD Contact: Pres. Sigrid Zialcita RI Convention 28 th of May 1 st of June 2016 Seoul, Korea Contact: RTN Luis Coronado RC of Hong Kong Peninsula Ruby Gala Dinner 16 th 19 th of June 2016 JW Marriott Pacific Place, Hong Kong Contact: RTN Stanley Yap RCRC Charity Gala Dinner 13th of August 2016 Marina Mandarin Page 16 of 20

17 Upcoming Events Page 17 of 20

18 Birthdays, Wedding Anniversaries, etc. BIRTHDAY April 2 April 5 April 10 RTN Low Daniel RTN Lim Hua Min PP George Abraham WEDDING ANNIVERSARY None INVITATION FROM ROTARY CLUB OF PENINSULA Page 18 of 20

19 The Weeks of 27 th of March and 3 rd of April in Pictures RCRC was a sponsor at the Gala Charity Dinner for RSVP Singapore on Wednesday, 30th of March 2016 at Park Royal on Beach Road. The funds raised will be used to support the many programs that RSVP organizes for the Senior Members to serve the Community. RCRC members participated in a Rotary Charity Golf tournament sponsored by FRCS on 29 th of March 2016 at the Tampines Course of Tanah Merah Country Club. RCRC members held the regular lunch meeting on the 5 th of April at the Singapore Cricket Club. Meanwhile, President Sigrid proposed the toast to Rotary International during the lunch meeting on the 5 th of April at Kanazawa in Japan. Page 19 of 20

20 BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS (Left to Right) Judy Tan (Public Relations), Mohan Pillay (Sgt. at Arms), Aaron Tan (Vice-President), Florian Weidinger (Hon. Secretary), Kaka Singh (Hon. Treasurer), T.C. Phua (Club Service), Brian Tan (Youth Service), Jeffrey Chan (Asst. Secretary), Jochen Krauss (Community Service), Sigrid Zialcita (President), Ron Pereira (Projects Director), Corina Lai (IPP), Nidhi Swarup (President-Elect), Johnson Tan (International Service), Wee Koon San (Sgt. at Arms), Tengku Sri Indra (Vocational Service), Chris Mertz (Sgt. at Arms), David Ong Choon (Membership), Eugene Lim. (Family of Rotary/Sports Convenor). (Not in Picture) Vincent Chen (Rotary Foundation) BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS RCRC Past Presidents 1980 to 2015 (Left to right) Charter President Low Siew Joon, Charter Member Chris Mertz, PDG Philbert Chin, Charter Member PP David Lee Fong Lit Page 20 of 20