Kempinski lunch
Beijing Rotary in April 2022 was still active before one more COVID scare hit Beijing, shutting down all activities.
On Tuesday 19 April 2022 we had our lunch in Kempinski Hotel with Lucia Zhou, Program Manager of HOPE as our guest speaker. Lucia is a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor recognized by PATH International (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship).
Topic: Update about HOPE and the Benefits of the Equine Therapy.
HOPE (Horses Offering People Enrichment) offers equine assisted activities and therapy (EAAT) for children with special needs. Founded by a Californian woman, HOPE was brought to Beijing to provide equine assisted therapy for children with sensory disorder, physical/visual, emotional/social disabilities, and autism. RC Beijing has in the past year sponsored an Instructor Training for one equine therapist through the Instructor Educational Course. Lucia Zhou, the program director at HOPE and a Certified Therapeutic Riding Instructor recognized by PATH International (Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship), brought to the meeting the instructor trainer who has recently completed her trainer training program, and a young adult who has received the equine therapy from HOPE. Lucia thanked the club for the support and sponsorship. With her training completed, the trainer is now equipped with skills to design and create tailored-made programs to benefit the children in need and is qualified to train other equine therapists to further their service in the community. Lucia and her colleagues expressed their wish that the club could continue to provide financial aid toward their instructor training this year.
Haochuan Tom Zhang also shared his experience at HOPE. While receiving therapy from HOPE, Tom also helps with working around the stable, looking after the horse he had ridden, and assisting with equine therapy.
More about HOPE
I had the chance to meet the HOPE team earlier and I also saw several of the videos showing the remarkable effect of the treatment.
On 25 March 2018 Rotaract invited the HOPE people to give an introduction to their program, in the former Restaurant Red Rose.
The effect on kids with mental disabilities can be impressive. We saw kids that refused all communication with adults, they started riding the horses and created a bond with them. Then suddenly they spoke words never heard before…
See also: HOPE 2021 Annual Report Final with Photos
Online China District Conference
I joined the Tencent (Voov) meeting on Saturday afternoon on 23 April.
It was chaired by SR Richard Zi who also introduced the incoming SR Andrew Hill (1 July 2022). I found that part to be the most interesting.
See here the details:
The announced program: 220423 conference1
The updated program: 220423 conference2
The guest speaker: 220423 Conference Speaker
See some screenshots of the online meeting. I only saw myself appearing “life” from our club. And yes we even had a “group picture”, try to find me…
I had hoped to see more updates of all our China clubs as some of the clubs are struggling or even closing. While the guest speaker did a good job. I thought it was not relevant to what we really wanted to learn.
And we never got the slides that were shown…