During this Rotary year, clubs of district 3450 did many meaningful projects through district grants and global grants. This month we would like to introduce one successful project, the Diabetic Foot Ulcer Prevention Project jointly organized by Rotary Club of Admiralty and Rotary Club of Happy Valley. The project also won the Impact Makers 2024/25 award of district 3450. It is a good example to show how our club made impact through our service project.
Diabetic Foot Ulcer Prevention Project
A disease prevention and treatment project, the Rotary Club of Admiralty and the Rotary Club of Happy Valley have jointly organised a service project to prevent diabetes foot ulcer with the help of funding from District Grant, sponsoring Rotary Clubs and corporations.
The project aims to address the heavy burden on the healthcare system due to the high prevalence and significant impact of diabetic foot ulcers in Hong Kong through proactive checking, provision of free medical foot insoles and patient education to high-risk diabetic individuals in Hong Kong. According to the latest data from the Hong Kong Department of Health, approximately 10% of the city’s population are currently living with this chronic condition. The targeted beneficiaries are patients diagnosed with diabetes and the target number for this Rotary Year is 1,000 patients.
Diabetic foot ulcers are a common complication of diabetes, they are open sores or wounds formed as a result of skin tissue breaking down and exposing the layers underneath. About a quarter of all people with diabetes will develop an infected, difficult-to-treat wound known as a foot ulcer at some point. If left untreated, foot amputations may be required.
This program is free for those diabetes patients who register through the eight participating District Health Centres in Hong Kong. “I am a diabetes patient and experiencing some pain at my calf, but I do not have the money to go for a screening as I do not have a job”, said one of the patients who was present at Kwai Tsing District Health Centre on 25 March 2025 to join the program. The lady left with a grin on her face after the check knowing that there was no symptoms of diabetic foot ulcer. On her way out, she thanked Rotary for providing a free program.
Participants watch an educational video about diabetic foot care while they wait in the queue to engage them and provide information. A comprehensive score is available for each participant to document the measurements and assessments, including readings measured by an assessment machine (there are only two of these machines in Hong Kong). At the end of the program, monofilaments are given to participants to continue self-testing. Those who need custom-made insoles will undergo a more detailed assessment and examination on a separate day.
Please see below for the link to the educational video, featuring PP Ankie Mak of Rotary Club of Hong Kong
Participant watching the educational video before the assessment
Assessment in progress.
(From left) President Anny of Rotary Club of Happy Valley, volunteer and representatives of Kwai Tsing District Health Centre, President Heston and President Elect SK both of Rotary Club of Admiralty visiting the venue on 25 March 2025.
This project has made a difference in the lives of those affected by this devastating condition and prevents diabetic foot ulcer by early detection.
Indeed, there are different types of grants at our district namely the district grant (projects finished within one year), global grant (relatively longer term and bigger size projects), and other TRF programs (including Rotary Scholarship, Vocational Training Team and Peace Followships project). For global grants application, if you have queries, please feel free to send email to our Global Grant team under Sub Chair PP WT Wong of RC Hong Kong Harbour at trf.globalgrant.d3450@gmail.com.
In addition, the team recently set up a global grant resource team that consists of a group of senior PPs with solid experience about global grant. You may also consult them regarding global grant issues. They are:
Last but not least, please be reminded some important dates. As a warm reminder, the deadline for submitting 2024/25 district grant reports is 30 April 2025. In order to apply for District Grant/Global Grant/TRF Programs in the next Rotary Year 2025/26 (Unite for Good), your Club has to be qualified on or before 30 June 2025, including having the documents properly signed and prepared by the relevant club members. If you have any queries about the stewardship or club qualification matters, please do not hesitate to contact the Stewardship team under Sub Chair PP Dominic Wai of RC Star Avenue at: trf.stewardship.d3450@gmail.com