The members of the 2004-05 Rotary International Rotaract Committee have selected District 3450 Rotaract Project “We Care, We smile” as Co-International Winner and Asia Pacific Regional winner, to be recognized at the 2005 Rotaract Preconvention Meeting in Chicago, USA, 17-18 June.

”We Care, We Smile” was the Centennial Project of RI District 3450 (Hong Kong, Macau & Mongolia) organized in Hongkong/Macau with The Joyful (Mental Health)Foundation.(http://jmhf.org/abs_bg.htm)

The Joyful (Mental Health) Foundation is a charity fund founded in 2004 by a dedicated group of volunteers of different professional backgrounds. Its mission consists of the promotion of mental health awareness and the improvement of the access to quality service for individuals who suffer from mood and other mental health problems in Hong Kong.

According to the World Health Report published in 2001 by the World Health Organization, one in four people suffer from some kind of mental and behavioral disorders in the lifetime. These include especially the anxiety disorders (i.e., generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder) and depression. There are also other less common but incapacitating mental disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Untreated mental disorders cause substantial suffering to affected individuals and their family members, productivity loss, and thus represent a major burden to society. Based on a recent research carried out by Chinese University of Hong Kong, there are 400 thousands people suffering depression at different levels(4 times more than the number of 1985). Notwithstanding the enormous number of people who suffer from mood and other mental disorders and the availability of effective treatment, poverty of knowledge, misconceptions, social stigma, and limited quality service have resulted in a huge treatment gap. Consequently, many people with mental disorders do not obtain effective treatment or suffer from a long delay in treatment that hinders true recovery.

This project had 3 phases: 1.Smile Collection: Volunteers collected smile with digital cameras in front of department stores in both Hong Kong and Macau. They explained to "smile donors" about the Rotary Club, Rotaract, Interact and the Joyful (Mental Health) Foundation. The more smiles collected, the more sponsors would pay to the The Joyful (Mental Health) Foundation .

2.Stress/Emotion Management Seminar

3.Closing ceremony which featured games and exhibition .