THE ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY HONG KONG presents "Adventures in Gabon " by Dr Joyce Wong on Monday, 16 January 2012 1F, Duke of Windsor Building, 15 Hennessy Road, Hong Kong (please note that this building is about 5 minutes from Admiralty MTR or Pacific Place, next to the HK Police HQ) 7.00 pm Registration; 7.30 pm Lecture We are delighted to welcome to lecture Dr Joyce SamoutouWong to speak on "Adventures in Gabon ", the story of one of tropical Africa's most fascinating countries. In this lecture, Dr Wong tells of Gabon's stunning landscapes and its rich biodiversity. She also shares with humour her attempts to adapt to life in the rainforest during her stay in the country as a missionary doctor, including with the shy Pygmies. Dr Wong hails from Hong Kong. As part of Vision 2020, a global initiative by the World Health Organisation to eliminate all reversible causes of blindness by the year 2020, Dr Wong and her husband Dr Henri Samoutou developed a nonprofit eye centre in Gabon. Dr Samoutou was the clinical director whilst Dr Wong served as the administrative arm of the project and as a doctor at a missionary hospital. In this lecture, Dr Wong illustrates vividly her patients and families, their culture and their health beliefs. She also discusses the relationship between their land and their health as well as the impact that modernisation has made upon them. She recounts her friendship with the incredibly shy Pygmies and the obstacles that she helped their children overcome in order to go to school. In her adventures around Gabon, she describes close encounters with torrential spiders and her daily battles with termites, driver ants and snakes. She shows photos of breathtaking scenery around the country. Gabon was dubbed by the American TV series Survivor as the Earth’s last Eden, richly deserved with its sparse population and abundant biodiversity. Dr Joyce SamoutouWong graduated from Diocesan Girls’ School in Hong Kong, before winning a scholarship to study at the United World College of Atlantic in the UK, where 360 students study from over 80 countries. She then read medicine at the University of Edinburgh. She has been involved in several humanitarian projects across the globe, including running a mobile medical clinic along the ancient Silk Road in Uzbekistan, assisting 40,000 people. Following a stint as a visiting fellow at Harvard University, she worked in a missionary hospital in the jungles of Gabon, allowing her to travel the country. She is soon to move to the Republic of Congo to pioneer the first eye centre with surgery in the country. Dr Wong is the author of two books, in addition to numerous academic papers. Members of the RGS and others are most welcome to attend this event, which is HK$100 for Members and HK$150 for guests and others.