Significant Rotary Week ahead

A good diversion at this time when political candidates are bombarding us with deceptive propaganda depicting themselves as champions of the poor with poor and humble beginnings, is to focus our attention again on an international organization whose members are already in the midst of actually doing so many works to improve the quality of life in their community, especially the poor. Their actions indeed speak louder as they quietly promote public interest, than the bombastic but empty and pretentious words of some presidential candidates seeking the position obviously for some personal interest. I am referring of course to Rotary International (RI), particularly the Philippine Rotary with 810 Rotary Clubs (RC) and 21,408 members in 10 districts.

February is the Rotary World Month and the Philippine Rotary is celebrating the Rotary Week from February 20 to 28, 2010 to commemorate RI’s 105th anniversary. Aside from the various clubs’ many programs and activities promoting health, alleviating hunger and enhancing human and social development to advance international understanding, goodwill and peace, the Rotary Week is giving emphasis on RI’s special program, the “PolioPlus” which has priority over all the other programs until the certification of its eradication is achieved. Hence one of the highlights of the weeklong celebration is the unveiling of the “End Polio Now” campaign logo.

So tomorrow, February 20, 2010, District 3780 under the inspiring leadership of District Governor (DG) Dulce dB Coyukiat will unveil a huge “End Polio Now” tarpaulin on EDSA corner West Avenue which is a joint project of the RC of Loyola Heights, Bagong Silangan, Ayala Heights and MC Outdoor Advertising. This will be followed by the launching of the “language of love” for the deaf project at the Rotary Center, Roces Ave. QC on February 22, 2010 at 2 p.m.

On the same date at 6:30 p.m. is the “World Understanding and Peace” dinner celebration at North Greenhills Clubhouse hosted by RC of Holy Spirit, San Bartolome, and West Triangle where the two Group Study Exchange (GSE) team members bound for Korea and Switzerland, and the World Understanding and Peace Awardees will be presented. The GSE program is a unique cultural and vocational opportunity for teams of business and professional men and women ages 25-40 who are given travel grants for 4 to 6 weeks of exchange visits between paired Rotary districts in other countries. The program is designed to develop professional and leadership skills of participants so that they can be better prepared to address the needs of their communities and an increasingly global workplace.

The highlight of the weeklong celebration is the “Beaming Activity” of all the Philippine Rotary Districts at the GLOBE of the SM Mall of Asia sponsored by District 3830 under DG Sid Garcia and co sponsored by all the districts in the Philippines. In said affair, the Rotary logo and the “End Polio Now” campaign logo will be lighted on the GLOBE so that they will radiate and glow as to make the public notice Rotary and what Rotarians do. This beaming activity will likewise be happening in other countries like Egypt, Spain, Chicago USA, Brazil, Argentina England, Italy, South Africa and Canada. District 3830 will also have a photo exhibit at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall at 4 p.m. Happening at the same time is a “Sail Pass” at Manila Bay in cooperation with the Manila Yacht Club where the Rotary logo will be seen by a lot of people by the bay.

District 3780 on the other hand has lined up other activities for the week. On February 24, 2010 there will be a bloodletting activity at the QC Hall grounds where Rotarians and their friends are invited to donate blood for the QC Red Cross blood bank. Then on February 25, 2010 at 6 p.m. at the Wack Wack Club, is the evening with Paul Harris Fellows where Rotarians who contributed $1000 to the Rotary Foundation will be honored and given awards.

The highlight of the weeklong celebration in District 3780 will be the Human Chain Activity to be held at 7 a.m. at the Quezon Memorial Circle. In said activity some 10,000 participants composed of Rotarians and their families and friends will surround the QC circle “kapit bisig” style to dramatize Rotary’s involvement in helping alleviate poverty in our community, our country and the world. It will also be an occasion for bonding among families and among Rotarians as one big family.

District 3780 under DG Dulce Coyukiat has indeed gone a long way since the start of the Rotary year. In fact last January 30-31, 2010 the district held its Mid Year Conference at the Subic Lighthouse Hotel sponsored by the RC of Cubao West under the dynamic and untiring leadership of Jun Avecilla and Conference Chairman, Past President Ayie Gonzales. In said conference, some 75 hands on presidents and district officers particularly Secretary Joe Baradi and Chief of Staff Mar Cancio gathered and reviewed the accomplishments of the past six months so that they can generate a “second wind” and “sharpen their axes” for the succeeding six months of more humanitarian activities and noteworthy projects for their communities. And very evident from the faces of the participants after the two-day conference is the expression of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment in the last six months. All the participants somehow convey a message saying that, so far so good but the best is yet to come.

And why not indeed when the conference itself started with a very significant Rotary activity for a clean environment in the early morning of January 30, 2010 by the cleaning of the surrounding beach in cooperation with local Rotarians and students from various local schools. This activity was again spearheaded by RC of Cubao West in cooperation with the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians (IYFR) under Commodore Jun Avecilla and Vice Commodore Max Tan. The other good news at that gathering is that a new fleet of IYFR was even formed among the other Rotarians of District 3780.

(Attention: All UST HIGH SCHOOL Alumni! Grand reunion tomorrow, February 20, 2010 at Plaza Mayor, in front of Main Building UST Campus, starting 4 p.m. Tickets are available at the Principal’s Office or for ticket reservations text 0939-6519221or 0915-4891535 or e-mail [email protected]. Come and let us enjoy the fiesta of nostalgia while helping current USTHS Students finish their studies and earn their own USTHS diplomas.)

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