Relax and learn

Taking a break from the grind of daily work is really needed for good health and long life. This is a practice that I try to observe as faithfully as I can and as long as I can afford. And fortunately, there is an organization which provides such an opportunity not only for me but also for my wife Josie. This is the worldwide service organization founded over one hundred years ago popularly known as the Rotary International where I have been a member for the past 29 years. I would say that this is one of the few if not the only club where I can relax and enjoy the spirit of fellowship and camaraderie among members while at the same time rendering humanitarian services to our fellow men especially the less fortunate.

Among the longest existing fellowships in Rotary Clubs all over the world is the International Yachting Fellowship of Rotarians (IYFR) first formed in England in 1947. It was introduced here in 2009 by Rotary Club of Cubao West past president Jesus “Jun” Avecilla who established the first IYFR fleet in the Philippines composed of members of his club. Since then, Jun has formed several other fleets not only in Quezon City but also in other parts of the country particularly in Cebu, Subic, Olongapo City. Mr. Avecilla’s outstanding contribution to the growth of IYFR has been amply recognized by the IYFR members worldwide when he was elected as the next International Commodore come 2015. Presently he is already holding the position of International Vice-Commodore and Area Commodore for Asia- South Pacific Region.

The members of the IYFR are not only boat lovers and sailing enthusiasts but also ecology conscious Rotarians who are concerned with having a clean and healthy environment particularly in the open seas, the coastal areas, the inland waterways and their surrounding sites. To accomplish their purposes they really have to hold regular meetings at least annually and by regions. And this year the Area 3 General Meeting (AGM) of the IYFR in the Asia South Pacific Region consist not only of the regular assembly of the members in Hong Kong today, November 7, 2014, but also an 8-day cruise from Shanghai to Singapore which started last November 4, 2014 and will end on November 12, 2014 on board the “Mariner of the Seas” of the Royal Caribbean International. This is the sort of much needed relaxation I am talking about, which we are enjoying now.

This is indeed the first time that the AGM of the IYFR in this region has an eight-day cruise which we consider not only enjoyable and relaxing but also full of learning experiences. One of these experiences is the opportunity to meet some overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) up close and see their actual lives on board the vessel. Readily noticeable here is that almost 80% of the more than 700 members of the ship’s crew are Filipinos. Most of them are young men and women who are either daughters and sons separated from their families, or fathers and mothers separated from their young children. They live on board the vessel from 7 to 8 months a year with a two-month vacation at home. Their life really seems to be sad and lonely and quite hard because of limited time for rest and recreation. Yet all of them appear to be so happy and friendly as they efficiently perform their jobs. They are always smiling and full of humor as most of us Filipinos are known for. Yet somehow one can sense their loneliness for being separated from their families by force of circumstances because of lack of jobs, or of low paying jobs here in their own country.

The OFWs are really the modern heroes of our country who have kept our economy afloat with the billions of dollar remittances they send annually. The sad part here however is that our government has not fully appreciated or has even ignored and taken for granted their painful sacrifices of being separated from their families and their valuable role in our economic life. Actually I have received and continue to receive many complaints from our OFWs particularly the seamen and women who have been disabled but have not been sufficiently compensated or are still waiting to be compensated because of unreasonable delay. Maybe our government officials should experience their actual life abroad in order to be more concerned about their plight.

Another learning experience we had in this cruise comes from our fellow delegates from other countries, like New Zealand, Japan and Hong Kong but especially from different parts of Australia. In our exchange of notes during lunch, dinner and cocktails, we have discovered that Australia and the Philippines have many things in common. Most notable here is our problem with the indigenous people. It seems that, like us, they are having difficulty in improving the lives of the primitives in their land particularly in their food, shelter, clothing and education.

The other similarities consist of the peoples’ awareness and zealousness of their rights and freedoms, notably the freedom of speech and of the press. They think that their media are so free-wheeling and almost uncontrollable like what we have here. Like us their media also have so much influence in deciding the outcome of the elections particularly the winners and losers.

But the biggest dissimilarity is that their country is definitely more progressive than ours. And they attribute this fact not so much on their system of government but on less corruption especially among the police and law enforcers, and on the more expeditious dispensation of justice by the judiciary. These facts just confirm that corruption is really the cause of poverty in our land.

And so as we go back home on November 12, 2014, we can really say that we are not only more relaxed but more learned.

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