What more can Rotarians do?
I was recently the induction speaker of the Rotary Club of Cebu North, and my topic was, "What more can Philippine Rotarians do?" As Rotary Clubs have been doing continuing socio-civic initiatives and actions, and after disasters like typhoons, fires, floods, and earthquakes, I wanted to impart to the members Rotary projects that really make the greatest impact on the people's lives, especially the less fortunate members of Philippine society. I have been a Rotarian for 34 years as a member of the Rotary Club of Cebu West, and a Past President of our Club, have initiated and been involved in some of our projects during these years. And in all these years I have an idea of the projects that have the most and lasting effects on the people/beneficiaries of the project.
The following is an abridged version of my speech in that Induction Dinner of the RCCN:
Fellow Rotarians, Rotary Anns, ladies and gentlemen, good evening. It is always an honor to speak to fellow Rotarians and friends as you can always sense and feel a culture of service in such gatherings. We join civic clubs because we want to do more than what we are already doing for society, and the Rotary is among the best of these civic clubs. So tonight I will talk about, "What more can Philippine Rotarians do?" I have not read the Rotary manual for some time so I cannot tell you the specifics of matching grants for International Service or the reporting requirements of RI-funded projects. In fact I showed my ignorance of Rotary protocol just last month when our club was discussing our own induction, and the incoming President wanted that all past presidents should no longer be called Past President but Ex-President. Some of the members objected because this is not in the manual. To cut short the discussion, I moved that to resolve the issue, we should call the Past Presidents, "Dearly Departed or Recently Departed Presidents." This was immediately voted down, but it ended the discussion.
Seriously now, as a Rotarian, a businessman, a development economist, and a social columnist I believe there are three (3) Rotary projects that have the greatest impact on society. First is Education. Our Club have two scholarship projects ongoing, one funded by the Rotary Club of Singapore West, and every year when the graduates of the program attends our meeting and are presented to the Club; the sense of pride and achievement of our scholars are so palpable and fulfilling. We have seen our scholars move on with their lives with a better chance of success than if they never graduated from college. The Rotary Club of Makati runs a full time school for PWDs that cost them over P12 million a year because they want to give PWDs a better chance of getting employed. While Education gets the biggest share of the government's yearly budget, it is still not enough, as the poor will never have the same chance as the rich or the middle class to finish high school or go to college. We should always wonder where we would be if we did not get our education. It takes an education to get rich and to stay rich. Education also has a contagion effect, so every initiative that will put a poor child to school will improve the lives of the child and their families, as the rest of the family members are encouraged also to get educated.
The second area where Rotarians could do more is the health sector, and this is corollary to education. The undernourished and unhealthy children, who only sees doctors and dentists maybe twice a year, when your club or other groups visit them on medical missions, cannot really cope with school work because brains and bodies need to be healthy to learn. It is unfair to expect a child with an infection or a recurring toothache to do well in school, so we have to do more.
The Department of Health is fourth in our government budget priorities, but it is still not enough for those who need medical care.
The third area where Philippine Rotarians can do more is in good government. If we make our government officials accountable, eliminate conflict of interest issues in government contracts, and require transparency in their dealings, then there are and there will be enough money to fund most of the educational and health needs of majority of Filipinos, especially those below the poverty level. This has been proven by the large increases in the government budget, the good economic growth rates in the last five years, and the improvement in the lives of our people. But more has to be done, as it takes at least 15 years of high economic growth to lift up the bottom portion of our economic structure. We need good governance from the next two presidencies, and Philippine Rotarians should help in electing these kinds of presidents. Rotary and the Rotarians are actually in the right track as Education, Health and Governance are the Rotary priorities, as shown in the current Rotary projects in the Philippines.
We just have to continue and do more.
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