Message for the Philippine Rotary Magazine, Issue of February, 2016

Tempus fugit! Time flies, and it does so, unbelievably fast! Just like that, we have passed the mid-point of our term, serving above self, hardly taking notice. It must be due in large part to that great rotary spirit, enthusiasm and Teamwork of our World Class Presidents, (WCPs), and other dedicated World Class Teammates, in Rotary District 3810. I feel so fortunate to be leading this World Class Team, and I consider it as one of God's most special gifts to me at this stage of my life. I have not only met new friends, but have also been given great opportunities and effective means, to do good for the less fortunate, especially.

In our strategic planning, we decided that our foremost District Goal would be, “To have a most enjoyable Rotary Year of service and fellowship!” Happily, we also agreed on the chant: “District 3-8-1-0, NUMERO UNO; World Class Team: HANDOG SA MUNDO!!!” Modesty aside, I believe that our WCTeam is achieving this goal! We pretty much enjoy working together, helping each other, playing, singing and dancing together! The Special Multi-District PETS with then RIPE Ravi Ravindran in February, 2016 was a big inspiration to our WCTeam, apart from enabling us to touch base with fellow Rotarians from other Districts. We try our best to build on the accomplishments of our predecessors, focus on our goals, and adhere to Paul Harris's dictum, that “to achieve Rotary's ideals, we must be evolutionary at all times and revolutionary, at times.”

As of this writing, District 3810 had already accumulated a total contribution to TRF of USD309,296.50. Our current District membership of 2913, reflects an 11% increase from July 1, 2015 and continues to grow. Both our TRF giving and membership growth figures are reportedly, so far, the highest growth rates in Zone 7A. All the 101 Rotary Clubs in our District, have been undertaking a host of activities aligned with the RI areas of focus, Presidential Citation and District goals.

Furthermore, I am happy to report that we have included two priority activities in District 3810, as follows. First is the Promotion of Road Safety. According to United Nations statistics over the past decade, Road Crashes are the biggest killer of people 29 years old or younger. As many as 1.3 Million people reportedly die every year due to road crashes. One of the victims in 2007, tragically, was our only son, Raymond, then 27 years old. He avoided hitting a tricycle without taillight in the unlit fast lane of MacArthur Highway in Malolos City, after midnight on January 21, 2007. Raymond was able to save the lives of the two young men on the tricycle, but we lost him when his car turned turtle and hit a post.

UN reports state that 80% of fatal accidents happen in developing countries like the Philippines, and that if nothing significant is done, as many as 1.9 Million people will die from road crashes by 2020. That is precisely why we at District 3810 have adopted Road Safety Promotion as a special project. Numerous initiatives, ranging from Road Safety workshops, motorcades, walkathons, promotional stickers on cars, buses and tricycles, emergency response training, bloodletting drives and Road Safety Summit involving local governments, traffic enforcers and private sectors, including NGOs, are being undertaken by all the Clubs, led by their respective WCPs. More such projects are in the pipeline. Our battle cry is, “One death due to road crash, is much too many”. Although zero-fatality seems too ambitious, that's one goal we invite everyone to help achieve!

Tree planting is the second special activity we have decided to pursue! The challenge is to plant and nurture, at least three Friendship Trees per Club, and ideally, one tree per member. In pursuing this program, we were inspired by no less than Paul Harris himself, who initiated planting Rotary friendship trees in the Clubs he visited. This is also one of our District's contributions to the efforts to mitigate global warming. I gratefully acknowledge the incredible support by all the Clubs: thousands of trees have been planted in hills, schools, mountains, yards, roadsides, and coastal areas! Let's make sure the trees grow to full maturity.

Time flies fast, indeed! We just completed our District 3810 Mid-Year Review, (MYR), in Baguio City, from January 22-24, 2016. Instead of the usual five-minute reports by the club Presidents, we adopted a new format of round table group discussions, to assess the first six months and strategize on how best to meet challenges during the rest of this rotary year. After the group reports, the WCPs were given two minutes each to share their “Rotary Moment” which turned out to be a very interesting, even emotional experience for some. The new format also gave the participants more time to enjoy fellowship activities and thus, strengthen their bond of friendship. The WCPs and WCPs are now all geared up to go all the way to achieve, if not exceed, their goals. More importantly, we all came out of the MYR, revitalized and eager to work together, enjoy Rotary together and ultimately celebrate together, as wonderful gifts to the world!

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my WCPs and other WCTeammates for their continuing support and cooperation. May the good Lord bless you more and more, so you will have more blessings to share. Let us strive even harder to work with our friends and fellow Rotarians from other Districts for all of us to really be worthy gifts to the world! And as we welcome the “Year of the Monkey, let me wish everyone good health, a long happy life and greater prosperity! Kung Hei Fa Choy!!!