President’s Corner

Dear Colleagues in RCM,

Welcome to our 45th Weekly Membership Meeting. Today marks a special day for all of us, our last meeting for the Transformational Rotary Year 2020-2021. We are people of action. We have accomplished so much during this Rotary Year, and I am very grateful to each of you for your cooperation, participation and hard work. This year, we welcome 37 new Rotarians – all dedicated and committed to deliver Service Above Self.

While RY 2020-2021 has been one of the most challenging times for many, this Rotary Year has been a productive one for RCM despite and amidst the pandemic. We have been very active and supportive of most projects in District 3810. To date, we have implemented 48 meaningful community service projects under the 7 Areas of Focus, all of which touched and improved so many lives.

1. DISEASE PREVENTION & TREATMENT

On July 1, 2020, we kicked off our CoVid-19 response donation and distribution of essentials. Beneficiaries included Manila City Hall, Hospicio de San Jose, Sta. Ana Hospital and Ospital Ng Maynila. As part of our CoVid-19 Response Relief Operations and Outreach Programs, we have donated test kits, face masks, relief goods, food packs and essentials. The Rotary Club of Manila also turned over to the City Government of Pasay, 90,000 pieces of face masks donated by Rtn. Kenji Mori of the Rotary Club of Kuzuha, Japan.

In August 2020, we supported Php 300,000 to our Secretariat with CoVid-19. The following month, we provided financial support (Php 50,000) to Baby Amara’s operation. We also donated medical supplies and safety equipment to Philippine General Hospital on October 8, 2020. In December 2020, at least 10 patients at the PGH Hematology-Oncology Department/Pediatric Cancer Ward benefitted from our donation worth Php 519,000. On the same month, we also sponsored one wheelchair in Quezon City.

In February 2021, Rotary Club of Manila, in collaboration with Medicare Plus and Technecology, donated 2,000 CoVid-19 Test Kits worth Php 3,500,000 to the City of Pasay; COVID-19 test kits worth Php 4,000,000 to the City of Parañaque; and 2,000 CoVid-19 Test Kits worth Php 4,000,000 to the Municipality of Taytay. We also conducted Blood Donation / Blood-Letting activity in Esguerra Farms, Lipa City, Batangas.

The Sight Preservation Committee of the Rotary Club of Manila reprised its “Pagkalinga sa Mata” Project from May to June 2021. Led by Project Director Rtn. Jack Bautista and with my Php 100,000 donation for the project, the Free Cataract Surgery Mission took place at the University of Santo Tomas Eye Center, University of Santo Tomas Hospital in Manila.

2. BASIC EDUCATION AND LITERACY

Rotary Club of Manila, through the RCManila Foundation, forged a partnership with TV5’s Alagang Kapatid Foundation to provide 50 students with monthly cellphone load for their online learning. This is an ongoing project which we started in December 2020. RCM also supports the District Fund Raising Campaign for Tuloy Foundation for scholarship and vocational training of homeless kids. I donated Php 100,000.00, and IPVP Hermie Esguerra and IPP Jackie Rodriguez donated P20,000.00 each.

In March 2021, RCM donated over 100 books and learning materials to the patients at the PGH Children Cancer Ward. Under Sinag-Aralan EduAksyon, a joint project with JCI Makati, we are installing bamboo libraries powered by solar panels. The project aims to cater to the needs of the community and to widen one's perspective, as well as to promote healthy reading and research through books. The first one benefitted the children in Tondo, Manila in April 2021. The second was for the indigenous kids in identified communities in MIMAROPA region.

3. PEACE BUILDING AND CONFLICT PREVENTION

On February 22, 2021, we showed support to peace and conflict advocacies of the Judicial Reform Initiative. In April 2021, we implemented three meaningful projects in partnership with JCI Makati: (1) “One with Ramadan: A Feast for Peace,” a feeding program in Marawi City on April 12, 2021; (2) “MindaNOW: Uniting Culture and Traditions” on April 12 and 13, 2021; and “Light Up a Barangay” where we donated solar-powered streetlamps to Area 6, Barangay Emie Punud in Marawi City to illuminate the neighborhood of 400 households.

4. WATER, SANITATION AND HYGIENE

We take pride in spearheading the SAVE MANILA BAY project. This signature project aims to clean up, rehabilitate and preserve Manila Bay.

5. MATERNAL & CHILD HEALTH

In October 2020 and April 2021, at least 500 residents of Tuloy Village in Alabang benefitted from our Support to Tuloy Streetchildren Foundation, Inc. initiative. In December 2021, we supported the PGH Hematology-Oncology Department Special Care for Children with Cancer by donating PHP 519,000.00. We followed it up with another donation of industrial fans and infant diapers in May 2021 to help the fire victims in PGH. We also provided financial support for the surgery of pediatric heart patient Baby Neal in April and May 2021 where we donated PHP 225,000.00.

At least 500 residents of Hospicio de San Jose benefitted from our Php 200,000 cash donation in August/September 2020, and PHP 480,000.00 cash donation on April 30, 2021 to help address their needs during the CoVid-19 outbreak. We also donated truckloads of diapers, milk chicken meal packs and other essentials.

6. COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

One of RCM’s signature projects is the Hospicio de San Jose Cerebral Palsy Building. We have been supporting this project since July and the total project cost to date is PHP 4,000,000.00. Another meaningful project is the Aquaponics Farming Tachnology in Paraiso Farm, Batangas City, which we started in December 2020. RCM also provided financial support to victims of Typhoon Ulysses in Bulacan and Cagayan in December 2020. On February 7, 2021, we launched “Baryanihan: Barya Mo, Tulong sa Kapwa Mo,” a joint project of the Rotary Club of Manila and JCI Makati, to help deliver collective concern to alleviate hunger and sickness.

On May 25, 2021, we supported the University of Makati Center for Community Development in Nation Building’s Oplan Hatid Tulong Program, in cooperation with four other Manila Rotary Clubs, by donating seven gallons of isopropyl alcohol to Philippine Orthopedic Hospital.

For our Mushroom to Classroom project, a joint project with JCI Makati which we started on February 18, 2021, we converted empty classrooms in Pasay City to be the habitat of mushrooms. We also conducted a seminar on how to grow and harvest mushrooms, how to create different products out of mushrooms, and how to make the business growing and production sustainable. This project is expected to be a sustainable long-running program of the targeted beneficiaries of 201 Barangays in Pasay City.

In April 2021, with my personal donation of Php 195,000, we are supporting three scholars taking a two-year Electromechanics Technology course at Dualtech Training Center Foundation, Inc. The scholarship program covers the cost for the first six (6) months of training, which includes housing, meals, uniforms, insurance and others. In the next eighteen (18) months, they will undergo on-the-job-training at Dualtech’s partner companies, who will also provide them allowances. Dualtech is a private vocational school that pioneered in adapting the German Dual Training System in the Philippines. I also donated Php 105,000 for Dualtech’s expansion project.

7. SUPPORT THE ENVIRONMENT

Besides the SAVE MANILA BAY project, another RCM’s signature environmental initiative is PROJECT T.R.E.E.S. (The Rotary Ecological and Environmental Strategem). The program includes tree planting, conservation and development of clean water, education for barangay captains for sustainable waste management, and support the training for recycling plastics.

I am also delighted to share the other initiatives that we have undertaken in the Club.

THE ROTARY FOUNDATION

For Rotary Year 2020-2021, the Rotary Club of Manila has contributed US$ 82,794.11 or about Php 4,033,563.45 to The Rotary Foundation. We are the biggest contributor in the District. Despite the pandemic, we are inspired to give to the Foundation and continue doing good in the world.

CCRC

RCM is proud to report that it has initiated the organization of the CIRCLE OF CENTENNIAL ROTARY CLUBS with Rotary Club of Shanghai, Calcutta, our mother club, Rotary Club of Seattle, WA and engaging other centennial clubs like Minneapolis, Madrid and London. We take pride in having this remarkable and historical effort which started here in Rotary International District 3810, Philippines.

AWARDS

This Rotary Year, we have recognized outstanding individuals and institutions by organizing these awards:

Outstanding Athlete Award – RCM bestowed the very first Rotary Club of Manila Jorge B. Vargas Athlete of the Year Award to gymnast par excellence Carlos Edriel Yulo.

Outstanding Ambassador Award - Rotary Club of Manila and Carlos P. Romulo Foundation for Peace and Development bestowed the Ambassador Carlos P. Romulo Award for Excellence in Diplomatic Relations to Swedish Ambassador Harald Fries.

Tourism Awards - We recognized eleven (11) individuals who continue to serve during the pandemic to help overseas Filipino workers and assist outbound tourists who were temporarily held up in the country to comply with quarantine requirements.

The Outstanding Workers of the Republic (TOWER) Awards – We honored six unsung heroes of the workplace, in cooperation with RCManila Foundation, Inc., People Management Association of the Philippines (PMAP) and the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE).

Journalism Awards – We recognized 10 publishers, three radio stations, four television networks and 1 club journalism for their resilience and advocacy of press freedom.

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MEDIA COVERAGE

We are deeply honored that several media outfits in the country support all our projects and activities. RCM consistently gains good media coverage. We are regularly featured in local publications such as The Manila Standard, Manila Bulletin, and The Philippine Star, among others. In social media, our Rotary Club of Manila Facebook account is updated weekly. Meetings are usually on FB Live, with thousands of people reached through its live streaming. We also have our club website, www.rcmanila.org, where members can browse through RCM and Rotary in Asia’s rich history. The web contents are regularly updated. We also upload a copy of the Club’s weekly publication, BALITA (where we chronicle all RCM activities), as well as speech shared by Club guest speakers.

We, Rotarians, are catalysts of change, and we strive for a better Philippines, for a better world.

Your Servant President, Robert “Bobby” Lim Joseph, Jr. Transformational President RY 2020-2021 (101st President)