President’s Message

EVERY September, Rotary International celebrates Basic Education and Literacy Month, one of the pillars of Rotary’s seven areas of focus. The Rotary Club of Manila, in its unique way, is celebrating this month to reaffirm its commitment to foster education, nurture literacy, and empower communities through the gift of knowledge.

For this purpose, we have formalized the adoption of various education and literacy programs:

1. Dualtech Scholarship Program – This is a program that has benefited numerous students in the past years. We are again pursuing it this year and our new Memorandum of Agreement with Dualtech has been approved both by the Boards of both RCM and RC Manila Foundation, Inc.. This will pave the way for the funding of at least ten scholars with a total value of P650,000.00. Dualtech, our partner, is a private non-profit technical vocational school established with the goal of training young men from underprivileged backgrounds to become skilled electromechanical technicians. Dualtech is known for pioneering the Dual Training System (DTS) in the Philippines, which is patterned after Germany’s successful dual-education model. What makes it distinct is that students spend time both in school (for theory and basic training) and in partner companies (for practical, on-the-job training).

2. Project Literacy – This unique program aims to train our school teachers to better assist our grade schoolers to read better and improve their literacy skills. Through our partnership with Reading Specialists, and through customized training sessions, educators will gain familiarity with structured reading instruction based on the Science of Reading principles. The training program will equip teachers with practical techniques and lesson plans to improve reading skills; and also, will empower teachers to create a positive reading environment, focusing on the critical foundations of structured reading instruction, practical techniques, and strategies to foster a positive reading environment.

3. Read Now, Lead Tomorrow Program – our club is leading this effort, together with three other major hosts (Rotary Club of Manila Binondo Prime, Rotary Club of Intramuros, and Rotary Club of Manila Chinatown), and 11 other Manila-based Rotary Clubs as minor hosts. The program is in partnership with Mariano Marcos Memorial High School, and involves the renovation of a specially designated a room (with an area of about 50 square meters) to be converted into an Annex Library and Reading Room, to be known as the “Rotary Quill”. A similar reading room is being eyed in Tukod Elementary School in San Rafael, Bulacan, this time in partnership with the Rotary Club of Makati and the Rotary Club of Makati West.

4. Study Now Pay Later Program is also being launched, inspired by the REAP project that was started in 2019. This year, we will utilize the Leon Lambert Fellows fund that was set up by a group of Manila Rotarians led by CP Susing Pineda, complemented by the generous contribution of PRID Raffy Garcia.

There is no doubt that education is the great equalizer. It opens doors of opportunity, breaks the cycle of poverty, and equips individuals to live with dignity and purpose. Yet, in our country, children and adults alike continue to struggle with illiteracy, inadequate learning resources, and barriers that prevent them from reaching their full potential.

We in Rotary must rise to meet this challenge. Our projects and our collective effort as a Club, no matter how modest, contribute to a future where literacy is not a privilege but a right enjoyed by all.

As we observe Education and Literacy Month, let us be reminded that our role as Rotarians is not merely to provide assistance, but to be steadfast advocates for learning. Let us sow seeds of knowledge today so that tomorrow, communities may reap the harvest of wisdom, progress, and peace.

Together, let us light the path of education and strengthen the foundation of literacy—for in doing so, we illuminate the way to a brighter and more hopeful world.