By Rtn. Ismael "Chuck" G. Mathay III. PHF
RC Biak-na-Bato, D-3780
I was inducted as a member of the Rotary Club of Biak-na-Bato in 1998. But I started supporting The Rotary Foundation (TRF) even before I become a Rotarian. Why? Because I simply believed and continue to believe in the good that TRF has and can do for the people of the world.
The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International is, according to PRIP Paulo V.C. Costa, the “masterpiece” of Rotary. Thanks to Rotary International's sixth president, Arch C. Klumph, this proud achievement of the Rotary International Convention held in Atlanta , Georgia , U.S.A. in 1917 has been touching the voluntary contributions from Rotarians and friends of Rotary worldwide.
Who would have thought that the initial contribution of US$26.50 by the Rotary Club of Kansas City, Missouri, USA in 1917 would reach over $1 billion to date. And what's more astonishing is that more than US$68 million was donated in RY 1998-1999 alone.
In 1930, TRF made its first grant of US$500.00 to the International Society for Crippled Children (which later grew into the National Easter Seal Society). In 1947, the fellowship for Advanced Study (the forerunner of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship program), TRFs first program, was established. Three (3) new programs were launched in RY 1965-1966, namely: the Group Study Exchange, Awards for Technical Training, and Grants for Activities in Keeping with the Objective of The Rotary Foundation, more popularly know today as the Matching Grant.
The Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) program was born in 1978, with the Rotary Volunteers program being created as of the 3-H program in 1980. The PolioPlus program was announced in RY 1984-1985, and the following year saw the introduction of Rotary Grants for University Teachers. In RY 1988-1989, the first Peace Forums were held leading to the establishment of Peace Grants with a US$1 million donation made by RIPP Carl P. Miller and his spouse, Ruth. To date, some 726,000 individuals have been recognized as Paul Harris Fellows.
Truly, the past 86 years have been good for TRF. But more remains to be done for the poor and the neglected in the world. TRF helps make dreams a reality through the generosity of many. It brings hope to those who do not even know what tomorrow holds.
Its humanitarian programs help to improve the quality of life by providing health care, clean water, food, education, and other essential needs primary in the developing world. Several educational programs enable around 1,200 students, faculty and young professionals to serve/study abroad every Rotary year. The Polio Eradication Fundraising Campaign aims to fund the US$275 million shortfall to eventually fulfill Rotary's promise of eradicating polio from the face of the Earth in 2005.
However, for the Rotary and TRF to continue “Doing Good in the World,” every Rotarian must first take to heart and commit to support TRF.
Fort French economic professor Bertrand Rene Munier, a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar (RY 1967-1968), “The Rotary Foundation's programs are all the more important because we live in a world of sharp contrasts: fear and hope, illness and good health, poverty and wealth. Worse, we live in a world in which inequalities of income, unemployment – and presumably exclusion from well-being – have sensibly increased in the last fifteen years, not so much between countries, developed and developing alike. In such a situation, the role of The Rotary Foundation is of the utmost importance.”
In fact, RIPP James L. Lacy, The Rotary Foundation Chair for RY 2003-2004, in his October 2003 message to Rotarians worldwide encourages Rotarians to know more about the good work accomplished through TRF's educational and humanitarian programs are “Rotarians who generously support the work of The Rotary Foundation and can educate other Rotarians about our Foundation.”
He continues: “The more you learn about the Foundation, the more you will understand the difference we are making in people's lives. Learn about the Foundation. Be a part of it. Share your knowledge with others. It will change your life.”
I am one of those fortunate Rotarians who have seen first-hand the wonderful work of TRF. In RY 2000-2001, thirteen MG#9130 housing units were built in Barangay Commonwealth, Quezon City through a US$25,000.00 Matching Grant agreement between TRF (US$12,500.00), RI District 2860 and 3780 (US$6,250.00 each). A separate livelihood program for the residents in the community was likewise established as a result of the said grant.
Through the joint efforts of the Rotary Club of Mega Edsa (D-3780), the local government of Quezon City under the leadership of Mayor Ismael A. Mathay, Jr., the Pusong Makabayan Foundation, Inc. which I founded, and the National Government Center East Side Development Project, the said housing project was conceived.
The Rotary Club of Osaka Central, Osaka Riverside and Osaka West (D-2680) and The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, on the other hand, generously matched and complemented our meager financial resources.
Because of the said project, around 100 individuals were given a roof over their heads, for walls to shelter their families, a door to secure their physical safety, and above all, the comfort of fellowship within the serene confines of a place they now call home.
Fellow Rotarians and friends, this is one of the many reasons why I continue to support TRF. The simple joy of giving and the delight of seeing others benefiting from your little gift are gratifying to the soul.
RIPP Arch C. Klumph, the founder of TRF, said it so succinctly: “No one can tell us what Rotary will be tomorrow, but one thing is certain: What will be tomorrow depends upon what we Rotarians do today.”
Let us help TRF in its fund development efforts. Let us give and give generously. We all must, now!
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