ROTARY COMMUNITY CORP

REACHING OUT, SHAPING THE FUTURE
by: PP Megs Lunn

Rotarians embrace the challenges of humanitarian service efforts with compassion and a commitment in providing long-term, sustainable solutions. With this, about more than 300 Rotarians from District 3850 (Zamboanga, Negros, Panay Island, Guimaras and Antique) and District 3860 (Cebu, Davao, Dumaguete, Bohol and Leyte) have gathered during the celebration of 25th Silver Anniversary of the Rotary Community Corp (RCC) in the Philippines last August 24, 2011 at Hotel Del Rio, hosted by the Rotary Club of Metro Iloilo led by Past District 3850 Governor, Ramon “Toto” Cua Locsin. The seminar is in cooperation with Philippine College of Rotary Governors (PCRG) and Rotary Village Corps Foundation, Inc. (RVC).

RCC was founded by then Rotary International Past President Mat Caparas of District 3830 when it was then Rotary Village Corp twenty-five years ago. Caparas is the first and only Filipino to be president of the Rotary International. RCC literally was born in the Philippines and was introduced around the world by Caparas to shape lives of the peoples in the community.

Rotary International President-Elect Sakuji Tanaka and Spouse Kyoko from Japan was the guest of honor. “When Rotary is strong, the community benefits,” Tanaka said in his speech.

The current District 3850 Governor Melvin Dela Serna summarized the speech of Mr. Tanaka during his response into three words – RCC is about empowerment, generosity and respect. “All Rotary clubs around the Philippines develops projects through RCC that unite and empower the community at the grassroots level, and improve their quality of life as a whole, “ Dela Serna reiterated.

The topics and speakers were the following: Topic 1 – Club Leadership Administrative Support Program for RCC by PP Boy Salanatin, District 3860 RCC Chair; Topic 2 – Volunteer-Initiatives for Talent Development (Vital Development) by PP Marge Lamberte, Deputy Exec, Dir Rotary Academy D3830; Topic 3 – Partnership in Development through Entrepreneurship by PP Dominic Abad, Regional Director, Department of Trade Industry; Topic 4 – Community Transformation through RCC by CP Luz Pacifico, Asst. Gov. D3830 and Topic 5 – Effective Service Projects with RCC by PP Jorge Caparas, Trustee, RVC Foundation, D3830.

Pres, Salvador “Boy” Espartero, RCC Convener PP Michael “Kano” Ng and PDG Toto Cua Locsin of RC Metro Iloilo and with the active men and women of Rotarians in Iloilo City hosted a very successful fellowship of service in Rotary by reaching out and embracing humanity through Service Above Self.

RCC - A gift of Philippine Rotary to the world

M.A.T. Caparas, PRIP 1986-87
Rotary Club of Caloocan, D.3800
"Rotary Brings Hope"

Fellow Rotarians and Friends in RCC,

Thank you for being here, and for wanting to promote and advance the Rotary Community Corps program. As you know, this Road show is a special event called by all the District Governors with the support of the Philippine College of Rotary Governors and the active participation of the RVC Foundation. They want the Roadshow to commemorate also the silver anniversary of RCC as an official program of Rotary International. As one with much personal interest and connection with RCC, I thank you cordially. I also thank all those who put this admirable Roadshow together, especially Past Governor Guiller Tumangan who, I know, has been working at it for many months.

I want to give special thanks to a friend I admire, a very distinguished gentleman who honors this gathering with his presence. He is no less than the President-Elect of Rotary International. Sakuji Tanaka San and his dear lady, Kyoko, have come from Evanston in friendship to the country and its people and to all Rotarians. They give great distinction to this affair, and I am with you in thanking them and giving them a most hearty welcome. Let us all be sure to make their stay joyful and pleasant.
I see the program for this Roadshow to be very good, and knowledgeable Rotarians will be conducting it. As a senior Rotarian, I feel the little I can contribute would best be historical, preferably related to the observance of the silver anniversary of RVC, or RCC. Indeed, convincing enlightenment about the origin of the program seems sorely needed.

The RVC program is the refined version of a program that many Rotary clubs had when I was President-elect preparing for office. Called Adopt a Barrio, it consisted mainly in the club giving to the barrio folks things they needed and could not get without giving up something equally important. It was humanitarian and heart-warming, but I saw that much of what the village received quickly disappeared for lack of care. I felt the help that the club was giving would last longer if there were an organization in the village to take care of it. I shared that thought with the Rotary Club of Manila, and I know they started to act on it.

I visualized that non-Rotarian group, which even then I called Rotary Village Corps, to be assistants of the club in the extension of help to the village. In the far-away villages which Rotarians have difficulty visiting more than once, the RVC would do what the Rotarians could not. It would give needed hands and feet to Rotary. It would actually do Rotary work without being a Rotary club. It was in fact thoughts of that kind of RVC work that called to my mind the theme "Rotary Brings Hope".

When I broached the idea to the board, some opposed it, saying it would apply only to developing countries. I said it would apply to the inner cities of the wealthiest nations; that there was no rule that excluded a program that did not apply to the whole world; and that the population of the developing countries, to which RVC would apply, outnumbered the rest of the world, anyway. Other opponents said RVC looked like a poor man’s Rotary club. I said it was not, but that in areas where it would operate, it would do a better job than Rotary clubs. I was sure in any case that my board, the one I would preside over the next year, would adopt the program, and a budget for its launch was adopted.

The group we adopted carried the Rotary name because, unlike Interact and Rotaract, from which Rotary just hoped to get new members, the RVC would operate as assistant to Rotary clubs. And because there was much dispute about women in Rotary at the time, I made clear that RVC would have men and women members. I hoped membership of women in this partner in service that carried the Rotary name would be a big step to admission in Rotary.

As approved, RVC was a pilot program that would be reviewed after three years. At the next Council on Legislation, however, Roberto Valentin of Puerto Rico, Frank Devlyn of Mexico, and Rajah Saboo of India succeeded in including attendance at an RVC meeting as a valid make-up for absence from a Rotary meeting. With that mention of RVC in the by-laws, the board considered its pilot status terminated. But even before then, hundreds of RVCs were organized in India and the Philippines, RVCs in Mexico and Alabang were recognized in the international convention in Munich, and Rick King had organized two RVCs in Oakland, California. Through it all, it was known that the RVC program was a genuine Philippine product.

From Arch Klumpf’s statement of a vague desire to do good in the world, we trace the origin of the Rotary Foundation, which did not start to grow to its current great state until two decades later. In contrast, RCC came to Rotary fully formed, and already functioning where it came from. The board was presented with a complete RVC constitution, which I had personally written, and the board approved it without debate. That is why it is puzzling, and annoying, not to find in the RCC publications from Evanston any such mention of its beginning. I am anxious to project that Philippine origin of RVC because it is the action program of Rotary that best expresses the compassion of our people.

Evanston, unfortunately, is not much help. Over the years, it has failed to promote RCC while copiously broadcasting materials for Interact, Rotaract, and the Peace universities. Many times, official listings of Rotary programs fail to include RCC. It was a pleasant surprise to see in the July issue of the Rotarian an inch for it in Rotary Basics. But in the official RCC publications, I have so far seen only one mention of the Philippines, relating to a project by an individual corps. And this is how the origin of RCC is stated:

 Idea introduced by then RI president-elect M.A.T. Caparas in 1985
 RI Board adopted program in 1988

The truth is that the1985 board acted only to approve the budget on what I could spend for the launch of RVC in 1986, and an enactment of the Council on Legislation, not the 1988 board, was what made RVC an official Rotary program. I therefore find it curious that the year 1986-87, when RCC was really born, is not even mentioned. That is puzzling because 1986-87 was arguably the most eventful single year in the whole history of Rotary, if we do not count natural catastrophes and financial disasters. Besides launching RCC, the board that year (1) purchased the 14-storey building which we made our international headquarters and now call One Rotary Center; (2) started the extremely successful two-year fund-raising campaign for PolioPlus; and (3) finally decided to accept women Rotarians.

To much jubilation at the Munich convention in 1987, I announced all of these highly significant and far-reaching accomplishments. I have since been quiet, not wanting to appear boastful. But twenty-five years later, when there appear no recognition and acclaim due the country and people, let us strive to gain them through the excellence of our Rotary service with RCC and any other program within our reach. At this silver anniversary, let us draw the full potential of RCC for good to our people. Let us, in that way, show the world what great gift Philippine Rotary gave to the world in that wonderful year when one of our countrymen led our organization.

ROTARY COMMUNITY CORPS SPEECH

Hotel del Rio, Iloilo City August 24, 2011
PP Jorge G. Caparas
Trustee, RCC Foundation,Inc.

It is a pleasure for me to be here with you today since Iloilo has a special place in my heart- My wife is Ilongga, and my mother is half-Ilongga, with roots still in La Paz. So, let me try my little Visayan : Maayong hapon sa inyo nga tanan!

It is a great honor for all of us to have the Incoming Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka San and Lady, Kyoko San to be with us. They have been with us in all of RCC’s 3-day Roadshow in Makati, Iloilo and Bulacan. I say to them for all of us: Arigato Gozaimashita!

We are here to learn more about what constitutes an effective service project involving the Rotary Community Corps.
Each person in this room has the most basic resource : human capital. Each of us is blessed with Time, Talent & Treasure.

We also possess human assets which we often harness- that is the ability to participate, mastery of local knowledge or traditions, entrepreneurial experience, training and educational experience, civic or community-based experience, talent & ideas, enthusiasm and energy.

When Paul Harris delivered a message to the delegates of the 1934 R.I. Convention in Detroit,Michigan, he stated : “As long as the grass continues to grow green, as long as water continues to flow downhill, so long Rotary will continue to worship its ideal of service.” The maxim “ Service Above Self” was conceptualized that day.

The purpose of RCC is to promote grassroots self-help projects, develop local leadership abilities, maximize local resources and use appropriate cost-effective technology.

When it was introduced to the Rotary world, RCC was envisioned to be an auxiliary to the sponsoring Rotary Club . The RCCs , however, should run their own affairs, make their own plans, decide what projects to undertake and to furnish their own manpower, administration and care necessary to bring those projects to completion.

In giving that kind of autonomy to the RCCs, the members derive pride in their membership and would lead to truly remarkable service projects.
There are 5 steps to implement an effective service project : select a project, plan a project, public relations, raise funds and evaluate success.

We can find Rotary manuals that will help us gather suggestions for implementing effective service projects. There are publications that are available to help in the training of RCC leaders & members , such as the following:
1. A Menu of Service Opportunities
2. Effective Public Relations : A Guide for Rotary Clubs
3. RCC Handbook
4. RCC Brochure

The characteristics of an effective RCC project are:
1. Responds to real issues and needs
2. Aims for specific goals & objectives with measurable results
3. Based on a realistic assessment of available resources
4. Improves community members’ lives
5. Recognizes the contributions of all participants as important & necessary
6. Builds effective networks
7. Empowers people & communities

Successful RCCs have many beneficial results:
1. Members foster unity, camaraderie, fellowship and morale
2. Members are involved in projects
3. Members can earn from the projects but the net proceeds must be set aside for community service projects
4. Members are happy with the improvement in their lives, the Rotary assistance, but mainly through their own efforts.
In the original concept of the RCC, the most important ingredients for its success are:
a) it should serve the community
b) it should promote livelihood, self-help / recognition of the dignity and value of all useful occupations.

Another important element of successful RCC projects is that each RCC is responsible for planning, organizing, financing and supplying the manpower and creativity necessary for its activities.

In summary, RCCs goals are : Individuals should be encouraged to (1) take responsibility for the improvement of their community or village; (2) recognize the dignity of all useful occupations; and (3) mobilize self-help activities and collective work to improve quality of life. In other words, it should encourage the development of human potential to its fullest, within the context of the local culture and community.

A good example is the RCC of Barangay San Roque sponsored by the RCC Club of Cubao, Quezon City, District 3780.

To help reduce the rate of water-borne diseases like typhoid fever, diarrhea and the like, the RCC built a new water system for Juan Sumulong High School in Quezon City.

The system includes a jack pump , water tank and purification system that benefits some 3,000 students in the community.

The sponsoring club registered the project on the WCS Project Exchange and was supported by a grant from the Rotary Club of Spartanburg, South Carolina, U.S.A.

It is an opportune time to promote RCC in its 25th anniversary. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, : One must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

As has been said, to implement an effective service project, we should instill in them the 3 Rs- ROTARIZE, ROTIVATE & ROTARIANISM.

Since an RCC is a group of non-Rotarian men and women who share Rotarian’s commitment to service, they should be educated about Rotary’s ideals, inform them about the developments in Rotary, train them on project conceptualization and implementation, help them build a strong organization, leadership and partnering with other organizations and stewardship of the environment. This is what we call “ Rotarizing” an individual or a group.

To help them accomplish these goals, Rotarians should inspire RCC members to live by and live up to the ideal of service and give life to Rotary values. Ihayag, Isapuso, Isabuhay ang Rotary values . Declare, take to heart, and live Rotary values - in other words, “Rotivation”
“Rotarianism” is an amalgam of 2 previous traits. Simply put, it is instilling in the RCC members the ideals of Rotary : service and fellowship.

In the 1946 Rotary International Convention , Atlantic City, New Jersey, Paul Harris said “ Rotary prolongs the life of hundreds of thousands of men. Rotary makes for health and happiness….Through it all there is a benign influence of fellowship which sweetens life”.
He further stated that , “ To be a good Rotarian, one should be a good neighbor, a kind friend, a loving husband, a companionable father, and an asset to the community where he lives.”

A Rotarian’s business is concerned with the global economy - businesses’ ability to market products and services all over the globe, develop partnerships and alliances throughout the world. These are all essential for business success in today’s fast growing and changing global economy.
On the other hand. RCC’s business is characterized by a democratic organizational structure with its members participating in decision making. Its emphasis is on job creation. However, it is supported by important volunteer resources particularly in the delivery of services.

As my father, Past Rotary International President M.A.T. Caparas have said in a message to this year’s Annual Conference of RVC Foundation Trustees and District RCC Chairpersons, where he touched upon the topic of Peace and Development, “ RCCs should not hesitate to start small, or to start with small projects. Such projects although small and benefiting only a tiny part of the population or the country, redound, however, minutely, to the benefit of the world and of all mankind. Small achievements are at least as meritorious as unsuccessful heroic efforts at grandiose goals… The Philippines is part of the world, such that the good things you do in the Philippines are actually good things done to the world.”

Thus, let us all learn from the wisdom of the pillars of Rotary so RCC can become a significant player in the social economy now and in future generations to come.

These are, I think, excellent guides for RCC work. We do not usually talk of world peace at the RCC level. However, there can be no world peace for as long as people are hungry, unhappy and desperate for change. You, my friends will make that big change! Good luck!

Thank you very much! Domo Arigato Gozaimasu! Madamo guid nga salamat!

FOR EVERY DISABLED CHILD MATTERS

THANK YOU TO ROTARY CLUB OF BRIMBANK CENTRAL, MELBOURNE AUSTRALIA for the additional donations of 4 TENS UNITS to our EVERY DISABLED CHILD MATTERS Outreach Program - STAC Kalibo.

We will be forever grateful of your generosity and thoughtfulness!

RC Roxas has approved the continuing outreach program this year to Stimulation and Therapeutic Activity Center (STAC Kalibo) and has added STAC Roxas to its list. MOA to be signed soon by both concerned.

We are likewise looking forward to finalize the support paper to House Bill 3665, with the author, Cong. Teddy Casino, gracing the occasion soon.

We are also happy to note that the District 3850 Chair on Special Committee on People with Disability comes from our club - PP Federico Victor "PIP" Acepcion and that D3850 Governor Melvin Dela Serna has added this committee to this year's district's Rotary thrusts.

(pictures to follow)

RCC 25TH YEARS IN PHOTOS

RC ROXAS INDUCTION PHOTOS