RCSPC Global Grants

PE Jocelyn Mosquete, Pres. Mark Catahay and Rtn. Rey Alovera

"Roxas City School for Philippine Craftsmen is the perfect recipient for our Global Grant,” said Pres Mark Renier Catahay of the Rotary Club of Roxas during the Governor’s visit to the Club, the mother Club of Rotary in the Northern Panay Zone (Zone 4, D3850 Philippines), last September 4, 2015 at the Roxas City School for Philippine Craftsmen (RCSPC) in Barangay Lanot, Roxas City, Capiz.  Several members of the Club were present together with the teaching and administrative staff of RCSPC headed by Mr. Rodrigo Jeremias, the Roxas City Schools Division Superintendent Mr. Roel Bermejo and the student body of the said school.

The students of Architectural/Drafting Design

It was an auspiciously joyous day for the City because two Global Grants of the Club were recently approved and presented to the public.  Global Grant GG1525989, a partnership of the Club involving two Rotary Districts in Korea (D-3590 and D-3690) and two of their Clubs, and GG1422122, involving a District in Sweden (D-2390) and another in Spain (D-2203) and 15 of her Clubs, enabled the Club to donate US$ 134,917.00 for “Technical-Vocational Equipment for Roxas City School for Philippine Craftsmen,” care of The Rotary Foundation.  These grants shall bestow on RCSPC tools and equipment for Architectural Drafting and Shielded Metal Arc Welding (GG1525989) worth US$ 51,511.00 and Dressmaking, Food Trades, Electricity Installation Methodology, and Cosmetology (GG1422122) worth US$ 83,406.00.  In pesos, that’s a total of PhP 5,453,805.00!

The Rotary Foundation is a World-Class world-wide vehicle of Rotary International of changing people’s lives in all corners of the globe through Rotary Clubs such as the Rotary Club of Roxas!  Clubs invite international partners (mainly, Clubs and Districts from other countries) to embark on meaningful projects in their localities and with their pool of resources, namely their Districts’ District Designated Funds (DDF’s) and their cash contributions, The Rotary Foundation either doubles them as with the DDF’s or matches 50% of the amounts as with the Clubs’ cash contributions.

The two Global Grants were one year’s worth of patient proposal writing, massive document gathering, tireless emails, numerous texts, and authoritative signings, across land, sea and air.  It all started with Past District Governor (PDG) Mark Ortiz of Philippine Rotary District D-3850 contacting his classmates PDG Jin (D-3590) and PDG Wooam (D-3690) of Korea and PDG Birgitta Arnving (D-2390) of Sweden and PDG Graciela Waen (D-2203) of Spain, after Super typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan devastated Capiz, together with many major parts of Eastern and Western Visayas.  The desire to help outpoured and all five DG’s, then, worked hard to put the two Global Grants together.  PDG Mark had a lot of help from his Club and RCSPC Principal Rod and his staff.  PDG Wooam contacted the Rotary Clubs of Geoje Big Dragon and Sae-Bucheon.  PDG Graciela called on the Rotary Clubs of de Marbella, Alicante, Mallorca, Mahon Mo, Palma Bellver, San Pedro de Alcantara, Inca, de Sevilla, Palma Junipero Serr, de Cartagena, de Almoradi, Elche Illice, Castellon, Torrepacheco, and Estepona.  And, last July and August 2015, the Global Grants were approved one after the other!

Soon, appropriately timely for the K-12 kick-in by School Year (SY) 2016-17, students of RCSPC will be trained using state-of-the-art equipment like GTAW welding machines worth PhP 100,000.00 and CAD-enabled computers and printers worth PHP 250,000, not your ordinary school of arts and trades!  Enrolment is expected to increase, including enrolment for adults and women who would like to finish a highly employable high school degree.  As part of the Stewardship component of the grants, the Rotary Club of Roxas will be assisted by RCSPC in monitoring the results of the project and reported periodically to TRF until the project’s completion and even beyond.  A super typhoon may have destroyed the City but Rotary will help bring it back up by empowering its citizens, especially the young ones!

Such is the world of Rotary in Capiz, in the Philippines, in the world!  There are so many possibilities of “doing good in the world!”  And, the Rotary Club of Roxas shall continue to be “serving above self” in this corner of the globe and “Be a Gift to the World!”

Note: This article was also published by The Guardian.