The humanitarian organization the Rotary Club of Calapan (RCC) in Southern Luzon, Philippines, donated school supplies to around 50 to 70 poor children in a fishing village named Wawa on Mindoro Island on September 21.
Calapan is about 134 kilometers or 83 miles away from Manila, Philippine's capital.
Rhoda Paras-Apacible is among the club’s members who linked his high school batchmate Belinda Gorospe to the club.
Gorospe was looking for donors to Wawa Elementary School, where she has been a teacher and witness to the daily financial struggles of her students.
Apacible is also a member of the Catholic church-based Mother Butler Guild which provides altar equipment altar linen and vestments to poor parishes and mission posts.
“Rotary’s motto is ‘Service Above Self’ which is what our religion teaches us - to give to those who are in need,” said Apacible.
The 71-year-old club is a non-profit organization involved mostly in socio-civic activities, composed mostly of professionals and businessmen governed by Rotary International (RI). Chartered in 1952, it is the oldest club in Oriental Mindoro and one of the oldest in the country.
“RI is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Our mission is to provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through fellowship of business, professional, and community leaders,” said Lorna Villarica, assistant club secretary and chair of its Rotary Foundation.
This year’s Calapan Club president Percival Martinez said that the writing materials they donated are also symbolic of “Creating Hope in the World” which is the theme of Rotary for 2023 to 2024.
“Donating school supplies for the elementary pupils of Wawa Elementary School is very much like a hero who saves people’s lives. Giving out our time and resources to those in need inevitably brings hope to people that there is beauty in humanity,” said Martinez.
He added, “If one passes on kindness, like assistance to these children, we then become contributors to making their lives better. Someday, these children will pass on this kindness to others, thus creating trust and raising hope for a better world amongst us all.”
“We encourage members to find ways to give back to the club and to the community, internationally and vocationally,” said Martinez.
The club chooses projects that pass its guiding principles called the Four-Way Test: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
The test has been translated into more than 100 languages for Rotary clubs all over the world.- Madonna T. Virola
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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