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Issue No. 6 | R.I. District 3800 | December 2022

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Message from

ARTURO "BOBBY" C. TANYAG

District Governor, RY 2022 - 2023 | Rotary Club of Pasig South

 
My Christmas greetings to all my beloved Rotarians and Spouses of District 3800!

Feliz Natal! Feliz Navidad! Joyeux Noel! Frolich Weinacten! Vrolist Kertfeest! Merry Christmas! Maligayang Pasko sa inyong Lahat!

Our country, the Philippines, is the only country perhaps in the whole world which commemorates Christmas as early as September or the start of the “Ber Months” when Christmas carols are played over the radio to constantly remind us of the countdown till Christmas Day.

In the US, the official start of the Christmas Season is the week after Thanksgiving or the last week of November, when the Christmas tree is lighted by no less than the President of the United States in a grand ceremony at the Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. In Europe, the Christmas Season starts on the sixth day of December when St. Nicholas, Sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet parades are celebrated across Europe to give gifts to well-behaved kids all across towns, in companies, and even in department stores.

In the Christian World, Christmas is celebrated during the four weeks of Advent prior to December 25 of each year.

In Rotary International District 3800, Christmas month signals a never ending series of gift giving, days of service, sharing time and gifts in orphanages, gifts for street children, gifts for theelderly, gifts for the sick in our communities, and bloodletting donation events.

A Fitting Prelude to the Christmas Party, the Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) Gift-Giving Event

In our District 3800, we celebrated Christmas on December 4, 2022 with our festive Christmas Party hosted by RC Marikina East and Marikina Heights at the Grand Ballroom of the Valle Verde Country Club. It was a whole day celebration which commenced with the sharing of blessings to PWDs in our District 3800 with the distribution of wheelchairs and Christmas Gifts to beneficiaries from all eight (8) Zones with all the 106 Rotary Clubs sponsoring the PWD-beneficiaries and contributing donations for Christmas gifts to the families of the PWD’s. Our
gratitude to the very generous donors of the more than 80 wheelchairs.

It was a very heartwarming gift- giving event, a prelude to the Christmas Family Party of District 3800 also held at the Valle Verde Country Club. My heartfelt congratulations and gratitude to the District Community Service Committee, chaired by PP Lito Sese with the able support of PP George Siy, PP Brill Chua, to all the generous donors of the wheelchairs, and all the Imaginative Amazing Treasures Presidents doing their share in the very orderly distribution of the wheelchairs, the gifts, and the prepared snacks given to all our guests during the gift-giving event.

The Rotary District 3800 Family Christmas Party

The main Christmas celebration in the District was hosted by RC Marikina East and RC Marikina Heights. My heartfelt thanks to the Christmas Party Committee chaired by PP Jo Bernabe with our Imaginative Amazing Treasures Presidents Rachelle Enriquez, and Rafael Arellano, PP Paz Pellobelo, PP Jojo Banzon, PP Gelo Aguiling, and to all the members of the host clubs for the very wonderful Christmas Party celebration.

It was the first time that children of our Rotarians were welcomed to the Christmas Party. The Christmas Party registered an attendance of 600 consisting of Rotarians and members of their families. It was truly a fun-filled and memorable event capped by a chorale competition highlighting the very admirable performances of chorale groups from all the eight (8) Zones with their own musical interpretations of Christmas carols. All the musical performances were truly outstanding to the delight of the audience with the Board of Judges having a difficult time in the selection of the winners. I salute all the participants in the Zonal Chorale Competition for their excellent musical arrangements and the very entertaining renditions of Christmas carols.

The excellent program ensured the success of the Christmas Party, coupled with the numerous raffle prizes, and surprises, the excellent hosting, and the ensuing dance party filling all available spaces at the dance floor (with everyone rocking and rolling to their heart’s delight) provided the true spirit of unity and fun fellowship among our beloved Rotarians in our District.

I salute the Christmas Party Committee, the host clubs, all the generous donors of the raffle prizes, all my beloved Rotarians of District 3800, for spreading good cheer, and sharing Love, Joy, and Peace which are the true Spirit of Christmas!

Let us not only celebrate Christmas in one Season, but in all Seasons, and days of our lives, for in so doing, we will truly be giving the world our best it truly deserves, and wake up each morning knowing we have made a difference!

“Maligayang Pasko and Manigong Bagong Taon Sa Ating Lahat!”

Message from

JENNIFER E. JONES

Rotary International President, RY 2022 - 2023

 
While sitting with a group of Rotary leaders outside of Lusaka, Zambia, I ask a question: “How many of you have ever had malaria?” Every hand in the room goes up. They even begin to tell me about the first, second, or third time they experienced the disease, one of the main causes of death and sickness in many developing countries.

They are fortunate. They have access to medical treatment and lifesaving medicines. For the people of rural Zambia, their story is very different.

On a wooden bench in a small village, I sit with Timothy and his young son Nathan. With a camera crew capturing our conversation, he tells me of the time Nathan showed signs of malaria. He brought the boy to the nearby home of a community health worker, where Nathan quickly received
medicines that in all likelihood saved his life.

Calmly, Timothy tells me about his other son’s bout with the disease a few years earlier. He had to race that son to a medical clinic more than 5 miles away. Riding a bike and carrying his child on his back, he tells me, he could feel his son’s legs turn cold and then his little body go limp. As he finally entered the clinic, he screamed for help, but it was too late. The camera stops rolling, and we sit in silence. He begins to weep, and I hold him tightly. “I lost my son, I lost my son,” he says.

This story is all too familiar for the families we meet over the next few days. And yet there is hope. Partners for a Malaria-Free Zambia is Rotary’s first Programs of Scale grant recipient, and it is saving lives. Across two provinces of Zambia, 2,500 volunteer health workers have been selected by their communities. They are trained to bring medical care closer to those who need it, and they are able to diagnose and treat malaria and other ailments. Rotary partnerships create lasting change.

More from this Issue:

  • District Secretary for Operations Corner
  • Spouses' Executive Committee Christmas Party
  • Pinoy Humor Caught in Rotary Snapshots Despite "Paeng" in Signal No. 3
  • RCSGP Hosted H.E.L.P. Project
  • HIRAYA MANAWARI, RI President Jennifer Jones' Philippine Impact Tour
  • District 3800 Represented in Rotary Zone Institute 2022
  • An Imaginative Amazing District Christmas Party
  • Pamaskong Handog Para sa PWD
  • PWD Pamaskong Handog Photo Album
  • Special Feature on Zone 4B Rotary Clubs (Marikina, San Mateo, Rodriguez)
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