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RY 2011-2012 No. 40 Tuesday, 22 May 2012

RI President Kalyan Banerjee thanks Rotariansfor Reaching Within to Embrace Humanityto build a world of Peace Through Service

By: Pres. Rene LimjocoVIEW FROM THE TOP

share with you RI President Kalyan Banerjees

speech during the closing ceremony that

delved deep into Rotarys role. I truly believe

it is of great benet to Rotarians to hear and

digest his speech, which merged the message

of this years Rotary theme, Reach Within to

Embrace Humanity, with that of Sakuji Tanaka

next year, Peace Through Service. Here is the

full text of Pres. Kalyans speech:

My brothers and sisters in Rotary.

Well, here we are, nearly at the end o

this wonderful 103rd Rotary convention. Youve

all come here from every corner of the Rotary

world, and from every time zone as well! You

know, we talk a lot about how technology is

........... To page 6

........... To page 8

RC Makati joins 35,000 Rotarians at RI

Convention in BangkokA small group of RC Makati Rotarians

and Anns were among the 35,000-plus

Rotarians, Anns, GSE Team members, andRotaractors who were in Bangkok 6-9 May

for the 103rd annual RI Convention. Among the

attendees were Pres Rene Limjoco & Ann

Lu, PRID Paing Hechanova & Ann Mely,

PDG Tony Quila & Ann Angela, DGN Robert

Kuan & Ann Yvonne, PP Pepito Bengzon,

PP Sonny Tambunting & Ann Terry, and PE

Reuben Valerio & Ann Mimi.

They attended the opening ceremony

and the plenary and breakout sessions,

listened to the speeches of the top leaders

of Rotary International and The RotaryFoundation and those of the guest speakers,

and were there for the closing ceremony. But

they also had fellowship activities outside of

the convention.

As I said last week there were many

things in the RI Convention in Bangkok that

impressed us who were there and left a deep

mark in our minds and hearts. The speeches

were insightful and gave us something to

reect on. Last week I shared with you excerpts

of the speech by RIPE Sakuji Tanaka on Peace

Through Service. This time, I would like to

At the Philippine Breakfast

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Rotary Club of Makati, Inc.Kaunlaran No. 40

22 May 20122

RECAP Tuesday, 15 May 2012

JUN JUN DAYRIT

IntroducerDICK FUNK

Invocator

DICK UPTON

Moderator

RENE LIMJOCO

Club President

CARMELITO ANZURES

Guest Speaker

D i ck F u n k c a l l ed on

the Almighty to remind us, inthe midst of conflict, poverty,

misunderstanding and deceit, of

the reason for our being and that

we are created in Your likeness.

He asked for strength so that in

the face of poverty we may rise

above the situation and be willing

to share what little we have; so

he reported that the other respondents were

supposed to submit their counter afdavits

on 11th May but that the hearing did not push

through because the investigating prosecutowas out of town. He said it would be interesting

to nd out what the three respondents othe

than PP Freddie Borromeo would put up as

a defense and said he was hopeful that the

case will be dismissed as well. The worst-case

scenario, he concluded, would be that three

people would be indicted, and it wont be any

of his clients.

Back from the Thailand, Pres. Rene

Limjoco made a brief mention of the

RI Convention attended by a 16-person

Macatulad and Miguel Macatulad;

Gary Quemado for beneficiaries

Juan Diego Quemado and Jaime

Alfonso Quemado, and PDG TonyQuila for Chiara Quila and Andie

Quila. PP Ric was also among the

contributors in this batch.

Frank Chavez gave an update on

the two cases hes handling for MRCFI.

On the case versus PP Jun Rojas et

al, he reported that he was in court that

morning for a scheduled hearing and

that when we are weakened we may find

strength, when we see greed and corruption,

we may stand up with honesty; when we are

oppressed, we may ght for freedom, whenwe see suffering we may offer compassion,

when divided by differing beliefs, we may

stand united in tolerance and understanding.

In closing he asked God to help us to believe

in Your goodness and see that same goodness

in all of us; help us to see that You alone are

the rm foundation of our Rotary Club and our

country and that despite differences in color

and creed we can be one in praise, prayer

and purpose. . .

Announcements. PP Ric Librea ,

in his capacity as chair of the Paul HarrisFellows committee, presided over the

awarding of certicates and medals to the

latest batch of contributors to The Rotary

FoundationPP Felix Amparo with Karina

Amparo and Rosanna Vizconde as

beneficiaries; Cesar Cruz for Natividad

Cruz, Mercedes Cruz and Arsenio

Cruz; Mundy Gonzalez for Alessandra

Garcia and Javier Santino Garcia, Pres

Rene Limjoco for beneficiaries Michael

Limjoco, Christian Limjoco, and Margarita

Limjoco; Francis Macatulad for Gabrielle

noticed that the other side had been asking

for subpoenae for only three people: Dayal

Nandwani, PP Jun, and Reggie Nolido, with

the apparent purpose of getting them to testifyas adverse witnesses. He also reported that he

had led for the withdrawal of the complaint,

which was unanimously signed by the members

of the Board of Trustees, and the other side has

been given ten days to comment. He said he

asked for 10 days to comment, and only 48

hours to respond, if necessary, otherwise the

matter will be deemed submitted for resolution.

He added that based on what the court

observed that morning he was optimistic that

a withdrawal, or dismissal, of the complaint will

come as a matter of course. On the BIR case,

TRF Contributors: PP Felix Amparo, Cesar Cruz,

Pres. Rene Limjoco, PP Ric Librea . . .

. . . PDG Tony Quila, Mundy Gonzales . . .

. . . and Gary Quemado

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22 May 2012 3

Call to Order Pres. Rene Limjoco

Invocation . Johnny Rocha

Philippine National Anthem

RC Makati Hymn

Introduction of

Visiting Rotarians & Guests Bubi Krohn Welcome Song / AVP

Greetings to Birthday and

Wedding Anniversary Celebrators

Club Functions &

Committee Announcements

Turnover of P1.82M donation from

Maynilad Water Services to Rotary Homes

Representatives:

For donor: Mr. Herbert Consunji

For recipient: PDG Sid Garcia

Introduction of the Inductee Proposer

Philip Cea

Chairman, Best Western F1 Premier Hotel

Classication: Real Estate Development

Proposer: DGN Robert Kuan

Charging Session .. PP Fidel Alfonso

Induction . Pres. Rene Limjoco

Presidents Time . Rene Limjoco

Introduction of

the Guest Speaker .. PDG Sid Garcia

Speech:

MR. HERBERT CONSUNJI

Chief Operating Ofcer

Maynilad Water Services Inc.

Q & A

Response Pres. Rene Limjoco

Adjournment

Bubi Krohn

Moderator

Rigodon I, The Peninsula Manila

Tuesday, 22 May 2012

Starts at 12:30PM Adjourns at 2:00PM

HERBERT M. CONSUNJIPROFESSIONAL

Chief Operating Ofcer, Maynilad Water Services Inc., 2007

Present

Chief Finance Ofcer, DMCI Holdings Inc., 1979 Present

Chairman of the Board, Subic Water Corporation, 2001 Present

Member, Board of Directors, DMCI Holdings, Inc.; Semirara Mining

Corporation; Sem Calaca Power Corporation; Southwest LuzonPower Generation Corporation; DMCI Power Corporation; DMCI

Mining Corporation; Subic Water Corporation; DMCI MPIC Water

Company; and Maynilad Water Services, Inc.

EDUCATION

Top Management Program, Asian Institute of Management, 1997

Certied Public Accountant, 1978

Bachelor of Science major in Accounting, De La Salle University,

1975

PERSONAL

Married to Regina Magsaysay Irlanda

Daughter, two sons and two granddaughters

........... To page 4

Recap ...................................................................................... from page 2

delegation from RC Makati, before ticking off the upcoming speakers

and eventstoday, the guest speaker is Mr. Herbert Consunji, chief

operating ofcer of Maynilad Water, a partner to the district Rotary

Homes Project; on the 29th, its PP Cesar Campos who will speak on the

Makati Commercial Estate Association, whose Board of Governors he is

a member of; 25th May, fellowship cocktails for all members hosted by

him and Ann Lu as a gesture of thanks for their support in the past year;

5thJune, the yearend awards, 7 PM at the Conservatory, possibly the

last fellowship of the year; and on 12th June, no meeting in observanceof our Independence Day. He also informed the Club that the club and

Foundation staffs will be going on their annual outing and the ofce will

be closed on Friday, 18th May.

Mr. Carmelito Anzures, Tourism Ofcer of the City of Makati, was

invited to speak on the Flores de Mayo and, although admitting to not

being an authority on the subject, nevertheless did enough research to

speak on itits Christian underpinnings that revolve around the search

for the Holy Cross, Santa Cruz, by Queen Helena, mother of Emperor

Constantine, some 300 years after Christs death on the cross. According

to legend, archaeological diggers in Jerusalem found three crosses,

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22 May 2012

........... To page 5

HAPPY BIRTHDAYROTARIANSPP Fred Nassr, 22 MayGary Quemado, 24 MayMohsin Razi, 26 MayBoy Arteche, 27 MayEric Lee, 27 May

WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES

Andy & Felice Sta. Maria, 26 MayEdward & Angela Chang, 18 MayTony & Irene Tan, 28 May

TODAY:

Tuesday, 22 May

Guest Speaker:

Mr. Herbert Consunji

Chief Finance Ofcer

Maynilad Water Services

Saturday, 26 May

Planning Session for RY 2012-2013

Presiding Ofcer: PE Reuben ValerioRCM Boardroom

9:00 AM 5 PM

Tuesday, 29 May

Guest Speaker:

PP Cesar Campos

Governor

Makati Commercial Estate Assn.

Sunday, 3 June

Lunch in honor of

Visiting Rotarians from Japan

Hosted by PP Freddie Borromeo

Venue: Waterfall, Tanay, Rizal

Tuesday, June 5

No Luncheon Meeting

Yearend Awards

Time: 6 PM

Venue:

Conservatory,The Peninsula Manila

Tuesday, June 12

No Meeting

in observance of

Philippine Independence Day

Saturday, June 16

District 3830 Awards

and Fellowship Night

Bellevue Hotel, Alabang

Sunday, 29 June

District Handover

Le Pavillon, Roxas Blvd., Pasay City

Regular Non-ExemptMembers in Attendance ............................ 40Honorary and Exempt Members /Visiting Rotarians and Guests .................... 0Total Attendance ....................................... 40Make-Ups ............................................ 14Total Attendance Credit ........................... 52Total RegularNon-Exempt Members ........................... 127Exempt Members ............................ 24Total Membership to date ................... 151*Honorary Members ................................... 10Attendance Percentage ..................... 42.52%

Make Ups:

1. Rante Aguila

2. PP Pepito Bengzon

3. PP Carlos del Rosario

4. DGN Robert Kuan

5. Pres. Rene Limjoco

6. Vic Ong

7. Raymund Peralta8. PDG Tony Quila

9. Johnny Rocha

10. Ed Rojas

11. Oliver Segovia

10. PP Sonny Tambunting

13. George Temblique

14. PE Reuben Valerio

* Member Lost:

1. PP Rene Paras

8 May 2012

Recap ............................................. from page 3

presumed to be those of Jesus and the two

thieves who were crucied with Him. To nd out

which of the three was Christs, it is said that

the queen asked a sick servant of hers to lie

on each of the crosses, and the one that cured

him was believed to be that of Jesus.

The Santacruzan, which through the

years has become interchangeable withFlores de Mayo (sometimes called Flores

de Maria, referring to the Virgin Mary) has

evolved into the realm of folk religion, a term

that embraces practices under the umbrella

of organized religion but outside of ofcial

doctrine. Examples of folk religious practices

are the pabasa (readings on the Passion and

Death of Jesus) and penitencia (penance,

including self agellation) during Holy Week

and the practice of walking on ones knees to

the altar in Quiapo Church. He said that though

the Catholic Church does not endorse thosepractices, it does not condemn them either,

presumably because they actually are part

of what is called inculturation of religion, the

process of mixing religious beliefs with local

customs and traditions that strengthen faith in

the Catholic context.

Fun loving people that we are, he said,

we are given to celebrations, which is why

we have estas all over the country, usually

to celebrate a bountiful harvest and to thank

the towns patron saint for blessings received.

Such, Mr Anzures declared, was the depth oinuence the Spanish friars had on the Filipinos

as they colonized us with the Cross.

Saving the contemporary for last, Mr

Anzures spoke of this years celebration o

Araw ng Makati, a huge departure, he said

from those of past years. On the 26th of May

Makati will dress up and gear up for Sampiro

de Makati--Sampiro is a corruption of San

Pedro or St. Peter, patron saint of the towna

grand parade that he hopes will give such

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22 May 2012 5

Recap ............................................. from page 4

RC Makati golf team 7th in District

Tournament of Champions

BATS staff cool down at

Anawangin Cove

The Rotary Club of Makati golf team

copped 7th place in the District Tournament of

Champions held last April 26 at the Wack Wack

Golf and Country Club. The tournament was

played under the modied stable ford system

where points were awarded, depending on the

net score per hole.

Led by Bryan Cockrells 38 points

after scoring a gross 76, the RC Makati team

notched a team score of 135 that placed

them in 7th place (out of eight teams). Other

Rotarians who contributed to the team score

were Rodrigo Segura with 37 points, Reggie

Nolido with 31, and Chito Cantada

with 29. Other RC Makati golfers who

played for the Club were Tony Tan,

Boy Hilvano, Pepito Bengzon, Dick

Upton, and PP Cesar Campos.

Rotary Club of Makati West

scored 162 points to retain the

Tournament of Champions crown

which they won last year. The team

that RC Makati West bested was

runner up Rotary Club of Paranaque

Poblacion with 157 points, while the

Rotary Club of Makati Buendia fell in

PHILIP CEAPhil Filipino

Classication: Real Estate Development

Proposer: DGN Robert Kuan

Chairman

Best Western Premier F1 Hotel

32nd Street, Bonifacio Global City

Taguig CityTel. No.: 928-9888

Fax. No.: 856-2182

Email: [email protected]

Residence Address:

865 Sto. Cristo

Binondo, Manila

Tel. No.: 727-4221

Fax No. 721-0726

Birthday: Aug. 4

Anns Name: CathyAnns Birthday: May 14

Wedding Anniversary: Aug. 10

WELCOME TO THE CLUB

at third with 156 points.

The Tournament of Champions was hosted by

the Rotary Club of Makati Paseo de Roxas.

PROGRAM ADVISORY

NEXT WEEK:

29 May

Guest Speaker:

PP CESAR CAMPOS

Governor

Makati Commercial Estate Association

The staff of Books Across the Seas(BATS) traveled four hours northeastwardof Manila on 12th May for a weekend in

Anawangin Cove, a campers paradise

tucked away in Zambales (not too far fromthe disputed Scarborough Shoal/PanatagShoal). In the group were warehousehelpers past and presentFroilanAtacado, Kelvin Liboon, Alvin Lim,Al Marcial, Reggie Marin and JonasRoquerowith coordinatorRonnel

Savage for approving the fund for the outingand the generous donors who made theouting more comfortable and funRtnElmer Barquilla of RC Tanauan, PDGToto Cupin of RC Cebu West, PP RonaldGuzman of RC Tuguegarao, PP Jun Turla oRCM Dasmarinas, Edward Faraon/OrienFreight International, and Mr. Celeo Alvarezmunicipal administrator and tourism ofceof San Antonio, Zambales, for arranging thetrip.

Dotaro and warehouse supervisor SallyPadilla in the lead.

They went island hopping aroundAnawangin Cove and Capones Island, swam inthe pristine waters and lolled around the white-sand beach. Before sitting down for supperand a videoke session at Yong Beach Resortwhere they spent the night. After breakfast thefollowing day they ran back to the sea for onelast swim before heading back to Manila.

The BATS staff would like to thank Sec/Dir. Dean Velasco and BATS adviser Jay

established feasts as Ati-Atihan of Kalibo,

Sinulog of Cebu, Dinagyang of Ilo-ilo a run for

their money, and will hopefully attract tourists

from far and near to add another dimension to

Makatis successes.

Mr. Anzures invited everyone to join the

Sampiro de Makati revelry from early morn

on the 26th to the wee hours of the following

morning, a spirited attempt to prove that it is

more fun in Makati indeed!

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22 May 20126

making the world smaller these days, and

how Rotary is more international than ever, but

nothing brings those truths home quite like a

Rotary convention!

Because nowhere in the world will

you see quite as many educated, talented,

intelligent people staring at their cell phones

and counting on their ngers! It might look odd,

but whenever I see that, I think, I know what

youre doing. Youre trying to gure out what

time it is back home.

Ive seen a lot of people doing that this

week, and youve all had my full sympathies.

After this year, I know exactly what its like to

stumble off a plane after an 11-hour ight and

jump straight into business! The clock on the

wall says one thing, your watch says another,youre trying to remember what the clock at

home is saying, and your body clock says, I

give up!

But the energy and excitement of this

convention have carried us through. The days

have passed all too quickly, as they always do,

and soon, well be packing up our bags and our

hotel rooms, heading back to the airport, and

heading back home to our own families, and

our own Rotary clubs.

And, of course, Binota and I will be

heading home soon as well, in a month and abit more, back to our home in India, to our own

family, and to my own Rotary club at Vapi.

This wonderful, incredible Rotary year

will draw to a close, and a new Rotary year will

begin. I had mentioned on Sunday that it has

been a year marked by much continuity and

many changes. And we have been privileged

to have been always supported by our aides,

Julio and Carmen, by our entire family and

been privileged to have worked with a very

positive Board of Directors and rejuvenated

and incredibly efcient Secretariat.Its difcult to nd the words to express

what this year has meant to me and to Binota.

And Ive spent a lot of time over the last few

weeks trying to do just that to nd those

words. How does one sum up, in a few

minutes behind a microphone, the experience

of a lifetime? Well, as I was wrestling with this

question, I decided to do what one should

always do, when confronted with an intractable

problem, at least if one is a married man I

asked my wife. And Binota made me a cup of

Darjeeling tea and we sat down in the kitchen

with a pencil and some paper and started to

think it through. And as we talked, something

caught my eye a drawing shed hung on the

door of the refrigerator with a magnet. It was a

lovely little drawing of a mother and father

and two children, owers in the background,

all of them smiling. And I said, thats beautiful!Where did that come from? And Binota told me

who had made it: our grandson Bodhi, who

lives with his parents in Sydney, Australia.

I got up to have a closer look, and

something struck me as familiar not about

the drawing, but about the paper. I took it off

the refrigerator and turned it over, and saw that

our son, an environmental engineer, must have

been supplying our grandson with drawing

paper because on the back of the picture

was a page from a Rotary program book, the

staples carefully removed.And what was on that page? Nothing

other than one of my own speeches! Well,

Binota and I had a good laugh over it, but

you know, it made me think. Because it was

obvious which side of that paper was the more

important and it wasnt the side with my

speech on it.

Whats important in Rotary isnt what

we say. Its what we do, and who we are. And

thats what Ive been talking about, all this time,

when Ive asked Rotarians to Reach Within

to Embrace Humanity. Ive asked you to startat the beginning with yourselves, and with

those closest to you your families. Because

if were really going to take it seriously, this idea

that we can change the world through Rotary,

we all have to start by changing ourselves by

working on ourselves, by really thinking about

everything we do and say and making sure

that our actions reect the people that we

want to be.

If we want a more peaceful world, we

have to begin by living in peace ourselves rst

in peace within ourselves, in our souls, andthen, in our homes, and in our families.

In the 2012-13 Rotary year, President-

elect Sakuji has asked us all to build Peace

Through Service.

Now, this idea, of building peace

through our Rotary service, is something that

is so fundamental to us as Rotarians. And you

know, its an idea that isnt always that easy

to explain to people who are not that familiar

with Rotary. You could even say that it is an

idea that is sometimes met with some raised

eyebrows. Because here we are in Rotary and

who are we?

We are not prime ministers or presidents

or army generals. Most of us do not wield any

great political power; so how exactly are we

going to achieve this lofty goal, of building

peace? Well, its a funny thing, you know, how

people think about this whole idea of peaceMaybe you could even say that thats one of

the biggest obstacles to peace right there

that people dont always understand wha

peace really is, or where it comes from, and

consequently, how we can get there.

Because people sometimes are very

black and white in their thinking. The opposite

of up is down. The opposite of sick is healthy

The opposite of bad is good, and the opposite

of war is peace.

Except that the world isnt like that. The

opposite of bad isnt always good, and theopposite of war isnt always peace. Because

peace isnt something you can get to with an

army or governments or treaties or any kind o

force. Peace is not just an absence of war. I

isnt that simple, and it never has been.

You know, one time, a few months ago

I was on my way from the airport in Chicago to

my ofce in Evanston, and I got into a taxicab

with a driver from Pakistan well, it seems

like most of the taxicab drivers in Chicago are

from Pakistan and India.

And I dont think I need to tell you toomuch about how Indians and Pakistanis don

always get along back home, but here we were

me and this fellow from Karachi, driving down

the highway together, chatting away abou

the Midwestern winters and the best places

to buy Indian sweets in Chicago. And I said

something about how strange it was, how in

that neighborhood where all the Indian sweets

are, it is a neighborhood where you have

Indians and Pakistanis and even a very large

number of religious Jews all living together in

a few square kilometers, and yet there is noterrorism, there are no hate crimes, you see

everyone walking down the street togethe

and shopping together, and somehow this

is not bothering anybody! How come, I said

how come we cant do this at home? In ou

own countries?

And when I asked that, the conversation

stopped. And I thought, well, I must nally

have said the wrong thing but then, after a

silence that was probably not nearly as long as

it seemed, he said, well, I think the answer is

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22 May 2012 7

that this is a place where you dont have to ght.

Here, people just want to enjoy their lives.

And I thought, you know, really, thats

what peace is: the ability to enjoy your life.

Living in peace means that you can wake up in

the morning at home with your family, do your

job during the day, have your family together

again at night, go to sleep without having to

worry about whether there will be shooting on

the roads tomorrow, or whether you will be able

to walk to the market in the morning, or which

child will not go to school because you need

her to carry the water from the village pond. My

brothers and sisters, that that is when we get

peace, when people are able to live their lives,

to enjoy their lives, when they dont have to ght

just to survive. When people help each

other because its the right thing to do.When people who need help are able to nd

it, and dont have to struggle alone.

And that is what we are able to do

through Rotary. We are able to go to the places

where people are struggling just to survive,

and we do what we can to help them struggle

a bit less.

And whether that means clean water

and better sanitation, or setting up more and

bigger schools, or just speaking a kind word, or

giving a helping hand, we are indeed building

peace.My friends, Rotary builds peace. Not

with armies, not with treaties, not with debates

or elections or governments. Rotary builds

peace in a much more real, much more

practical way day by day, individual by

individual, with every act of service by every

single Rotarian.

And we have helped to build peace

through our single largest and most signicant

project: PolioPlus. It started out as an incredibly

ambitious dream ambitious, but we now

know, realistic. Today, there is no longer anyquestion of whether we will eradicate polio; the

only question is how soon it will happen.

The day that India was declared polio-

free, just a few months ago, I could only think

of that famous line of Mahatma Gandhi, who

said, First they ignore you, then they laugh at

you, then they ght you, then you win.

But for us, in Rotary, that isnt quite right.

For us, its been more a matter of, First they

ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they

tell you its impossible and you should just give

up. Then, when you dont give up, they join you.

And then, you all win, together.

Weve come a long way, and weve

learned a great deal, since we rst decided

that we would eradicate polio. And I could stand

here and talk for a long time about all those

lessons, about cooperation, about building

bridges, about unintended consequences.

But if I could summarize everything we have

learned since those early days of PolioPlus, so

many years ago now if I were asked to give

one rule, one direction for success I would

be able to do it in only three words: Never give

up. Because we never gave up, countless

children are alive today, healthy, walking and

thriving, all over the world. And because we

never gave up, India is now polio-free.

And because we never will give up no

matter what my brothers and sisters, we

will eradicate polio and we are This Close toa polio-free world. PolioPlus is both Rotarys

greatest achievement, and the best argument

yet that we can achieve a more peaceful

world through service. Because no one could

ever say that we are eradicating polio alone.

We are doing it through cooperation, through

trust, through partnerships around the world

building connections and bridges among

individuals and organizations, no matter how

diverse their backgrounds and goals all

of them united in the goal of a world free of

polio.PolioPlus demonstrates, it proves without

a doubt, that no matter what their differences,

no matter what their disagreements, people

can put them aside. They can come together,

talk and plan and work together, when they

have a common goal. When that goal is simple

and pure and benets everyone, people can

look past even their most deeply held grudges

and arguments, and do what needs to be

done. When we take people out of the roles

that they are used to, when we say, this is a

place where we are all equal and we are all init together, and when everyone around them

is taking that attitude as well my friends,

you see everything change. This is what I

have seen happen through PolioPlus, and I

can tell you that as my optimism about polio

eradication has grown, so has my optimism

about humanity itself.

So when we are talking about cultivating

peace through Rotary and my brothers and

sisters, we must be talking about this we

have got to understand what it is that we are

doing. In Rotary, peace is not an empty word

or concept. It isnt some Platonic ideal that we

dont expect ever to achieve. Its not abstrac

in any way. It is real, and we are helping to

achieve it, in every one of our clubs, through

every one of our projects, in every corner o

the world where a Rotarian serves.

And we do it with great joy.

And we will never give up.

Finally, let me ask you a question? Wha

does each one of us seek in life? I bet the

word is happiness. Now let me ask you: Could

Rotary be the source of that happiness?

The law of duality affects human lives

yours and mine. Where there is joy, there is

sorrow; with positive we see negative; with hea

there is cold; with light there is darkness yes

with love there is hatred. Only if we could nd a

balance, we could probably seek the emotiona

situation that we call happiness. I submit thathis equilibrium is present within each one o

us. As a well known Su poet and scholar in

the 13th century had said, Inside me there is

good news. Others look for good news outside

themselves.

There dwells within you the power and

the spirit that can evoke the energy that you

may not realize. You have to reach that inne

voice and you can do so, provided you have the

hunger for it. You have to be hungry enough to

reach within and release the energy which wil

help you embrace humanity. I believe this is thestate we call happiness. And I have just given

you the prescription for it. Rotary can help you

achieve the happiness in life that you seek.

In India, we have a saying which gives

a sage advice on life. In Hindi it goes like this

Jab tu Aayo is Jag may, Jag Hase; tu Roye, Ka

Karni Aisi, Ki jab tu Jaye is Jagse, tu Hase, Au

Jag Roye. Freely translated, it means: When

you came into this world, the world rejoiced

and you cried. Live your life such that when

you leave the world, the world may cry while

you rejoice.Today, as I end, let me just alter that a

bit to say, We have had a great time together

Let us all rejoice and be happy.

My fellow change makers, my brothers

and sisters, Binota and I thank you all, from

the bottom of our hearts, forReaching Within

to Embrace Humanity. And we ask you now

to embrace your families, embrace you

neighbors, your communities, and indeed

embrace all humanity and help build a world

ofPeace Through Service.

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22 May 20128

DGN Robert meets

RIPN Ron Burton

O n t h e

evening of the Day

1 on the 6th, they

got together for a

dinner in a Chinese

restrurant hostedby the Rotary Club

of Tongkah for

their sister clubs,

among them RC

Makati and our

common sister

c lub, RC Bukit

Bintang.

F o r t h e

Filipino Rotarians

and Anns, the 7th

began early with

the Ph i l ipp ine

B r e a k f a s t ,

attended by over

500, including PP

Rene Benitez &

Ann Bettina who

now res ide in

Sydney. RI Pres.

Kalyan Banerjee

came too. Also

on that day, DGN

R ober t & Ann

Yvonne met withRIPN Ron Burton

& Ann Jetta.. In

t h e e v e n i n g ,

P res . Rene &

Ann Lu ho st ed

dinner at another

Chinese seafood

r e s t a u r a n t ,

Som boon , f o r

the RCM group,

i n c l u d i n g t h e

Benitezes.T h e l a s t

day was heavy

with speeches,

including the RI

P res Ka lyan s

The RI Convention in Bangkok (6-9 May 2012) was a fren

of activity, with so many sessions to attend and so many friends

look up. It must have been doubly busy for the top RI ofcers o

whom the spotlight rested.

One of them was RIPN Ron Burton who takes over the he

of Rotary International on 1st July 2013. So imagine the DGN Robe

Kuans surprise when he received an invite, by email, from PRIV

Monty Audenart for a one-on-one meeting with RIPN Ron Burto

during the Convention. PRIVP Monty is aide to RIPN Ron.

On the 7th, per schedule, DGN Robert Kuan & Ann Yvonn

met RIPN Ron & spouse Jetta. Why the invitation from a top-lev

RI dignitary whom he had not met before, asked DGN Robert. RIPRon told him that he was aware that DGN Robert is TRF major don

and that he will be serving as district governor in RY 2013-2014. H

wanted to solicit his help in making their year a successful one.

DGN Robert assured him of his solid support. He also too

advantage of the meeting to invite the RIPN to the rst-ever nation

convention of Rotarians from the ten Rotary district in the Philippine

that is being set for sometime in RY 2013-2014. RIPN Ron in tu

assured DGN Robert that he will make room for the convention

his calendar.

DGN Robert gave RIPN Ron & Ann Jetta as well as PRIV

Monty & Ann Liz with presents from the Philippines. Before leavin

Bangkok, PRIVP Monty emailed DGN Robert to thank him for thmemento of our friendship made here, and to give him RIPN Ron

email address. Taking note of the fact that DGN Robert is a club-ma

ofPRID Paing Hechanova, the PRIVP also asked DGN Robert

please give my very best to Paing H. When I grow up I would li

to be just like him!

DGN Rober t a lso met w i th PRIP Bhich

Rattakul , who steered RI as president in RY 200

2003 when DGN Robert was president of RC Makat

well-received closing address. For the RCM group, the day, and the

convention, culminated with dinner hosted by PP Sonny Tambunting to

celebrate Ann Terrys birthday. Dinner was at a restaurant called Cabbages

and Condoms that, according to DGN Robert, served excellent Thai food.

On the way out, guests are invited to take a token, not the usual mint candy,

but a complimentary condom from one of two boxes marked Democrat

and Republican, though the distinction between the two was not clear.

RCMakati joins ........................................................................... from page 1

With PRIP Mat Caparas during the Philippine Breakfast

Dinner hosted by Pres. Rene Limjoco & Ann Lu

Dinner hosted by Rotary Club of Tongkah

Birthday dinner for Ann Terry Tambunting

They ew back to Manila on the 10th with lots of learnings to

apply in future Rotary work and fond memories to remember the

Convention and Bangkok by.

Documents

Kaunlaran May 22, 2012