For the past 52 years since its founding on the 22nd of November 1969, the Rotary Club of Makati West (RCMW) has been at the forefront of providing community service, for which Rotary is known worldwide. Our club tells an incredible story and I am pleased that our club, as we have been focused on making a positive difference in the lives of the underprivileged.
At the heart of everything we are determined to continue to help others and we are quietly proud of our achievements and are always seeking to do more. Our club’s culture is our strategy. It has been the driver of our club’s success as well as the center of the club’s value proposition.
I first joined RCMW in 1996 and consistently I see one common thread that holds Makati West members together and this is everyone consider service as a calling. The need is the call! It is not a choice, it is spirit of our club to serve! This is one of the strengths of our positive culture, which truly has been the foundation of our club’s consistent success.
Celebrating Makati West’s 52nd year anniversary is a testament to three attributes of the club, with the acronym, SEA, namely sustainable, efficient and accountable.
S is for sustainable. By the mere fact that we are here today celebrating our 52nd year anniversary. It is my honor to share with you some recent highlights of our club’s history of sustainable community projects that have touched beneficiaries and given them fuller use of their capabilities and lead happier, more productive lives.
One of our flagship project is the Gift of Life (GOL) Program, which has provided since inception in December 2014, about 1,700 free heart operations for poor children with congenital heart disease.
Other major projects include: “Gift of Sight”, which has provided since inception in 2010 over 500 free cataract surgeries and our “Gift of Mobility” project which has provided since 2004, over 1,000 free artificial limbs.
E is for Efficient: Another attribute that got us to 52 years is Makati West is efficient. We continue to focus on increasing our capacity to serve. In fact, we identified three levers to increase our capacity to serve. One, is to unleash the untapped talent across our club. Two, to grow our membership and three, to streamline our club’s processes.
A is for accountable. Makati west members are accountable. A great part of our club’s unique culture is our members’ capacity and willingness to seamlessly transition between leader and follower roles. In Makati West, followers display the courage to assume responsibility and serve while the leaders hold themselves accountable by being accessible, credible, supportive and dependable at all times.
While we are quietly proud of our accomplishments, our 52nd year anniversary is not about patting ourselves in the back, basking in our success. Certainly, we are not about to sit on our laurels and become complacent and satisfied with past success and do nothing to achieve further success because our work is never done.
I am happy to see my fellow members keeping the club’s tradition of hard work and fun; which will allow us to meet the challenge to bring our club to heightened levels of success. There is no doubt in my mind that the club can do this; as our members are actively recruiting their colleagues, friends, and family to join us –so together we can work in fulfilling the task ahead of us. Lastly, I just want you all to know particularly my fellow Makati West Rotarians that i am having the time of my life as your RY 2021-2022 president.
