EDITORIALBy Eric Noel Babaran
MAINTAINING THE PURITY OF OUR INTENTIONS
I was watching television yesterday when the different political advertisements of those going after the two-highest seats of power in the country caught my attention; the election fever has definitely upped a notch higher, and the official campaign period has not even started. My thoughts turned to these people who would use everything to their advantage as much as possible to get a shot at occupying an elected role. And I realized the outreach activities of our Club are susceptible to being used in the advancement of the political agendas of some people. I guess this what we should be wary about. We should be ever vigilant and not let others misuse the name of Rotary, the name of our Club for their own personal benefits.
As Rotarians, we have to maintain the highest standards in whatever we think, say or do, and we have to protect the purity of our intentions. The last thing we want is for our Club to be tainted with partisanship and be seen as political vehicles. Same thing, as professionals in our given fields, we have to maintain the highest ethical standards in the fields of service we are currently engaged in and perform our responsibilities without allowing politics to meddle with our good intentions.
I am calling and counting on all of you, my fellow Rotarians and brothers in selfless service, to protect the integrity of Rotary and of the Rotary Club of San Francisco del Monte. Service above self is still our guiding principle; the very same thing should also be expected from people who want to hold public office. After all, if they will remain true to the essence of public service, it is serving one’s constituents first before putting their personal welfare next.
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We are joining our Interactors from E. Rodriguez Jr. High School in celebrating World Interact Week, which started Nov.2 to Nov.8. As part of our goal to empower our young partners in service, we are holding a meeting with them on November 6, 2009 to discuss further their planned activities for the rest of the year and perhaps give suggestions and guidance for them to be a highly successful club. It is good that we are given the opportunity to serve as mentors for the young ones since they will find invaluable lessons from us, starting from what to consider in drawing up the plan to how to implement these and get the desired results.
We will also be launching another set of participants in the Child Health Empowerment Program or K-Forz on Thursday, November 5. Participants are from the Sinagtala Elementary School, and this will run for all the Thursdays of this month.
I am hoping we can come up with more joint-activities to promote further our Interact and Rotaract clubs. This is a good start for our youth in increasing their awareness on the importance of getting involved and that they can make a difference in this world. Selfless service is definitely not limited to those who have monetary capabilities. It can come through a variety of ways, the most important thing is the will to serve others and initiate change. I’m very happy to see that membership of both our younger clubs are growing, for it makes me believe even more that all is not lost and that hope and good will are not lacking in the youth of today, despite the seemingly growing apathy of some with the onset of all the gaming gadgets and gizmos. That’s why I am encouraging all Clubmen to participate in all of our youth programs to inspire them and make them continue their involvement.
Let’s us build on this momentum and do what we can to groom them into future leaders of the next generation and possibly as future members of the Rotary. It is one of our social responsibilities as Rotarians to help the youth become productive members of society.
