This Week - 5th Wednesday Social Dinner

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It's at the new Ottimo Restaurant which is a very pleasant venue though I doubt whether anyone will be sitting outside on Wednesday.

Parking is inside the restaurant grounds which is a great advance on their former premises.

Unfortunately we will be unable to attend so I hope someone will take photographs of the event.

Last Week

Nicola McDonald and her mother, Lesley, talked about her offer to study her first degree at University College, Utrecht.  The tragic death of her father has obviously had financial repercussions.  It was felt that Knights would assist her by introducing her to Rotary Clubs in Utrecht.

University colleges in the Netherlands have been established by research universities in response to a growing demand for a more holistic type of education. Students at university colleges not only study Liberal Arts and Sciences; they also live the liberal arts and sciences by studying, living, and working together on campus with their peers from different cultural backgrounds and with different disciplinary interests. University College Utrecht is one of the honours colleges of Utrecht University and was founded in 1998 as the first university college in the Netherlands.

University College Utrecht is located at the International Campus of Utrecht University. The charming campus is conveniently located between Utrecht Science Park and the city centre. There are currently around 750 enrolled students representing over 70 different nationalities.

Next Week

It's the monthly Business Meeting.

International - Philippines

Paula Santiago, past president of the Rotary Club of Champaign West, Illinois, USA, as told to Gene Wurth.

In late May 2024, while standing in line for coffee at the Rotary International Convention in Singapore, I overheard a conversation about another Rotary club’s upcoming presentation describing some of their projects. Most people would have had no idea what was being discussed, because the conversation was in Tagalog, the language of Manila and much of the central Philippines. But, as serendipity would have it, I was born and raised in Manila and am fluent in Tagalog.

I introduced myself in that language and met enthusiastic representatives from the Rotary Club of Makati McKinley, Philippines. I learned about their Happy Schools Project, one of the many that their club has undertaken to improve a rural community in Samar province. While at the convention, I had been thinking of ways I could get my club involved internationally while also continuing our local efforts. I sensed that supporting this project in some way could be an avenue for my club to expand its support globally.

I learned that the Happy Schools Project goal was to provide school shoes, bags, and supplies for hundreds of elementary students across seven of the most remote schools in Northern Samar province – officially recognized as among the 10 poorest provinces in the Philippines. But due to budget constraints, the entire project could not be completed as planned.  

Upon returning from the Singapore Convention, I proposed to my club that we try and secure funding to help the Rotary Club of Makati McKinley achieve their goal. Supporting children and youth and setting them up for success has long been one of our club’s priorities.

With our board’s blessing, we worked to get funding and prepared an application for a district grant. We didn’t get the grant, but our board approved allowing our charities committee to make a sizable donation, which allowed the Makati McKinley club to expand their project.

Together, our two clubs have been able to make a tremendous difference in the lives of children in North Samar, upholding Rotary’s mission to serve communities in need around the world. And it all stemmed from an encounter at a Rotary convention.