AN OPEN LETTER TO ROTARIAN “JOC JOC” BOLANTE FROM ANOTHER ROTARIAN IN THE UNITED STATES

AN  OPEN LETTER TO  ROTARIAN   “JOC JOC” BOLANTE

FROM ANOTHER ROTARIAN IN THE UNITED STATES

                                                                         Newport Beach, California                      

                                                                                          November 1, 2008

Dear Mr. Bolante:

                                    “All that is necessary for evil to triumph is

                                      that all good men  do nothing!” - -  Edmund Burke

           You and I have never met, and probably will never do.  You do not know me as I am just a simple guy, doing the best I can do for my family, my community both locally and internationally as a Rotarian for about ten years now and as one member of one race, the Human Race. 

          Before this infamous Philippine “Fertilizer Scam”  where your name has been linked so many times,  I was very proud of you , then, as you were the highest ranking Filipino in the Rotary International hierarchy and  had the great potential  to become the second Filipino (first was M.A.T. Caparas in 1985-1986)  RI president in the near future.   It’s with great tragedy that your name was very much associated with this “fertilizer anomaly”  that  obviously caused great harm to your family name, your reputation and probably even a threat to your own life and  family (according to many fellow Rotarians in the Philippines who know you well) as you were apparently made a pawn (like in chess) protecting the “Queen and the King” of the Philippines.

         Because you are  a Rotarian like yours truly, I also got affected somehow when my fellow American Rotarian friends teased me unceasingly just to ask you for some matching funds for our projects and that you were the greatest “JOKE” of Rotary.    Yes,  Mr. Bolante, although it seems grossly unfair, we  Filipino Rotarians have become the butt of unflattering jokes.  It’s sad and it  hurts.

           Although you probably have not been attending Rotary meetings for a couple of years now since your detention in the USA and now  in your hospital/hotel bed at St. Lukes,  I dare say that you still remember the good times, the many pleasant things,  fellowships, teachings and joys that you have experienced in Rotary that left indelible marks  in the deep recesses of your soul as Rotary did to many true Rotarians, including me.   I  like to believe that you have also  read the lives of many  great men (like Rizal, Gandhi, Mandela as  and recent Filipino martyrs Ninoy and Evelio Javier)  and many Saints (who did not sell their souls despite an impending death, like John the Baptist and many martyrs of the world)  and I just hope and pray those GREAT men and women whose spirit and lives serve as your inspiration ( root word “IN SPIRIT”) as you face more  trials in the  last half or last quarter  of your earthly life.  

          As one  human being who is doing something to make this world a better place for my children and their children, and a passionate  Rotarian trying to follow the  OBJECTIVES OF ROTARY and adhering  to the tenets of our FOUR WAY TEST ( Is it the TRUTH?  Is it FAIR to all concerned? Will it build GOODWILL and BETTER FRIENDSHIPS?  Will it be BENEFICIAL to all concerned?) which is a living  embodiment of the TEN COMMANDMENTS,   I am writing this OPEN LETTER to you, with an ardent prayer that GOD will guide you and give you the courage to do what is RIGHT and not just what is convenient  today,  to  be able to discern and follow GOD (God Orderly Direction) during these coming days/weeks when you have to face the music and bare all that you know about this alleged scam that involved huge amounts of public money.   

         As a father and husband,  I too can empathize with your  present predicament.   I heard you  also rose to fame and wealth because you are  intelligent who  worked hard for what you want in your life and for your family. But all these  things (including our own physical bodies) are all finite things, and soon all these things will come to pass.  After death, only the memory, our legacy, and our Spirit live on.  In the final analysis,  our life is God’s gift to us, and what we do with our lives is our gift to God.

          As you pray for wisdom and guidance for that bold  and tough decision to testify (before the Senate and/or the Ombudsman office)  I will also  include you in my prayers  today’s mass and my daily prayers this week.

          May the Redeemer of Humanity, our Lord Jesus Christ, fortify your mind and give you the strength to carry on and to make you physically and mental fit  to undergo more trials of your life.

          I realized it is easier said than done but be consoled by the admonition in the Bible that says: “Be not afraid, I am with you always.”  and  “The truth shall set you free!” God bless and protect you and your family, Mr. Bolante!

Praying for a better, more progressive

 and a moral Philippines as true Rotarians

LEAD THE WAY and MAKE DREAMS REAL!

Ernie Delfin, PP and Past AG

Newport Irvine Rotary Club

District 5320,  Southern Calif.

P.S.

                       THE SEVEN SINS IN OUR WORLD TODAY:

1.    Wealth without Work.

2.     Pleasure without Conscience

3.    Knowledge without Character.

4.    Commerce without Morality.

5.    Science without Humanity.

6.    Worship without Sacrifice.

7.     Politics without principles.

                                                            -----Mahatma Gandhi

WHY FILIPINOS FIND IT EASIER TO BECOME MORE SUCCESSFUL OUTSIDE THE PHILIPPINES?

A VOICE FROM AMERICA

By Ernie D. Delfin

WHY  FILIPINOS  FIND IT EASIER   TO BECOME

MORE SUCCESSFUL  OUTSIDE THE PHILIPPINES?

              On  a typical  business day,  I  talk and deal with predominantly non-Filipinos and my mindset is very much different whenever I talk and conduct any business with a Filipino.  It’s  inexplicable but it is a reality that Filipino Americans who have been in America for decades would  agree  with me.  Let me explain.

             From time to time,  we Filipinos laugh at the joke that the Filipino people are indeed “confused”  people because they have  lived in the convent for over 400 years under the Spaniards who subjugated the people with a Bible on one hand and a sword on the other hand, then suddenly they found themselves living under Hollywood under the Americans  with the glitz  and relatively new found  freedom given by an   imperialistic Uncle Sam.  This is a fact that Filipinos still  mentally suffer,   which is somewhat parallel to the  descendants of black slaves from Africa  whose physical shackles have been removed since the Abolition of Slavery but their psychological chains  (and mindset as slaves)  still exist.  For most American employers,  this  phenomenon is  a common knowledge   as dealing with the Blacks requires  another management paradigm  because  many blacks often raise the “race card” whenever some degree of discipline is imposed upon them.  To this day, the  blacks often play their cards well by resorting to the “tyranny of the weak”  by having the government  pass this misplaced affirmative action  blacks and other minorities must be given some “extra but unearned points”  in matters of employee hiring, promotion or some set-aside programs on government contracts simply because once upon a time their ancestors were   exploited as slaves.  Having won that initial victory, the blacks now are demanding “reparations” from their own government  for having suffered as slaves 400 years ago, following the triumph of the Japanese people getting some form of “reparations” from the federal government for having been unconstitutionally rounded and imprisoned in “concentration camps” during World War II.  In America, these things are possible where someone can sue your own government for the sins of your ancestors! What a country!  

          Going back to my topic:  Why Filipinos find it easier to become more successful outside his country the Philippines, especially in America where freedom to excel is not curtailed but rewarded.

             I dare say that it is mainly due to some cultural flaws that were added, inflicted or imposed by all the  Filipino  colonizers from the Spaniards to the Americans to the Japanese,  since the turn of the  l6th century. Subtly, this fact and practice are still  unknowingly  perpetrated and  reinforced  by centuries old institutions like the Catholic Church, without their archaic traditions of celibacy, poverty (I read they are the richest church!)   sectarian or exclusive schools, like Ateneo, La Salle, Letran,  San Beda, St. Scholastica’s,  Assumption, Maryknoll,  that  subliminally still practice social segregation or caste system in many facets of public or private endeavors. 

          The Philippines still practices a lot of  blatant and open  forms of  discrimination especially in hiring, which is a social taboo and unconstitutional in America.  Consider this newspaper ad for a Administrative Secretary (permit me to exaggerate for emphasis): “ Must be 24 to 34 Female, at least 5’ 4” in height, no more than l19 lbs,  long hair, beautiful face, fair complexion, must talk like an Ateneo or Assumption graduate,  must live in Forbes Park or Bel-Aire and whose parents are also graduates of the exclusive schools.”   As the hiring authority is often headed by graduates of these “exclusive” schools,  graduates of the University of Batanes  or  Tawi-Tawi Colleges (I am making up these college names) will seldom seldom  have a chance of being hired in places in old established institutions  like San Miguel, AIM, the Ayala Group of Companies, Bank of the Philippines Islands and many other “conservative”  companies,  regardless of the talents or the potential of these deserving but “socially poor”  applicants.

           Fast forward.  Some of these “rejected”  applicants who are studious, talented, ambitious but quite dissatisfied in a country that puts a cap  on  their potential because they were born in the  wrong  side of the tract  migrate to America or any other country  that gives them a chance to work and show their talents, initiative and work ethics.  It really does not matter how they arrive in America –-- as an  immigrant, tourist or student or “jump-the-ship seaman  or sometimes even  under another name that is shown in another person’s  passport or visa  --- the path is almost the same.    The newly arrived immigrant faces lots  challenges but he can see a beautiful ray of sunshine at the end of the tunnel  that he never saw in the cul-de-sac  of  employment opportunities in the Philippines.   America   becomes a great “equalizer” of peoples like him,  a country that normally  disregards what your last name is   nor where you came  from,  simply because America is historically a land of frustrated “immigrants” from all over the world. 

             Once  given a chance to work in any field,  the typical immigrant or in our example this  “frustrated”  Filipino  really tries hard to  prove  himself in the eyes of his new employer.  It is really very easy to  excel in his   first job as he normally is over-qualified or over-educated. For instance,  just to earn a living and have a stepping-stone,  college graduate like a CPA accepts bookkeeping or accounting clerk position where he competes against high school graduates who are doing the same job as he is doing and not really competing against  American CPAs who are entirely in a different ball game.   Soon,  the boss gives the newly arrived Filipino a promotion because oftentimes,  the new immigrant is more “obedient” and oftentimes never says NO to the boss’ requests for extra work or overtime.      From this humble beginnings,  the Filipino starts to dream that he can indeed rise  from the bottom to the top --- as high as he wanted to be. 

         Gradually,   small life’s triumphs  feed on more victories.  Many immigrants including Filipinos rise to become department heads, managers and executives of their employers where they often stick on for decades.  Very few Filipinos, unfortunately, take the calculated risks unlike the Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese to become entrepreneurs and business owners.   These are all the modern day  “Victors” of America  as  documented by Professors Danko and Stanley in their best-selling book, “Millionaires Next Door” where they have concluded that the first degree immigrants in America have l6 times more chances to become a millionaire than the average natural born American.  Quite impressive. But this is the downside according to the authors:  The first-degree immigrants made  the wealth, the second generation enjoys it, and then the third generation squanders it.  And the cycle begins!

               In America, as there is an obvious and very transparent  dignity of labor (students are not ashamed to be seen working as janitors or waitresses in America)  whereas in the Philippines  during my time, it’s quite embarrassing to be seen as a janitor or waiter in a restaurant by your fellow students or professors. In the USA, to be part-time employee among high school or college students is encouraged and  commendable whereas  the attitude in the Philippines is the opposite.  If you are not a “professional” student, you are  not “in”  and these societal attitudes subtly pervade that often make prejudice and discrimination an accepted norm.  Students from distant provinces when they go to Imperial Manila to study often group by themselves because they are not accepted as equals because they are “promdis”.   Words like “Promdi”  (from the province) “Waray-waray” or “Saryaya” or “Bocolana Maidtech”  or “magsasaka” or “mangingisda”  often carry some subtle form of prejudice by many in the A society, especially in “exclusive” schools.   I knew, I was subjected to it in my first few years in Letran as a working student.  when I was “judged” initially  based on  where I came from and not for what I have above my ears.  (Am I glad that was past tense!)  What a society! Then, go figure what happens to these students after graduation in search for opportunities in the Philippines' real world where social classes still exist?

                                                            * * **

              On somewhat related topic,  these societal or cultural flaws are also being influenced greatly  by the education bulimia in the Philippine cul-de-sac system of public schools.    Our curricula in Philippine schools  (that is also true in many respects here in the United States,  by the way)  must be revamped and overhauled not only because of “massive grafts” according to many newspapers accounts but also   what are being taught to schools are soon forgotten as they are not quite useful or relevant in the real world.  Students parrot words and memorize theories just to  get  passing  grades.  Like a bulimic, students soon throwaway useless knowledge that were forced unto them by their school curricula,  as soon as school is over.    Many Filipinos are now degreed but fewer and fewer are really educated.

      It is not entirely the fault of the students but the schools as well.  Students must not only enjoy their classes but must be taught  things that should be retained  years after  their school attendance.  For instance, what were the benefits of  our mandatory  24 units in Spanish in college then?   That should been an  entirely optional subject! Instead, high school or colleges must have  mandatory units in Citizenship, Codes of Good Behaviors and Right Conduct, Crime and Punishment, as well as courses in Entrepreneurships.     Students  must also learn basics like  finance,  “family budgeting”  “business conducts”  “how to make a business out of your profession”  “balancing family life with your profession”  “the role of  a family in a society’s future”   “volunteerism”  “individual’s  obligation (and rights) in a civil society” “how to fight  a just cause within the system”  and many other things that are equally important in the real world.  Like parents going through prenatal lessons,  all   students   must be educated and be made mentally, physically, socially and psychologically  prepared with what transpires  in the real world  where  grades and school nepotism are no longer important.

                                                                  * * * *

            On this subject of culture and values, let me quote  F. Landa Jocano, in his  book  Anthropology of the Filipino People IV:  FILIPINO VALUE SYSTEM: 

              “ The notion of value in the Filipino culture has not yet been clarified. Even a cursory glance at what has already been written about it reveals the absence of working definition of the concept in the context of Filipino culture, id est, in terms of local knowledge and practices.  Many writers simply went ahead and wrote about Filipino values.  In the process. Even traditional  norms and coping mechanisms had been described by them as “values”.  This has caused much of our current CONFUSION (emphasis is mine) and misunderstanding of Filipino values and practices.”  

          Quite a profound observation.  As the Filipinos are talented and resilient people like the bamboo, there is really NO reason why they  cannot succeed in our homeland if only we learned the lessons of more progressive countries and adapt them with our own sense of cultural idiosyncrasies and not just be constant like the tribal groups when Magellan reached the archipelago in 1521.  Mr. Jocano’s book  is indeed a very scholarly book but I think it  almost ignores what is happening in the Global Village that now demands global competitiveness  brought upon by hi-technoloy and the effects of Information Age, partly because, I would assume,   it was written/published in  October l997.  In conjunction with this book,  I highly  recommend another excellent book “The Lexus and the Olive Tree” by Thomas Friedman about the dramatic changes in our world due to globalization and the wonders of the information society and the internet.

                                                      -----  3  0  -----

            E-mail columnist at:  erdelusa@hotmail.com  or  drbannatiran@yahoo.com

      Join discussion at:           ProgressiveTimes-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

       Websites:                        www.progressivetimes.org  and www.katipunan-usa.org

2007. "ANOTHER YEAR WHERE IS YOUR ROTARY CLUB HEADED TO?

THE METAMORPHOSIS

By Ernie D. Delfin

Asst. Gov. 5320 & District Chair, Club Development

Member, Newport Irvine Rotary Club

ANOTHER YEAR, WHERE IS YOUR ROTARY CLUB HEADED TO?

      Happy and an exciting New Year to everyone!

       If you were like most people, another set of resolutions has been thought of and are probably being implemented each day for a few weeks and even months. By mid-summer, however, most of such resolutions  would have evaporated with the wind and set us  back to our personal  thermostat that we have unconsciously set for ourselves.  That is also often true to many Rotary Clubs all over the world. For many RCs that are struggling to fulfill their ambitious 2006-07 goals, especially on membership and retention or having exciting programs, it is never too late to begin and be on the right tract.  January is the most natural  month to start anew.  Decide to have a bold mid-year commitment to do something different to create a new paradigm in your club. Do not be that “insane” leader of your club.  “Insanity” being defined here as doing the same things over and over again and still expecting a different result!

         One proven way of being on tract and to inspire your club membership (for any organization or business enterprise for that matter) is to involve them by going through a mid-year Strategic Planning using the popular S.W.O.T.  method.  For small clubs, invite (require is probably more appropriate) and involve the entire club membership; for the bigger clubs, the club officers and board of directors should be sufficient.  If moderated by an experienced facilitator, this SWOT exercise can be very stimulating and will produce a united course of action to chart your club  into orbit.  It is a TEAM effort to move any club or any organization  to greater heights. No leader in any club or in any district can do it alone. The term “Equality of Sacrifice”,  the marching order of then Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca  to all his employees decades ago in his mission to revive the bankrupt Chrysler Corp. (and he was successful!) comes to mind as his  concept and/or philosophy can also apply to all  Rotary Clubs. Each Rotarian must do his/her part and sacrifice something of value (time, talent, and treasure) for the greater good.

        For instance, to increase club membership by ten percent can be very easy to achieve if there is a collective will to do it.  How?  Just divide the club membership into ten groups and challenge (and reward) each group to invite  potential members strategically and from those invited guests, a recruit will appear in 30-60 days.  I know it works as I have recruited a dozen Rotary Club members last year, unfortunately, they joined different clubs and districts internationally. More than half of those signed up to become charter members of the emerging Westminster Global City RC are invited by me, however, several decided to join other clubs in the district nearer their homes or places of business.  (So, PDG Grant and other charter members of Westminster Global City RC,  we all  have to work overtime beginning January 2007!) 

          Having visited more than half of all the clubs of District 5320 the last two years,  I believe there is great  room for improvement  in many clubs. Every Rotarian has ideas or solutions to make their club more dynamic.  However any individual idea alone cannot move the club to become more dynamic or progressive unless it done and supported by the club.  The majority  of the club membership must OWN its program and support it wholeheartedly to become a more effective club and in the process making each member a prouder Rotarian.  The SWOT analysis method can be a great tool in coming up with such a strategic plan.

          S.W.O.T.  simply means Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats. (You can google SWOT in the internet and get many helpful articles about it with suggested format.)   I recommend that each struggling club  in order to put some sharks in its tank should devote a 3-5 hour session to really discuss and analyze their club’s  peculiarities or characteristics using this proven SWOT method.  I often use this effective tool to help my clients that hire me as their business consultant.

           A few months ago, I took an unprecedented and bold action in including  a SWOT exercise in our Planning Session of the Filipino American Chamber of Commerce of OC, where I was elected president,  to inject a new paradigm and fresh perspectives into this 12 year old organization.  I was thrilled and surprised that the two hour that I allotted for the SWOT discussion seemed not enough as many ideas surfaced  by each group (I divided the board into four groups)  On the second part of the session all the sub-groups were reunited into one  group as we all summarized on huge white boards the nouns and adjectives that came up from all the sub-groups under each letter of S.W.O.T.   As everyone was then emotionally involved, it became very easy to come up with our collective strategic solutions to address the weaknesses and threats utilizing the strengths and opportunities that were unveiled and discovered.  Each director became an OWNER of the solutions that we are now adopting during this chamber fiscal year. Corollary to that exercise, I also tried a fun “Values Auction Game” that reflected where the passions of each member lie, the result of which became  my basis for asking some of the directors to chair a specific committee or assignment.

         Any Rotary Club that wishes to try these outside-the-box-ideas in their club meeting or board meeting may contact me for help.  I can  help to facilitate your SWOT Session Exercise.  I have done it many times and I can assure you it is very stimulating exercise and who knows you can discover an eagle or two from your dormant membership.  For the love of Rotary, I would not even bill you for my professional fees; probably a small check contribution to the District 5320 Charitable Foundation c/o the Newport Irvine RC is more than enough.

              Good luck and have a more exciting 2007 everyone!

                                                   * * * * *

     As it is the start of the New Year,  let me share with my readers RESOLUTIONS hanging  in my home office for decades now  that always brings me to my true north compass whenever I am disillusioned in this topsy-turvy world:

     R   E   S  O   L  U  T   I   O  N   S

 No one will ever get out of this world alive.

 Resolve therefore to maintain a reasonable

                sense of values.

Take care of yourself. Good health is everyone’s

          major source of wealth.

Without it, happiness is almost impossible.

Resolve to be cheerful & helpful.

People will repay  you in kind.

Avoid angry, abrasive persons.

They are generally vengeful.

Avoid zealots.  They are generally humorless.

Resolve to listen more & to talk less.

No one ever learns anything by talking.

Be chary of giving advice. Wise men don’t need it

      and fools won’t heed it.

Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate

      with the aged, sympathetic with the striving & tolerant of the

      weak and strong.  Sometime in life you will have

      been all of these.

Do not equate money with success.

There are many successful money-makers who are  

   miserable  failures as human beings.

What counts most about success is how a person achieves it.

                                                              By Lloyd Shearer

ROTARIANS CAN DO MORE TO HELP THOSE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID I just finished reading “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”, an international best-seller authored by C. K. Prahalad. I love the book so much that I ordered a dozen copies to give as gifts to some of my business friends who are also engaged in some kind of community action work, like the Rotarians, in their own communities. The book has kept me both engrossed and intrigued by the many revolutionary ideas that the author, with his dozens of researchers-collaborators, has scholarly presented with success case stories along the way. No less than Bill Gates, a great benefactor to Rotary International, wrote: “C.K. Prahalad argues that companies must revolutionize how they do business in developing countries if both sides of the economic equation are to prosper. Drawing on wealth of case studies, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid offers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability.” Visiting a developing country, (why do they call such countries “third world” puzzles me?) like Zambia, Mexico, India or the Philippines is quite different than touring progressive countries like the United States. If you only shop in malls like Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive or Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, you will definitely experience some degree kind of culture shock when you go to undeveloped countries’ market places. The face of (material) poverty is present almost every where, yet people like ants go on their daily life as the residents probably do not even realize that they are “poor” by Western standards. Ironically, however, people seem happy and content with the little material possessions they have often to the amazement of many first time North American tourists. Doing business with the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) requires patience, innovation and complete understanding of the BOP practices and culture. The typical way of doing business in advanced countries normally does not work in the BOP environment. A new paradigm in conducting business in this massive BOP society is a must just to survive and succeed The priorities and cultural tendencies of these BOP customers are uniquely different as they often buy only the things that they need for a day or two. As the poor spend most of their time in quest for their family’s basic needs like as food, shelter and clothing, there is almost no time nor money left for education, a great equalizer or tool to extricate themselves from the web of poverty that they were born into. Hence, the lives of those in the BOP become a vicious circle: no education means almost no chance to unshackle the bondage of poverty that they have inherited from previous generations.. The book describes this unique environment where many businesses fail and thereby also fail to help the community to rise up to another level of progress. However, the few innovative businesses, like Casas Bahia in Brazil, Hindustan Level Limited in India or CEMEX in Mexico that accept and understand the peculiarities of this BOP market are now thriving and giving rays of hope to millions of people to have a better future. * * * * * We Rotarians and educated leaders, if we are called “the salt of the earth”, must also learn how to innovate and make our noble efforts magnified to achieve wider and greater impact. In future district conferences or assemblies, probably we can hold workshops with any of these businessmen applying these revolutionary practices to be able to empower more poor people become more self-sufficient in many undeveloped or developing nations where Rotary is already present. Empowering the poor by training them to have livelihood projects is quite noble, but hardly enough to change the economic landscape of the BOP. Teaching a person how to fish, that will probably make him not go hungry for a day is OK, but that is barely enough. Teaching people how to fish and then helping a few good fishermen to acquire a boat and educating them with the rudiments of being a business owner so they can hire others to fish for them is a far better goal. The Western world must continue to innovate and understand the underlying culture why millions of people remain poor to this day. Often, due to their being exploited and subjugated for centuries, these people of undeveloped countries (BOP) just do not have the means, opportunity nor capital to venture into any business undertaking that gives them sustainable profits in order to progress. Often the poor live day by day, exposed daily to natural calamities as well as man-made disasters, like war, that make the plight of the poor much worse. Rotarians can help more people more deeply if we find pragmatic solutions to dismantle the infrastructure of many countries’ (feudal) system of social injustice, the root cause of untold poverty of their people. A philosopher once said: “No charity work can substitute the lack of social justice in any society”. Yes, fellow Rotarians that is the greatest challenge that our world faces today as we do our best to “MAKE DREAMS REAL” every year. ------ 3 0 ---- Email writer: ernie.delfin@gmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com

THE METAMORPHOSIS

By Ernie Delfin

New Generations  Director

Newport Irvine Rotary Club

ROTARIANS CAN DO MORE TO HELP

THOSE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID

            I  just finished reading “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”,   an international best-seller authored by C. K.  Prahalad.     I   love the book so much that I ordered a dozen copies to give as gifts to  some of my business friends who are  also engaged in some kind of  community action work, like the Rotarians,  in their own communities.   

          The book has kept me both engrossed and  intrigued by the many  revolutionary ideas that the author, with his dozens of researchers-collaborators, has scholarly presented  with success case stories along the way.  No less than   Bill Gates, a great benefactor  to  Rotary International, wrote:   “C.K. Prahalad argues that companies must revolutionize how they do business in developing countries if both sides of the economic equation are to prosper. Drawing on wealth of case studies,  The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid offers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability.” 

              Visiting  a  developing country,  (why do they call such countries “third world” puzzles me?)  like  Zambia, Mexico, India or the Philippines is quite different than touring progressive countries like the United States. If you only shop  in malls like   Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive or Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, you will definitely  experience some degree kind of culture shock when you go to undeveloped countries’ market places.  The face of (material) poverty is present almost every where,  yet people like ants go on their daily life  as the residents  probably do not even realize that they are “poor” by  Western standards.  Ironically, however, people seem happy and  content with the little material possessions they have  often  to the amazement  of many  first time North American tourists.

             Doing business with the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP)  requires patience, innovation and complete understanding of the  BOP practices and culture. The typical way of doing business in advanced countries normally does not work in the BOP environment. A new paradigm in conducting business in this massive BOP society is a must  just to  survive and  succeed   The  priorities and cultural tendencies of these BOP customers  are uniquely different as they often  buy only the things that they need for a day or two.   As the poor spend most of their time  in quest for their family’s  basic needs like as food, shelter and clothing,    there is almost no time nor money left for education, a great equalizer or  tool  to extricate themselves from the web of poverty that they were born into.    Hence,  the lives  of those in the BOP  become a vicious circle: no education means almost no chance to unshackle the bondage of poverty that they have inherited from previous generations..  

              The book describes this unique environment where many businesses fail  and thereby also fail to help the community to rise up to another level of progress. However, the few innovative businesses, like Casas Bahia in Brazil,   Hindustan Level Limited in India or CEMEX in Mexico that accept and understand the peculiarities  of this BOP market are now thriving and giving rays of hope to millions of  people to have  a better future.  

                                                     * * * * *               

              We Rotarians and educated leaders, if we are called “the salt of the earth”,  must also  learn how to innovate and make our noble efforts magnified  to achieve wider and greater impact. In future district conferences or assemblies, probably we  can hold  workshops with any of these businessmen  applying these revolutionary  practices  to be able to empower more poor people become more self-sufficient  in many undeveloped or developing nations where Rotary is already present.

             Empowering the poor by training them to have livelihood projects is quite noble,  but hardly  enough to change the economic landscape of the BOP. Teaching a person how to fish,  that will probably  make him not go hungry for a day is OK,  but that is barely enough.  Teaching people  how to fish and then helping a   few good  fishermen  to acquire a boat and educating them with the rudiments of being a  business owner so they  can   hire others to fish  for them  is a far  better goal.

             The Western world  must continue to  innovate and understand the underlying culture why millions of people remain poor to this day. Often, due to their being exploited and subjugated for centuries,  these people of undeveloped countries  (BOP)  just do not have the means, opportunity  nor  capital to venture into any business  undertaking that gives them sustainable profits in order to progress.  Often the poor live day by day, exposed daily to natural calamities  as well as man-made disasters, like war,  that make the plight of the poor much worse.  

               Rotarians  can help more people more deeply if we   find pragmatic  solutions  to dismantle the  infrastructure of many countries’  (feudal) system of social injustice, the root  cause of  untold poverty of  their  people.  A philosopher once said:  “No  charity work can  substitute the lack of social justice in any  society”.  Yes,   fellow Rotarians that  is the greatest challenge that our world faces today as we do  our best to “MAKE DREAMS REAL”  every   year.

                                                         ------  3 0 ----

              

  Email writer:  ernie.delfin@gmail.com  or drbannatiran@yahoo.com

THE METAMORPHOSIS

By Ernie Delfin

New Generations  Director

Newport Irvine Rotary Club

ROTARIANS CAN DO MORE TO HELP

THOSE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID

            I  just finished reading “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”,   an international best-seller authored by C. K.  Prahalad.     I   love the book so much that I ordered a dozen copies to give as gifts to  some of my business friends who are  also engaged in some kind of  community action work, like the Rotarians,  in their own communities.   

          The book has kept me both engrossed and  intrigued by the many  revolutionary ideas that the author, with his dozens of researchers-collaborators, has scholarly presented  with success case stories along the way.  No less than   Bill Gates, a great benefactor  to  Rotary International, wrote:   “C.K. Prahalad argues that companies must revolutionize how they do business in developing countries if both sides of the economic equation are to prosper. Drawing on wealth of case studies,  The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid offers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability.” 

              Visiting  a  developing country,  (why do they call such countries “third world” puzzles me?)  like  Zambia, Mexico, India or the Philippines is quite different than touring progressive countries like the United States. If you only shop  in malls like   Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive or Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, you will definitely  experience some degree kind of culture shock when you go to undeveloped countries’ market places.  The face of (material) poverty is present almost every where,  yet people like ants go on their daily life  as the residents  probably do not even realize that they are “poor” by  Western standards.  Ironically, however, people seem happy and  content with the little material possessions they have  often  to the amazement  of many  first time North American tourists.

             Doing business with the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP)  requires patience, innovation and complete understanding of the  BOP practices and culture. The typical way of doing business in advanced countries normally does not work in the BOP environment. A new paradigm in conducting business in this massive BOP society is a must  just to  survive and  succeed   The  priorities and cultural tendencies of these BOP customers  are uniquely different as they often  buy only the things that they need for a day or two.   As the poor spend most of their time  in quest for their family’s  basic needs like as food, shelter and clothing,    there is almost no time nor money left for education, a great equalizer or  tool  to extricate themselves from the web of poverty that they were born into.    Hence,  the lives  of those in the BOP  become a vicious circle: no education means almost no chance to unshackle the bondage of poverty that they have inherited from previous generations..  

              The book describes this unique environment where many businesses fail  and thereby also fail to help the community to rise up to another level of progress. However, the few innovative businesses, like Casas Bahia in Brazil,   Hindustan Level Limited in India or CEMEX in Mexico that accept and understand the peculiarities  of this BOP market are now thriving and giving rays of hope to millions of  people to have  a better future.  

                                                     * * * * *               

              We Rotarians and educated leaders, if we are called “the salt of the earth”,  must also  learn how to innovate and make our noble efforts magnified  to achieve wider and greater impact. In future district conferences or assemblies, probably we  can hold  workshops with any of these businessmen  applying these revolutionary  practices  to be able to empower more poor people become more self-sufficient  in many undeveloped or developing nations where Rotary is already present.

             Empowering the poor by training them to have livelihood projects is quite noble,  but hardly  enough to change the economic landscape of the BOP. Teaching a person how to fish,  that will probably  make him not go hungry for a day is OK,  but that is barely enough.  Teaching people  how to fish and then helping a   few good  fishermen  to acquire a boat and educating them with the rudiments of being a  business owner so they  can   hire others to fish  for them  is a far  better goal.

             The Western world  must continue to  innovate and understand the underlying culture why millions of people remain poor to this day. Often, due to their being exploited and subjugated for centuries,  these people of undeveloped countries  (BOP)  just do not have the means, opportunity  nor  capital to venture into any business  undertaking that gives them sustainable profits in order to progress.  Often the poor live day by day, exposed daily to natural calamities  as well as man-made disasters, like war,  that make the plight of the poor much worse.  

               Rotarians  can help more people more deeply if we   find pragmatic  solutions  to dismantle the  infrastructure of many countries’  (feudal) system of social injustice, the root  cause of  untold poverty of  their  people.  A philosopher once said:  “No  charity work can  substitute the lack of social justice in any  society”.  Yes,   fellow Rotarians that  is the greatest challenge that our world faces today as we do  our best to “MAKE DREAMS REAL”  every   year.

                                                         ------  3 0 ----

              

  Email writer:  ernie.delfin@gmail.com  or drbannatiran@yahoo.com

REFLECTIONS DURING THANKSGIVING-CHRISTMAS SEASON

THE METAMORPHOSIS
By
Ernie Delfin
Youth Services Director
Newport Irvine Rotary Club

SOME REFLECTIONS FOR THANKSGIVING AND
THE FORTHCOMING CHRISTMAS (HOLIDAY) SEASON

“ For everything under the sun, there is a reason and there is a season”.

--- A paraphrase from the Book of Ecclesiastes

The United States is making history. It just elected Barack Obama as its first Black American president after a long spirited campaign amidst the worst U.S. economy since the Great Depression in the 1930s. This financial tsunami has already resulted to an unprecedented foreclosures of homes and the failure (and subsequent bailouts) of several financial giants, like AIG, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Despite all these depressing economic news, however, millions of people from other countries still desire to immigrate and live in the United States, much more than those wanting to leave. The USA remains a strong magnet to millions of foreigners.

Why are Americans unhappy or depressed then? Because we Americans are spoiled people in so many ways because we are used to a very comfortable and easy- going lifestyle. We were used to pay only about $30, not $100 to fill up the gas tanks of our SUV’s. When our 401(k) retirement accounts or our American dollars depreciate, we get depressed. When the values of our houses tumble, we cry because our houses for decades have become as our revolving “savings” account. Road rage increases where there is too much traffic whereas in many parts of the world, freeways and cars are just a dream! And the list goes on and on.

# # #
This coming Thanksgiving week and the advent of the Holiday or Christmas Season, it is an opportune time for all of us to take a pause to reflect and consciously take minute vacations from our tupsy turvy world and start counting the many blessings that we often take for granted. We should simply ignore those luring advertisement subliminally convincing us that we can never be happy without buying that designer clothes or taking that expensive vacation. No one should ever listen that it is necessary to have those cosmetic surgeries to remove the excess fat in one’s tummy or wrinkles in one’s aging face in order to look young and beautiful. The coming Holidays should not only be about material gifts but also gifts of time and energy to nurture better relationships.

On a more serious note, I believe that to be truly happy and fulfilled is to have a grateful heart and to become a child once again. Children are pure and simple. They are colorblind; share their toys with anyone. They do not carry grudges or hatred in their hearts; they are quite innocent, guilt free and unbiased.

Once we are grown up, we leave childlike behaviors behind. We learn and acquire acts of prejudice, pride, discrimination and greed along the way. In the adult world, he who has more toys wins! We crave for the applause of men and are driven for that ephemeral l5 minutes fame. People are driven to become recognized by what they possess rather than by the content of their character that defines who they are. We forget that each one is unique individual and each is given his own talents by God as His gift to us as human beings. What we do with those talents is our own gift to Him that gave us.

Psychologists say that the Holiday season increases the level stress, depression and even suicides in our society. When pangs of anxiety or depression come, an effective prescription is to go out and volunteer to feed the hungry and the homeless. To go to a spiritual retreat or a visit to the graves of some loved ones can also prevent anxiety attacks or depression.

If you feel sad because you cannot afford to buy those $300 pair of shoes, your mental paradigm can change by this Hindu proverb:

“I CRIED AND CRIED BECAUSE I HArtrtVE NO SHOES,
UNTIL I SAW A MAN WITH NO FEET AT ALL!”

Have a blessed, peaceful and Christmas Holidays everyone!

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Email writer at: ernie.delfin@gmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com

EVERY MONTH SHOULD BE A MEMBERSHIP MONTH FOR ROTARY

THE METAMORPHOSIS
By
ERNIE D. DELFIN
Member, Newport Irvine Rotary Club


EVERY MONTH SHOULD BE A MEMBERSHIP DRIVE MONTH


“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country!”

---- Pres. John Fitzgerald Kennedy

I was in my youth just starting high school, after 6 years of elementary education, in the Philippines when President Kennedy was assassinated and although were 10,000 miles away we were also shocked and saddened by his untimely demise that fateful November 21, 1963. I remember that we were glued to the transistor radio (we did not have a TV at home yet) and a lot of us shed tears as he was also our idol. Now 43 years later, I am still inspired by his inaugural speech, his vision like his dream of sending a man on the moon, and his idealism and his dream of a better America and a more peace world.

In Rotary International, we also dream lofty dreams to have a better and more peaceful world. Yes, true Rotarians do not ask what their club can do for them, but they ask what they can do for their Club. The 100 year history of Rotary International is replete with stories of selfless individuals who contributed their thinking, time, talents and treasures (4 T’s in philanthropy) and we Rotarians should emulate those many “silent heroes” in the Rotary World.

It still amazes me that to this day, however, that many professionals and business people in our local communities still do not know what Rotary is all about. For example a prominent business leader in our Orange County Presidents Council (a coalition of 25 minority chambers of Commerce and NGOs) publicly joked during a press conference that he thought before I invited him to join the Westminster Global City Rotary Club that Rotary is just a “group of old white people” who go to lunch together and get fined for singing out of tune! Yes, our “reputation” is still not that good in many communities! Perceptions in the mind is reality, hence I personally cannot fault him, but Rotarians around him.

But I dare say that once these kinds of good people are exposed and engaged in the empowering and humanitarian work that Rotarians do, they will become our best advertisers for Rotary.

Every month should be a Membership and New Generations Month where we Rotarians must continue to invite, involve other equally altruistic citizens in our neighborhood to join Rotary.

I challenge each Rotarian worth his salt to ask one person a week to join Rotary. Of course invite them when there is “excitement and good programs” that can be showcased. Are your club meetings exciting enough to interest them to join or just a just a group of old white people having lunch fining people who cannot sing?

To overcome the fear of rejection, probably form a 3-5 Rotarians to invite and recruit one new Rotarian this year! I know it can be done. We have 23 new Rotarians of the ‘youngest club’ in the District and yes, I recruited most of them! A committed TEAM (Together Everybody Accomplishes Miracles) of Rotarians can easily recruit one qualified Rotary member.

We should be the “Lamp on Top of the Hill” and let our Rotary light shine brighter so others can see. Let’s engage, evolve, empower, execute, experience and enjoy (6 E’s ) by sharing Rotary with others.
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Email writer at: ernie.delfin@gmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com

BEING BLACK OR BEING WHITE.. my philosophy and discovery

B;’THE METAMORPHOSIS
By
Ernie D. Delfin
Director, Youth Services
Newport Irvine Rotary Club


“Thank you for sharing your wisdom and your discoveries Ernie. One question has always bothered me . . . When you speak of Obama as being black or of someone being white, etc., etc., really isn't it only skin?”

Jim Young, PDG



Dear Jim:

Your question seems so simple yet so difficult to respond! It is in the same class as the opening line of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s immortal poem, “How Do I love thee?” Your posing that question on Martin Luther King Holiday made me rethink my own thinking, digging deeper into the recesses of my soul. It is a timely exercise that transported me beyond my physical being into the realm of my own spirituality. Scribbling these thoughts on the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration as the first black president in US history takes a serendipitous significance as I am forced to examine my own earthly life, my values and philosophy as a human being. I am reminded of Socrates’ admonition that an unexamined life is not worth living for.

Your uncommon question brings to mind a simple but curious inquiry from a very talented friend during our active Jaycee years a generation ago, when he asked me, “Ernie, how do you think?” cognizant of the fact that English was not my primary language, but my third language (after Ilocano, the language of my parents and then Filipino or Tagalog, the Philippines’ national language with sprinkled Spanish origins). Now I am digressing. That topic belongs to another dissertation.

Jim, when I speak of black or white, I believe that I am unconsciously just following the prevalent culture around me --- simply swimming along the river of our culture ---- in order not to exert a lot energy which in my unconscious mind is better conserved for other things that are more important. A black or white description conforms more to that physical quadrant of our being (TO LIVE), (the other quadrants being: mental (TO LEARN) , social (TO LOVE), and spiritual (TO LEAVE A LEGACY) according to Dr. Steven R. Covey) that is often supported by many colorful images since our birth.

For how can one intelligent person go against the tide of history, when books, movies and oral tradition speak of the many social injustices of the world since time immemorial? Biblical history tells us about Moses, by virtue of his Jewish birth, was made a slave to serve the Pharaohs of Egypt, when the powerful despots of the world can simply order the annihilation of “lesser” people as in the Holocaust, and the ethnic cleansing in Africa or Cambodia! And, yes, this country has also its own share in social injustices, like the trading and owning of slaves as a chattel in years past. There was even a period of our history that black people were just considered 3/5 of a human being, when a person’s black skin was the sole criteria not to be accepted into a school, hotel or even a restaurant!. And yes, these are documented facts that are made live on the giant screen by many colorful movies like Alex Haley’s Roots!

In an ideal world, Jim, I also have a dream that another 50 or l00 years from now, there will be no more black nor white nor yellow nor brown as divisions of our race, simply because there is really just one race on earth, called the HUMAN race. Why races are defined or segregated by colors is beyond me. But until that day comes, it is neither right nor wrong to be reminded of our poignant and painful history so that knowing what was blatantly wrong will always guide us to do what is right the first time and not to right what is wrong, later on, as what we as a nation is trying to do now.

As one ordinary mortal, let me attempt to answer your question in a physical sense: Please imagine that there are a dozen cups of different colors and designs filled with good coffee on this table, and there are ten of us who love to drink coffee. As our choices in life are often guided by our life’s experiences, education and cultures, you and I will pick up one cup over the other, without even thinking. And lo and behold two cups are left unchosen! WHY? Our human hands are ordered by the mind, as recommended by our eyes to pick up what is “safe and pleasing” totally oblivious that the contents of the cups are the same coffee and same quality!

So, my dearest friend Jim, when I speak of black or white, it is just another adjective probably to make my sentence more colorful than what it really is. No judgment, no mental deliberation or process that went with.

Allow me to end this soliloquy to say that one person’s color is just a skin deep. Sooner or later in the sunset of our lives, this wonderful skin covering our bodies will begin to sag and be the first part of our body to rot and eventually return to dust from where it came from. And then, and only then, the physical aspect of our being is gone forever and only the spirit lives on. I believe in all my heart that the color of our skin is really nothing in the spiritual or intellectual sense. What matter most is what happened during that short little hyphen separating the year of our birth and the year of our death etched in our tomb stone.

And if you are still reading or hearing these words, be happy and joyful as you are still capable of adding colors to your life, that should be as beautiful as the rainbow, that is not just black or white!

Thank you for your friendship and counsel, my friend!

A fellow Rotarian and a
member of the HUMAN race,

Ernie Delfin
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Email writer: ernie.delfin@gmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com

THE FORTUNE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID

THE METAMORPHOSIS
By Ernie Delfin
Youth Services Director
Newport Irvine Rotary Club

ROTARIANS CAN DO MORE TO HELP
THOSE IN THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID

I just finished reading “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid”, an international best-seller authored by C. K. Prahalad. I love the book so much that I ordered a dozen copies to give as gifts to some of my business friends who are also engaged in some kind of community action work, like the Rotarians, in their own communities.

The book has kept me both engrossed and intrigued by the many revolutionary ideas that the author, with his dozens of researchers-collaborators, has scholarly presented with success case stories along the way. No less than Bill Gates, a great benefactor to Rotary International, wrote: “C.K. Prahalad argues that companies must revolutionize how they do business in developing countries if both sides of the economic equation are to prosper. Drawing on wealth of case studies, The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid offers an intriguing blueprint for how to fight poverty with profitability.”

Visiting a developing country, (why do they call such countries “third world” puzzles me?) like Zambia, Mexico, India or the Philippines is quite different than touring progressive countries like the United States. If you only shop in malls like Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive or Newport Beach’s Fashion Island, you will definitely experience some degree kind of culture shock when you go to undeveloped countries’ market places. The face of (material) poverty is present almost every where, yet people like ants go on their daily life as the residents probably do not even realize that they are “poor” by Western standards. Ironically, however, people seem happy and content with the little material possessions they have often to the amazement of many first time North American tourists.

Doing business with the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) requires patience, innovation and complete understanding of the BOP practices and culture. The typical way of doing business in advanced countries normally does not work in the BOP environment. A new paradigm in conducting business in this massive BOP society is a must just to survive and succeed The priorities and cultural tendencies of these BOP customers are uniquely different as they often buy only the things that they need for a day or two. As the poor spend most of their time in quest for their family’s basic needs like as food, shelter and clothing, there is almost no time nor money left for education, a great equalizer or tool to extricate themselves from the web of poverty that they were born into. Hence, the lives of those in the BOP become a vicious circle: no education means almost no chance to unshackle the bondage of poverty that they have inherited from previous generations..

The book describes this unique environment where many businesses fail and thereby also fail to help the community to rise up to another level of progress. However, the few innovative businesses, like Casas Bahia in Brazil, Hindustan Level Limited in India or CEMEX in Mexico that accept and understand the peculiarities of this BOP market are now thriving and giving rays of hope to millions of people to have a better future.

* * * * *

We Rotarians and educated leaders, if we are called “the salt of the earth”, must also learn how to innovate and make our noble efforts magnified to achieve wider and greater impact. In future district conferences or assemblies, probably we can hold workshops with any of these businessmen applying these revolutionary practices to be able to empower more poor people become more self-sufficient in many undeveloped or developing nations where Rotary is already present.

Empowering the poor by training them to have livelihood projects is quite noble, but hardly enough to change the economic landscape of the BOP. Teaching a person how to fish, that will probably make him not go hungry for a day is OK, but that is barely enough. Teaching people how to fish and then helping a few good fishermen to acquire a boat and educating them with the rudiments of being a business owner so they can hire others to fish for them is a far better goal.

The Western world must continue to innovate and understand the underlying culture why millions of people remain poor to this day. Often, due to their being exploited and subjugated for centuries, these people of undeveloped countries (BOP) just do not have the means, opportunity nor capital to venture into any business undertaking that gives them sustainable profits in order to progress. Often the poor live day by day, exposed daily to natural calamities as well as man-made disasters, like war, that make the plight of the poor much worse.

Rotarians can help more people more deeply if we find pragmatic solutions to dismantle the infrastructure of many countries’ (feudal) system of social injustice, the root cause of untold poverty of their people. A philosopher once said: “No charity work can substitute the lack of social justice in any society”. Yes, fellow Rotarians that is the greatest challenge that our world faces today as we do our best to “MAKE DREAMS REAL” every year.


------ 3 0 ----

Email writer: ernie.delfin@gmail.com or drbannatiran@yahoo.com

WITH OUR VISION, ROTARIANS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

THE METAMORPHOSIS
By AG Ernie D. Delfin
Chair, District New Chapter Development
Member, Newport Irvine Rotary Club

WITH OUR VISION, ROTARIANS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!

Orange County is world famous for its many landmarks and icons, like Disneyland, Crystal Cathedral, UCI, Chapman University, Knott’s Berry Farm and the Nixon Library. (I understand there is now also a TV show called “Orange County” that has become very popular abroad advertising OC’s opulence?) These landmarks were dreamed and created by great individuals with noble vision, like Walt Disney, Dr. Robert Schuller and many others. The exodus of many residents from different counties, states and countries into the county has transformed these “orange groves’ into a vibrant melting pot that made the County what it is today.

That is just a glimpse of Orange County’s history. Fast forward, envision and ask: what will Orange County (and our world) be 25-50 years from now, based on what it was but more particularly based on what is happening now? I can be both an optimist and a pessimist at the same time. As a parent of a daughter and a son, I am excited for them as they are living during this information society when they can be connected with the rest of the world at one click of the mouse. The opportunities and potentials in their horizon to conquer space or discover another world seem limitless. At the same time, however, I also shudder at the morbid thought that while my children (and many Rotarians’ children!) are on the “top of the world” millions, if not billions of people in our planet today do not even know what internet is, simply because they do not even have a enough and decent food to eat, clean water to drink and clothes to make them warm, much less schools to go to nor books to read.

The harsh realities of the war in Iraq, the hunger in Africa, global warming and the tsunamis of Asia have dire consequences globally. Humanitarians hope for change and work for peace. The November election shifted the power in Congress from the red (Republicans) states to the blue (Democratic) states. The Democrats who now control both houses of Congress believe that the country is in the wrong course especially in its foreign policies and its “war against terrorism”. The Vietnam War experience is reminding us once again that America cannot win a war by just utilizing its military might and squandering billions of dollars. These wasted resources from our taxes can be better used to eliminate hunger, improve agricultural methods in third world countries and enhance international and cultural exchanges to promote lasting peace like what Rotary International is doing.

Despite this entire political circus and the swinging of the political pendulum to the left, however, there are still many human events that made the world more hopeful to have a better world tomorrow. Foremost is the announcement of philanthropists Bill Gates and Warren Buffett of their generous donations to benefit the poorest of the poor in Africa and Asia to fight hunger, illiteracy and HIV-AIDS epidemic. Many others like Ted Turner, Madonna, Ophra and our own Orange County’s Rick Warren and hundreds of other humanitarians and organizations like Rotary International are also doing their own Services Above Self for a better world.

With that global background, this Rotarian-writer would like to pose a challenge as we celebrate Thanksgiving this week and soon to prepare for the CHRISTmas Holidays (For the Christian world, Christ is the reason for the season) With the onslaught of commercialism of Christmas, lavish consumption in our daily our daily lives in America, are we really doing enough to alleviate the pangs of hunger and poverty in our world? Poverty also exists within miles from Disneyland or Newport Beach, if one tries hard to see poverty’s ugly footprints.

Rotary District 5320 can really LEAD THE WAY by becoming that “City on the Hill,” a beacon of light that engenders hope for others by what we do in our global and local communities. Our Rotary District is leading the way by our historic Snowball Express where we are sponsoring America’s orphaned children from all over the United States, whose mother and/or father have died in Iraq or Afghanistan, to have a free weekend trip to Disneyland, in addition to our traditional programs for many needy families here and abroad to have a better Christmas. Although many of our deeds are not written up by the media, our action still speaks and resonates louder than words.

Indeed, we Rotarians can change the world one person at a time, especially the YOUTH who are the future of our world. This writer also subscribes to our DG Lane Calvert’s speech to all the clubs that “A hundred years from now, it really does not matter what kind of house you lived in, the amount of money in your bank account or the kind of car you have driven, but it does really matter what you have done in the life of a child!” He and RI President Bill Boyd hit the bulls eye in their theme of Leading The Way in the education of the YOUTH and we must give our 110% support to them, by individually and collectively committing that “let the change we want to see in the world starts with us” in our own clubs. That vision of Cooperation, Progress and Peace among all people should be our true north compass as long as we live. That is my challenge (and a prayer) to all Rotarians who happen to read this article.

To end this last column of 2006, let me share this poem (also the title of his small book) written by a Denver Rotarian Kent M. Keith:


A N Y W A Y
The Paradoxical Commandments
Finding Personal Meaning in a Crazy World
By Kent M. Keith
(Made more famous by Mother Teresa)


People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, You will win false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.
Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down
by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People favor the underdogs but follow only the top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building can be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help but people may attack you if you do help them.
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you will be kicked in the teeth.
Give the world the best you have anyway!


--- end of quote --

May I offer a Christmas prayer to all , my fellow Rotarians and friends:

“May you have enough wealth to meet your needs, and enough poverty to learn hard work; enough blessings to know that God loves you, and enough problems so that you don’t forget Him; enough happiness to keep you sweet, and enough trials to keep you humble; enough hope to keep you happy, and enough sorrow to keep you human.”

MALIGAYANG PASKO AT MANIGONG BAGONG TAON SA INYONG
LAHAT! ( that means “Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year to all” in the
Filipino language)

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