A pandemic that lasted for more than two years was enough to show the cracks besetting our current economic models. While globalization has ushered prosperity and progress which were unheard of in the past 300 years, the sudden halt in global trade also paused economic activities at the home front.
With transportation nodes paralyzed, movement of goods also screeched to a halt. The images of agriculture and other products either wasted or being dumped around in the early stages of the pandemic were simply harrowing.
October is the month of Economic and Community Development in Rotary’s calendar. We are expected to initiate projects and programs that will shore up economic opportunities and reduce poverty in underserved communities through training, well-paying jobs, and access to financial management institutions.
I encourage our fellow Rotarians to include in our project’s activities and strategies the lessons of the pandemic, particularly continuity of supply chains, protection of wages, and strengthening of local entrepreneurs and community leaders, particularly women who have proven to be resilient and innovative in times of crises.
The Rotary movement can be and should be an effectivebackbone for sustainable economic activities even in the most trying of times like pandemics.