“With the new day comes new strength and new hope.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
As we usher in the Rotary year, the wheel turns to welcome the new leaders, from the District Governor to Club Presidents and their officers. With it, comes new energy, new strength, and new hope in serving our communities.
This year’s Rotary theme, “Serve to Change Lives,” cannot be overemphasized. We continue to face the biggest challenge in our lifetime – the COVID-19 pandemic. We do not have to look far to see the sufferings it has brought and continues to bring. As we welcome the New Rotary Year, let us renew our vow, and scale the heights of what it means to be Rotarians. Let us serve as we’ve never served before, not just to make a difference in other people’s lives, but also our own.
The COVID battle is far from over but as in the past year, Rotarians in our district continue to work incessantly. Your commitment to be of service in our community has never waned even amidst lockdowns.
Thus, I am confident that you will continue to do the same this year and perhaps even more, for as Rotary International President Shekhar Mehta said, “Rotarians love challenges.”
We have made sure our district leaders and presidents are ready to become catalysts of change, because while COVID-19 may be unprecedented, it did not hinder the training and development to equip them with tools to face the year ahead.
Past District Governor Oliver Ong, our District Trainer, defied all odds by leveraging on technology while in Vancouver, Canada. He also networked to bring in renowned international trainers from Indonesia, Malaysia, and around the country, to prepare not just the present leaders but also our future district and club leaders. All these will ensure continuity of our initiatives.
As your District Governor, I made several promises as well. One of these is to revitalize communication in our district, expand our horizon to reach more people, and provide a platform that will increase opportunities for partnerships, all in the name of service.
This website and the social media page we created will be a game-changer for our district. I urge you all to keep this vibrant by sharing your Rotary stories.
Amplifying the good we do will inspire and embolden others to get involved, thus, bringing us closer to realizing RI’s vision – “Together, we see a world where people unite and take action to create lasting change—across the globe, in our communities, and in ourselves.”
Together we can….Together we will!