Ang Magiting - The Official Web Site of Rotary Club Makati North

International Service - An Elegant Purposeful Affair with Bollywood Glitter in Singapore

By: Ann Daisy dela Torre

RC Raffles City is a club that demonstrates the Rotary ideals of fellowship and service capsulized in their theme of “one family, one community”. Their souvenir program is replete with pictures of a year that celebrated friendships among themselves and with their sister clubs and manifested big hearts that serve those in need. On the service front, they constructed a fully furnished Primary School in a village Chiang Mai, Thailand, with books and school uniforms for 36 children aged 6-12 of the Hmong Tribe. They organized the 2nd International Conference on Avoidable Blindness, a project of 23 Rotary Clubs in Singapore and where more than 30 medical specialists from 10 countries delivered presentations. The club continues to support the Dyslexia Association of Singapore which they founded in 1991 by raise funds, increasing public awareness and spearheading projects (like their Lego competition among their dyslexic students). The youth (especially Rotaractors and Interactors) and the elderly are also the focus of other projects.

The Installation of the 29th Board of RC Raffles City was no ordinary affair. It was not only a formal induction into office of the new set of officers and directors for the club, it was also Charity Dinner in aid of the Dyslexia Association of Singapore (DAS) with no less than Singapore President S.R. Nathan as guest of honor. Formalities where a top government official is present was observed – we all stood up as Pres. Nathan walked into the room and again as he left the affair, and everybody was quiet in deference to him. You could literally hear a pin drop. But, he was not inaccessible – several children were given photo op opportunities and so did our Pres. Klink and spouse Cecile. I understand that Pres. Klink even had a few minutes to interview Pres. Nathan in the holding room before joining the affair.

Since it was a Charity Dinner, the program included an auction of the signed two-volume autobiography of Hon. Lee Kuan Yew (which apparently was bought by an anonymous bidder even before the event), artworks and official souvenirs from the Beijing Olympics. (Our very own IPP Joe Reaño won the bid for the Olympics items.) A total of SGD180,000 was turned over to the DAS that evening.

It was indeed a formal and solemn affair with IPP Johnson Tan delivering his valedictory acknowledging the support of his club members and especially his spouse Juliet, and Pres Raj Rajaram delivering his inaugural address where he emphasized his commitment to “Make Dreams Real” for those in need, especially for the children. On the lighter side, solemnity did not mean “boring” as the many ladies came in beautifully beaded Indian saris in jewel colors. That included Joe Reano’s spouse Choi who, inspired and helped by our lady friends, decided to have a sari rushed just for the affair and found the right accessories to go with the dress, complete with a bindi on her forehead. The pictures show how beautifully that decision turned out. Pres. Klink Ang’s spouse Cecile, similarly inspired, was later accompanied by our Singaporean friends for midnight shopping for a sari. Their son Jose Rafael joined us midway through the program and hopefully made friends with other Rotarian children his age who enjoyed dancing on stage to the music of a versatile songstress Ms. Usha Uthap, who flew all the way from India to sing for us. Entertainment also included an excerpt from the colorful musical “Taj Mahal”. Conversation was lively as we caught up with friends and the food (I had the lamb) was great!

It was truly a lovely evening to remember and we look forward to another memorable one next year.

Next week…sidelights of our Singaporean visit.