PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

It will be three weeks before I step down as the President of the Rotary Club of Petaling Jaya. Things have wound down. The only left to do is to complete the Swan Song when it will be a pleasure to thank all the Rotarians and Anns, particularly my Board of Directors. It has been a wonderful year, a year of learning experience. I’ll always treasure the moments with the Rotarians and Anns. 

As I’m beginning to enjoy this office, it is now coming to an end. Working with our Rotarians has been a rewarding experience. I’ve come to understand that we’re different. We behave differently and we think differently. This is indeed exciting. We need to be tolerant and appreciate the differences. Going against them will be driving a wedge between interpersonal relationships. I’ve managed to control myself in stressful situations. I always believe there’s a solution to any problem. We can overcome if we remember that the common denominator is working towards the benefits for the poor. That’s what Rotary is all about. When I first took office, I was anxious about how Rotarians could react towards me. Over the months, I gained confidence and it became a natural instinct to work with them.

I wish to say thank you first. And I’ll say much more thanks in my Swan Song to all Rotarians and Anns. 

I would think that in whatever we do, there must be some degree of passion, otherwise we are just like footprints washed away in the receding tide. We need to create and impress upon others our work. At least, people could use our models for improvement. But absolute passion could self-destruct a person. There is a tendency to start comparing. Standards vary and the ones with greater standard will become critical of others who are less passionate. This may dampen the relationship between him and others.

Call it whatever you like – dedication, commitment, motivation. But passion makes a person stand taller than others.

Over the years, Rotary club members have volunteered their time and personal resources to reach more than two billion children in 122 countries. Thanks to Rotary and its partners, the number of polio cases has been slashed by more than 99 percent, preventing five million instances of childhood paralysis and 250,000 deaths. When Rotary began its eradication work, polio infected more than 350,000 children annually. But the polio cases represented by that final 1 percent will be the most difficult and expensive to prevent for a variety of reasons. Among them are:

1. Wars
2. Unreliable infrastructure
3. Difficult terrain
4. Poor sanitation
5. High birthrates

There are problems in some countries. Nigeria stopped the immunization because the people were told that this vaccine would sterilize the male. Pakistan and Afghanistan are the other two countries.

The Salt Vaccine is now declared safe.

The bottom line is this: As long as polio threatens even one child anywhere in the world, all children – wherever they live – remain at risk.