What Paul Harris Said
in his radio address from the Boston Convention in 1933
“If you have the love of your fellow men in your heart, my friends, you are a potential Rotarian”.
Visit http://www.whatpaulharriswrote.org/library/1933.htm for the full recording.
Rotary clubs strive each and every year to find those community spirited men and women who we can truly describe as Rotarians and invite them to join our movement.
I met a young couple last month who told me a remarkable story about how they had planned to go to Sri Lanka in December 2004 to get married. Two days before they set out, the Tsunami hit that country and their dream wedding and honeymoon plans were cancelled. A month or two later, they thought it would be appropriate to travel to Sri Lanka anyway if only to support the badly hit tourist industry. On arriving and witnessing the devastation, they vowed to stay on in that far off land and do what they could to rebuild the community. Both young people had their own businesses but simply felt the greater urge to help. They spent a year in Sri Lanka working on building schools and providing educational opportunities for the children.
These potential Rotarians ought to be Rotarians. Paul Harris’ simple observation is a relevant and true today as it was in 1933. Rotary is their natural home.
They also sent me a poem written by a local woman from Sri Lanka who lost her family in the tsunami which I will share with you.
TRUE GIVING IS THE MOST WONDERFUL OF THINGS
To give cleanly without debt
To give without having taken first
To give to their not your need
To give something you value without recourse
To give without creating bitterness in another
To give without offending cultures
To give without leaving conditions
To give silently and not take fame in giving
To give without taking the dignity of the benefactor
THIS IS THE WAY OF TRUE GIVING
To not give truly is not to give
To give with a plaque is to indebt
To give publicly is an exchange of value
To give without empathy is to take dignity
To give with conditions is to employ
To give having taken is to trade
To give unfairly is to divide
To give hope that cannot be sustained is to disappoint
To give without value is to dispose
To give to your need is to profit
To give a debt is to enslave
ONLY THE WISEST HAVE ACHIEVED TRUE GIVING
HAVE LEARNT TO GIVE WITH TRUST
AND LEAVE THE GREATEST GIFT OF DIGNITY...
Calum Thomson
RGHF Chairman/President 2006/07
R/C Longniddry & District
District 1020, Scotland.
Rotarians and Rotary organizations are welcome to use any material from the RGHF websites, provided that credit is given to the material as part of "Rotary Global History Fellowship" www.rotaryhistoryfellowship.org and that the material is not altered.
Ray
Fields introduced Mayra Navarette who is a civil engineer
from El Salvador the smallest country in Central America with a
beautiful coast line along the Pacific Ocean. The country is
about the size of our state of Connecticut. The country was
liberated from Spain in 1821. About 75,000 recently fell victim
to domestic unrest. “But our country is very safe today.”
1.
As in many large urban areas around the world, massive migration
from rural to urban areas is taking place. One consequence in
El Salvador is that many children are left unsupervised many
hours a day as their parents must commute long distances to get
even meager employment. A variety of day care programs have
been started.
Mayra
was presented our club pen and signed a book for our SMART
program.