Rotary Club of Cebu

From The President

Welcome to the website of the Rotary Club of Cebu. We are the second oldest club in the Philippines and more than 90 years of our rich history is complemented by our club’s passion for service projects. We welcomed the Rotary year under the theme, Creating Hope in the World. And we are living by example as we launched projects that touch five of the seven areas of focus of Rotary, creating hope for the communities that we serve.

Our club’s strength comes with our numbers. We have 75 Active and 3 Honorary members.  4 in our midst are members of the Arch Klumph Society.  We have 18 Major Donors, and we’re a 100% PHF club. Two of our members are recipients of Rotary International’s Service Above Self and Service Award for a Polio-Free World, respectively. Our numbers are also matched by our giving. The Rotary Club of Cebu has consistently been one of the highest contributors to the Rotary Foundation in District 3860.

Our Global Grant driven projects include Gift of Life, which continues to send children with Congenital Heart Defects on a weekly basis for their life-saving surgeries in Manila. Over the years, we have made an impact in the lives of over 500 children from our province and outlying cities of the region. Our WASH projects allow us to tap water sources and build storage systems, toilets, and hand washing stations so that water may be available to “last mile” schools located in the hinterlands of Cebu. We have utilized Global Grants funds to help public high schools fit out their laboratories and technical vocational classrooms; and offer vocational courses so that graduates are taught important life skills that give them a chance to pursue a trade right out of high school. We were prolific enough that at one time, we maxed out the club limit of 10 active Global Grants at any time.

We have raised funds and awareness to end polio, and for children born with congenital heart defects through our annual Run for Gift of Life. This year, we our global grant funded program for cleft lip and palate surgeries on a monthly basis to help more kids.  Now in its third year, our coral replanting and shoreline cleanup project in Mactan continues to attract more participants and this year, we added tree planting to the activity.  Working with other organizations, we have shipped container loads of “retired” books from the United States that may find a second life in public school libraries.

As a mother club to many, we continue to invest in shaping future leaders with the ideals of Rotary through the Rotaract Club of Cebu, the school-based Interact Club of Saint Benedict Childhood Education Center, and the community-based Interact Club of Cebu. 3 young organizations whose members, future Rotarians, look up to us for guidance, mentoring and support.

I believe that the life of any service organization must be tempered by fellowship. Hence, we devote one of our weekly meetings each month to relax and break bread. Members of our club flourish not just in doing good for the community, but they also relish in the bonds that form with other members. In fact, many children of our members have also become good friends themselves. This same bond fuels our ability to work together as one. Rotarians come from different backgrounds, nationalities, classifications, and even vary in age. But we have come to respect the wisdom of our elders that temper the energy of the young. We leverage everyone’s resources and talent, driven by a common passion to serve others, this makes us who we are, the Rotary Club of Cebu.

Shigejiro Onda

Rotary Club of Cebu President