I realised that these are sombre times for Rotary D3300. The passing of PP Yuosf has caused a veil of gloom to descend over all of us. There has been such an outpouring of sadness and condolences unprecedented in D3300. This is the true measure of a man’s contribution to his fellowmen.

There is an anonymous  saying that if you make everyone cry when you are alive, then they will be laughing when your gone. Conversely, if you make everyone laugh when you are alive, then they will be crying when you are gone. The latter exemplifies Yusof’s journey in life. He was a man who loved all things Rotary and such was his love and passion for Rotary that he spent his final hours in its service. Yusof  was loved by one and all and he was a man who had time for everyone.  The simple dignity of his life, his manly virtues, his sense of duty to his family and his community. His charming and happy nature, his example as a husband and a father, his courage to speak up for what is right - all these were aspects of his character which won the glint of admiration and respect from all of us.

My recollections of all the happy moments with my friend Yusof are to many to enumerate upon. His standard intro whenever we met was -” So brother when are you going for Governor!” Coming from Yusof it was both sincere and complimentary. He didn’t have a hypocritical bone in his body and was one of the most non-judgmental individuals I had the pleasure of knowing and calling my friend.  

There is an Eskimo legend that says that the stars in the heavens are not stars but rather openings in Heaven, where the love of our lost ones shines down to let us know they are happy. All I know is that from now on, Yusof will be one of the brighest shining stars in the night sky. His inspiration must galvanise all of us into being better Rotarians and performing greater humanitarian service.

I would like to dedicate this poem by Kahlil Gibran to PP Yusof:

Then Almitra spoke, saying, “We would ask now of Death.”

And he said: You would know the secret of death.

But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life?

The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light.

If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life.

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one.

In the depth of your hopes and desires lies your silent knowledge of the beyond;

And like seeds dreaming beneath the snow your heart dreams of spring.

Trust the dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.

Your fear of death is but the trembling of the shepherd when he stands before the king whose hand is to be laid upon him in honour.

Is the shepherd not joyful beneath his trembling, that he shall wear the mark of the king?

Yet is he not more mindful of his trembling?

For what is it to die but to stand naked in the wind and to melt into the sun?

And what is to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?

Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.

And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.

And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.

GOD BLESS YUSOF AND MAY HE REST IN ETERNAL PEACE.

BROTHER YUSOF IF YOU ARE READING THIS I WISH TO SAY THAT TO ALL OF US YOUR END, WHICH IS ENDLESS, IS AS A SNOWFLAKE DISSOLVING IN THE PURE AIR. YOUR SPIRIT AND LOVE WILL ALWAYS BE WITH ME IN MY HEART.

“As a well spent day brings happy sleep, so life well used brings happy death.” – Leonardo DaVinci

I was recently given an anonymous poison pen letter which I was told was circulating in the District. The letter raised various grievances which I am not going to elaborate upon.

Regardless of the merits of the complaints, the entirety of the complaint is undone by the fact that the author lacked the courage of his/her convictions.

Poison pen letters in my opinion is very un-Rotarian. From an organisational standpoint, I believe that it is very important that we take a strong stand against such practices.

We must take the view that if someone doesn’t sign an accusation, it’s likely to mean that the sender has a personal problem or a nefarious agenda. This is of little consequence to Rotary since there isn’t any legitimate organisational issue involved. If the author believes there is, then he/she must have the courage to stand up.

Another principle that should be enshrined in our Rotary culture is the need always to get the whole story. We all subscribe to the 4 Way Test – what could be a more elementary application of this test than getting the whole story. We all know that there’s more than one side to a story. The ability to restrain ourselves before jumping into the fray, no matter how much we want to, represents a key characteristic of the mature adult behaviour.

Unfortunately, some people discuss the issues raised by the poison pen letter without giving the parties subject to the compliant an opportunity to be heard. We all should examine the temptation to react compulsively and comment on matters without a full appraisal of the facts.

The most frustrating aspect of all this is that one is unable to address the contents of the letter, since the author hides behind the veil of anonymity. Who is one to respond to or placate?  Anonymous authors are cowardly and ultimately unworthy of our attention, and by not reacting, we will deprive the author of satisfaction.

Everything said, the best reaction is no reaction.

“At eighteen our convictions are hills from which we look; at forty-five they are caves in which we hide.” – F Scott Fitzgerald

I loved this joke sent to me by President Mick Menon (RC Bandar Sunway) and I want to share it with you brighten up your Sunday!

A  young Law student, having failed his Law exam, goes up to his crusty old professor, who is renowned for his razor-sharp legal mind.

Student: “Sir, do you really understand everything about this subject?”

Professor: “Actually, I probably do. Otherwise I wouldn’t be a professor, would I?”

Student: “OK. So I’d like to ask you a question. If you can give me the correct answer, I will accept my marks as it is. If you can’t give me the correct answer, however, you’ll have to give me an “A”.

Professor: “Hmmmm, alright. So what’s the question?”

Student: “What is legal but not logical, logical but not legal, and neither logical nor legal?”

The professor wracks his famous brain, but just can’t crack the answer. Finally he gives up and changes the student’s failing mark into an “A” as agreed, and the student goes away, very pleased.

The professor continues to wrack his brain over the question all afternoon, but still can’t get the answer. So finally he calls in a group of his brightest students and tells them he has a really, really tough question to answer: “What is legal but not logical, logical but not legal, and neither logical nor legal? “

To the professor’s surprise (and embarrassment), all the students immediately raise their hands.

“All right” says the professor and asks his favourite student to answer

“It’s quite easy, sir” says the student “You see, you are 75 years old and married to a 30 year old woman, which is legal, but not logical. Your wife has a 22 year old lover, which is logical, but not legal. And your wife’s lover failed his exam but you’ve just given him an “A”, which is neither legal, nor logical!”

This is a piece I wrote sometime ago that I beleive is worth repeating on this blog.

“Every body continues in its state of rest, or of uniform motion in a right line, unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it.” Laws of Motion I – Isaac Newton

There is a widening gap between the First and Third World countries. There is an increasing polarization of wealth and a significant growth in the debt burden of the Third World. Is development per se the cause of such inequality or is it the type of capitalist development imposed by the First World and the strategies and policies imposed by the agencies set up by the First World like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank which accelerate such inequality? Inequality is on the increase.

In 1976 Switzerland was 52 times richer than Mozambique; in 1997, it was 508 times richer. Two hundred and fifty years ago, the richest countries were only five times richer than the poorest, and Europe only twice as rich as China or India. In 1960, the 20% of the world’s people who live in the richest countries had 30 times the income of the poorest 20%; by 1995 it was 82 times. The world’s 225 richest people have a combined wealth of over $1million million. Only four per cent of this wealth – $40 billion – would be enough for basic education and healthcare, adequate food and safe water and sanitation for all the world’s people. The 15 richest have assets that exceed the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of sub-Saharan Africa and the assets of the 84 richest exceed the GDP of China, which has 1.2 billion inhabitants.

More than a thousand million people still live in poverty, a tenth of them in the industrialized world. Of the 4,400 million people in the Majority World, nearly 60% lack basic sanitation and more than 30% have no access to clean water. 25% do not have adequate housing. 20% have no access to modern health services. Two thousand million women are anemic (including 55 million in the industrial world). 20% of children in the world do not attend school to grade five. One in four of the world’s people still live in severe poverty.

It’s worse for women than for men; and for black people than for white. It is clear that even though we have advanced technologically, this has not contributed to the betterment of the human condition. Has imperialism, as a distorted form of development, masked the potential benefits of development in the Third World?

My view is that people who live under the belief that colonialisation is a thing of the past live under a grand illusion. The world that we live in is largely defined by self interest. Self interest has shaped the world we live in and distorted our perception of reality.

 As the great Gandhi himself said, “I suggest that we are thieves in a way. If I take anything that I do not need for my own immediate use and keep it I thieve it from somebody else. I venture to suggest that it is the fundamental law of Nature, without exception, that Nature produces enough for our wants from day to day, and if only everybody took enough for himself and nothing more, there would be no pauperism in this world, there would be no more dying of starvation in this world. But so long as we have got this inequality, so long we are thieving.”

The essence of what he was saying is that we have sufficient resources for everybody’s needs but we cannot fulfill their greed. Greed however, has been the defining characteristic of the human condition. The feudal system developed out of the interests of the rich, influential, and powerful – the oligarchy.Their interest is focused on creating short-cut processes to wealth that bypass creative productivity in favor of various forms of stealing or looting. Historically, this involved colonialisation and slavery.

In modern times, colonialisation is found in the cartelization of resources. We have mining cartels, oil cartels, food cartels and the like. Modern slavery is provided by free trade between unequal-wage-cost economies, and the creation of debt bound economies in the third world. This is reinforced by the capitalist ideology of free and uninhibited trade. Even though economic theft through colonialisation and slavery is strongly anti-social, capitalist ideology artificially creates an environment that protects and insulates the imperialist’s position of power. The focus of feudalism, in modern times, has shifted from land-estate types of feudalism but the underlying process hasn’t changed.

Land-based feudalism limited the available land, which was the source of power. Today we have the “money-estate” form of feudalism. Today, the ‘peasant’ pays a substantial rent for his use of the lord’s property, called “royalty” or “interest”. In olden times this “money-estate” feudalist system was called “usury” and was banned by the church. The First Council of Nicaea in 325AD, forbade clergy from engaging in usury. Following centuries of church condemnations of Jewish usury, the Jews were expelled from many countries and regions. Now, it has become the global system. It is no longer resisted or abhorred and as a result, it is now looting the entire global economy.

Another feudal practice is the phenomenon of free trade between unequal-wage-cost economies. This can be traced to the time of colonialism. Today it is a global practice. Under this system the strength of the world’s poor, defenseless, nations is being exploited. The imperialists operate this free-trade process of international looting. Its’ globalised operations are looting society on a world-wide scale. When one speaks of the “British Empire,” therefore, one speaks of this type of imperialism.

Today this form of imperialism may be more predominant in the United States than anywhere else, but its’ ideological centre remains in Britain. The British monarchy serves as its structural base and ideological driver. The English legal system provides the legal platform for its power.

The British Empire no longer exists but its dominion and influence continues, by the direct domination of much of the world through its near global ownership of the media, research institutions and environmental institutions. It also exerts substantial influence on such global institutions as the UN, the IMF and the World Bank, by which its process of looting the world becomes legitimized and legalized.

The original idea of a stock-market was not to facilitate speculation, but to provide a platform on which the public could collaborate in setting up large companies that are jointly owned with the profits being shared. Today however it has largely become a speculative enterprise rewarding the gamblers and impoverishing the workers. A person who speculates that the profits of a company will increase in the future, will be willing to pay a higher price in order to get hold of these shares, to cash in the future profits. This price is more than what the shares are actually worth. A profit is generated for the original owner out of this process of speculative trading.

As the speculation continues, more cash will have to be put up. Unfortunately, for society, none of that extra cash produces anything as it doesn’t flow into the business to enhance its activities. Conversely, this money is drained out of the economy which is thereby deprived of potential investment capital. Once financial speculation sets in, society’s money no longer flows into productive processes that enriches lives, but is siphoned off into a speculative treadmill that enriches a few. It is now time to think about the shape of the world that we live in and to understand that the true nature of the world has not really changed at all. We just now have new systems of and new forms of oppression.

I once read somewhere that if we shrunk the earth’s population to one village of exactly 100 people. This is how the village would look:

60 would be from Asia, 12 would be European in origin, 15 would have come from the Western Hemisphere (9 Latin Americans, 5 North Americans, and 1 from Oceania) and 13 would be from Africa. 50 would be female and 50 would be male. 80 would be non-white and 20 would be white. 67 would be non-Christian and 33 would label themselves as “Christian”.

20 people would be receiving almost 90% of the village’s total income. 25 would live in substandard housing. 17 would not be able to read at all and 13 would be malnourished. 1 would die within the year and 2 would give birth within the year. Only 2 would have a tertiary education and only 4 would own a computer.

Its time to rethink the world we live in and the usefulness of the institutions we are depending on to get us out of trouble and the ideology that defines our reality. Abraham Lincoln wrote,

“The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.”

In my opinion the failure of these institutions are somewhat mitigated by the altruistic efforts of great organizations like Rotary International. Rotary offers the ordinary man an opportunity to create a more egalitarian society through humanitarian service. Rotarians are driven by the basic objective to encourage and foster the ideal of service as a basis of worthy enterprise and this finds expression in our enduring motto, “Service Above Self”.

Our 4 way test compels us to questions the legitimacy of the world we live in and look to ways to improving the condition of mankind.  The Rotary Foundation in particular enables Rotarians to advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through the improvement of health, the support of education, and the alleviation of poverty. In this effort we are all clearly driven by the vision of a better world.

The world that we live in is massively inequitable and the feudal mentality of capitalists is driving many nations to ruin and many people into hunger and poverty.

Capitalism without conscience has perverted human condition and what is happening on Wall Street today is a vindication of those who believe this to be the case. It is a case of ‘false’ wealth created by the greedy for the even more greedy. A case of an edifice without a base. How easily it crumbles. These people have led enterprises that have derided the human condition.

As Rotarians, we must speak up and ACT now. Remember always that compassion is the very foundation of human morality. To feel compassion, literally means to feel with, to suffer with. Everyone is capable of compassion, and yet everyone tends to avoid it because it’s uncomfortable. And the avoidance produces a psychic numbing and resistance to experiencing our pain for the world and other beings. We watch people suffering on TV, in our living rooms, we then have dinner and go to sleep.

1. PP Ananda is an outstanding District officer and a very dedicated Rotarian. Anyone who knows him will attest to this. He has a steadfast love for all things Rotary and takes his responsibilities to Rotary very seriously.

2. President Rao of RC Sentul is also a good Rotarian, who has answered the call to serve his club as President this Rotary year.

3. All the other commentators, likewise include very senior Rotarians who have in their own way served Rotary over the years.

The above notwithstanding, the situation has now deteriorated to personal remarks being bandied about. My advice – shoot the message, not the messenger!

Let’s face it Ananda’s problem is directly attributable to the fact that the roles and functions of certain district positions have been poorly defined. It is not the fault of the District Officer for feeling over-burdened, neither is it the fault of the Presidents who feel that the proper channel of communication for announcements to the District is Ananda, the District Secretary for Club Affairs. In my mind the title is both ambiguous and all encompassing. You cannot therefore fault the Presidents for thinking that he is the proper channel for the clubs to communicate with the District.

Perhaps the District Strategic Planning Committee should look at this and come up with clearly defined roles for District Officers and it would NOT be a bad idea to talk about it at the PETS.

That being said, Ananda, I am sure was merely commenting in a light hearted way. His remark I believe has been taken totally out of context and has lead to the present unpleasant exchange of remarks between friends. Like William James once said, “Common sense and a sense of humour are the same thing moving at different speeds.” Suffice it be to say, I don’t think Ananda meant to offend anyone. Likewise, I don’t think President Rao intended to offend, although the tone of what he said was overly defensive.

My hope is that common sense will prevail and everyone will realise this is much ado about nothing. Lest we run the real danger of taking ourselves too seriously and becoming like Mugabe!

Before anyone becomes too offended – THAT’S A JOKE!!!

My friends, all leaders require a sense of humour – it augments good leadership, getting along with people and getting things done. That’s what we want for ourselves and for Rotary.

One of the insights shared related to Matching Grants – particularly that only a small percentage of our 72 clubs ever make an application for one. I have therefore decided to share some thoughts on the subject to encourage more clubs to make use of the matching grants.

To put it simply – if you are prepared to endure some paperwork – you can exponentially increase the funding for your project and carry out more worthy projects.

Matching Grants fall into two categories:

• Non-competitive – up to US$25K. Applications are considered and approved on a first-come, first served basis if funds are available.
• Competitive – above US$25K up to US$150K. Applications are considered and approved twice a year by the Board of Trustees of TRF – submission deadlines: 1 August and 1 January.

I am going to help you step by step to choose a project and apply for a matching grant.

STEP ONE – CHOOSING A PROJECT

The type of project that you can get a matching grant for is important to bear in mind. You have to choose a project that falls within the criteria set, as follows:

From the above the following can be summarised:

1. The project MUST be a humanitarian project.
2. The funds CANNOT be used to purchase land or substantial buildings, pay salaries and/or operational or administrative expenses.
3. The funds MAY be used for individual travel expenses only when such travel is essential to success of project. Maximum – 10% of project budget.
4. Project must be new and approved by The Rotary Foundation.
5. Rotarians, their families, employees and Rotary employees cannot benefit.
6. If the project is undertaken in cooperation with a non-Rotary organisation, the project must be initiated, controlled and run by a Rotary club and must visibly have Rotary identification.
7. The Non-Rotary organisation must be reputable and cooperate fully in all financial matters.

Once you have identified an ELIGIBLE project. You have to bear the following in mind.

STEP TWO – ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

1. Internationality – the project requires the involvement of Rotary clubs or districts in at least two countries, NOT 2 DISTRICTS.
2. Rotarian involvement – there must be significant Rotarian involvement.
3. Financial stewardship – the club must have proper financial control of the funds provided. A separate bank account must be used.

STEP THREE – HOW TO APPLY

The club must complete a Matching Grant Application (141-EN) and submit it to TRF. The form can be downloaded in ‘word’ format at:  http://rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_doc/141en.dot

Applications are accepted from 1 July to 31 March in any given Rotary year. I would advise you to submit your application as early as possible to avoid delays associated with submission of applications close to the 31 March deadline. If your project involves revolving loans or microcredit, the Revolving Loan Fund Supplement Form and Credit Group Plan must be included with your application. You can download the form at:

http://www.rotary.org/RIdocuments/en_doc/hg_revloan_agreement_en.doc

Requests of US$25,001-US$150,000 are considered on a competitive basis and must be received at TRF by 1 August for consideration at the October Trustees’ meeting and 15 December for consideration at the April meeting. My advise is that unless your project has very strong merits, don’t waste your time applying for a competitive grant.

Your applications should be submitted single-sided and unbound and should be typed, not handwritten. Use only ENGLISH terms. Don’t say Sekolah Kebangsaan Taman Desa. Say, ‘Taman Desa’ Primary School.  

Send your completed application to: 

Humanitarian Grants Program
The Rotary Foundation
One Rotary Center
1560 Sherman Avenue
Evanston, IL 60201-3698 USA
Fax: 847-866-9759
E-mail: contact.center@rotary.org

STEP FOUR – FILLING IN THE FORM

1. The first item that needs to be filled in is the PROJECT DESCRIPTION.

(a) the project site - Lets say you are you are setting up a computer lab in an orphanage. Just state the place where the lab will be situated - Good Hope Orphanage,  No.52 Jalan Desa 2, Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

(b) Then provide a brief description of the project – The project will involve setting up a computer lab for underprivileged children. There will be 12 computers in the lab.

(c) State the problem or need it will address – provide children with access to the internet to improve their learning opportunities.

(d) State who are the intended beneficiaries – 40 orphan children.

(e) State how the project will benefit the community – enhances the condition of orphan children and improves their chances for better learning.

(f) State the estimated length of time needed to complete the project – 2 months.

(g) State how the benefiting community will maintain this project after grant funding has been fully expended – the orphanage operators will continue to maintain the lab

(h) State the specific activities of the host and international partners in implementing the project – The Rotarians of the partner club will be visiting the project site during the launch and on an as-needed basis. We will also be  sharing information via correspondence. The partner club will also publicizing the project to local media and their District.

Please note that financial support is not considered active involvement.

This can part should be filled in briefly and succinctly. No need to write very detailed reports.

2. The next item are the details of the Host Partner – This is your club. A committee of at least three Rotarians must be established to oversee the project.  The committee members must be committed for the duration of the grant process. You must provide the addresses of all the committee members. Make sure the primary contact (who receives all information from TRF) has an active e-mail address to ensure smooth communication. The primary contact should be a very responsible and reliable person, a senior Rotarian, who will see the project through all the way to the final report.

3. The next item are the details of the International Partner. The international partner is the club or district that is partnering you from outside Malaysia. A committee of at least three Rotarians must be established from the Partner club to oversee the project. Similarly, the primary contact person should be very reliable and have a working email address.

4. The next item is the project budget. In this part you have list down every item of expenditure. Make sure the list is comprehensive and includes everything that you are going to spend money on. If the item is not budgeted for, it cannot be claimed later. And clearly you must have a ‘pro forma’ invoice for all the items from your proposed supplier. You will fill in the budgeted expenses in RM and then convert the total to US$. Official RI exchange rates can be found at www.rotary.org. Please use the most recent exchange rate.

5. Next is the most tricky part under the heading Project Financing

 I would suggest that when you get to this stage, get your club’s Assistant Governor or the TRF Matching Grants Chair, PDG Dr Rajindar Singh, to assist you. You can also call me, I will be more than happy to assist.

Clearly list all financing in U.S. dollars, stating which funds will be contributed in cash and which funds are coming from the District Designated Funds (DDF). PDG Dato’ Jimmy Lim (the DRF Chair) must be authorize the use of the DDF.

The Principal of Matching is:

If your funds are cash, TRF will match 50% of what you raise. If you use the DDF, you will get a 100% match.

6. The next item is Project Planning.

(a) State who will own equipment and maintain, operate, and secure items purchased with grant funds. (A Rotary club or Rotarian cannot own equipment.) – in this case the Good Hope Orphanage will be the owner.

 (b) State that training in use and maintenance of the computers will be provided by the supplier.

(c) State that licensed software is necessary and that this is being purchased together with the computers. 

(d) If items are purchased and shipped from outside Malaysia, state the arrangements for customs clearance – in this case it is not necessary.

(e) Provision of plumbing and electrification to structures where people live or work cannot be purchased with grant funds and must be funded with other sources. State that you have raised funds outside the matching grant to fund plumbing or electrification for equipment and appliances in existing buildings such as hospitals, schools, orphanages, etc.

7. You now need to get everyone to sign in the Authorizations section.

8. If you have any other organization assisting directly in the implementation of the project, offering technical expertise and project coordination, fill in their details under Cooperating Organizations. The beneficiary under the project or a recipient of goods or services under the project is not considered a cooperating organization.

Where you have a cooperating organization, you must provide a letter of participation from cooperating organization that specifically states:

– Its responsibilities and how it will interact with Rotarians,

– The organization’s agreement to cooperate in any financial review of the project, and

You also need to provide a letter of endorsement from your club confirming that the cooperating organization works within Malaysian laws.

9. The next part requires you to state that you accept responsibility for completing progress and final reports.

10. The next part requires the District Rotary Foundation Chair to certify your application. So you need PDG Dato’ Jimmy Lim to sign here.

11. Lastly, you need to tick a completion checklist as follows:

• Does the project meet all grant policies and guidelines (see The Guide to Matching Grants [144-EN] or the RI Web site at www.rotary.org)
• Does the project description clearly state how the project will assist those in need?
• Are the activities of the host and international partners clearly explained? Will the Rotarians be actively involved in the project?
• Have both the host and international partners created committees to oversee the project? Are these individuals correctly listed on the application with their complete contact information?
• Is a detailed, itemized budget included in the application?
• Are all partner contributions listed in the application, noting which contributions will be cash and which will be DDF?
• Have the DRFC chair and the district governor provided their signatures authorizing the use of District Designated Funds?
• Have the club presidents or district grants subcommittee chairs from the host and international partner provided their authorizing signatures?
• Have all six committee members provided their authorizing signatures?
• If a cooperating organization is involved, are the following letters included with the application:
• Letter from the organization specifically stating its responsibilities, how it will interact with Rotarians, and agreeing to cooperate in any financial review of the project
• Letter of endorsement from the host partner confirming that the cooperating organization is reputable and works within the laws of that country
• If the project involves a revolving loan or microcredit, is the Revolving Loan Fund Supplement and Credit Group Plan included?
• If the grant request is US$25,001 or more, is a community needs assessment attached?
• Has the district grants subcommittee chair from either the host or international partner certified the application as complete and eligible?
• Is there a minimum of nine authorizing signatures included in the application?
• Have the partners made copies of all documents for their files prior to submitting them to TRF?

STEP FIVE – IF ALL ELSE FAILS, CALL PDG DR PAUL LEE!

Finally, the Matching Grant Guru in our district is PDG Paul Lee. Certainly mine. He is an extremely helpful PDG and if you have any dilemma, I can assure you he will solve it for you. His contact details are in District Directory.

Best of luck to you and I hope this small effort on my part will spur you on to get a matching grant project for you club. Any effort on your part will reap great rewards for your club and the community at large.

GOD BLESS ALL ROTARIANS.

Ever wondered how some of our popular sayings and idioms came about. Here’s a story about some of them that you might find interesting and revealing!

There was an old  Pub in Marble Arch, London which used to have gallows adjacent to it.  Prisoners were taken to  the gallows after their conviction to be  hung. The horse drawn dray,  carting the prisoner  was accompanied by an armed guard, who  would stop the dray outside  the pub and ask the prisoner if he  would like ”ONE LAST DRINK”?

If he said YES it was referred to as “ONE FOR THE ROAD”.   If he declined, that prisoner was “ON THE WAGON”. So  there you go, I used to have many ones for the road, now I am on the Wagon!

More  history. They used to use urine to tan animal skins, so families used to all pee in a pot and then once a day it was taken and sold to the tannery. If you had to do this to survive you were “PISS POOR”. But worse than that were the really poor folk who couldn’t even afford to buy a pot they “DIDN’T HAVE A POT TO PISS IN” and were the lowest of the  low. 

The  next time  you are washing your hands and complain because the  water  temperature isn’t just how you like it, think about how  things used  to be. Here are some facts about the  1500s:  
Most   people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and they still smelled pretty good by June. Hence a “JUNE WEDDING”!

However, since they were starting to smell, brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odour. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married. Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it! Hence the saying, “DON’T THROW THE BABY OUT WITH THE BATH WATER!”

Houses had thatched roofs, thick straw piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so   all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the   animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying  “IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOGS”.  There  was nothing to  stop things from falling into the house. This  posed a real problem  in the bedroom where bugs and other  droppings could mess up your  nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with  big posts and a sheet hung over  the top afforded some  protection. That’s how canopy beds came into   existence. 

The  floor was dirt. Only the  wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, “DIRT POOR”. The wealthy had slate  floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they  spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep  their footing. As  the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you  opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A  piece  of wood was placed in the entrance-way. Hence, “A TRESH HOLD”.  

In   those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that was always hung over a fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot. They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving the leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. And so the rhyme, ”PEAS PORRIDGE HOT, PEAS PORRIDGE COLD, PEAS PORRIDGE IN THE POT NINE DAYS OLD”.

Sometimes  they could obtain pork,  which made them feel quite special. When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to  show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could, “BRING HOME THE BACON”. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around talking and ”CHEW THE FAT!’  

Those  with money had plates made of  pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food,  causing lead poisoning & death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or ‘THE UPPER CRUST”.  

Lead cups were used to drink ale or whisky. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial. They were laid out on the kitchen  table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of ”HOLDING A WAKE”.  

England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would  take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When  reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, lead it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have  to sit out in the graveyard all night (THE GRAVEYARD SHIFT) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be, ”SAVED BY THE BELL” or was considered a ”DEAD RINGER”!

If you ever testify in court, you might wish you could have been as sharp as this policeman. He was being cross-examined by a defense attorney during a felony trial. The lawyer was trying to undermine the police officer’s credibility…

Q:  ‘Officer, did you see my client fleeing the scene?’  

A:   ‘No sir. But I subsequently observed a person matching the description of the offender, running several blocks away.’

Q:   ‘Officer, who provided this description?’  

A:   ‘The officer who responded to the scene.’

Q:   ‘A fellow officer provided the description of this so-called offender. Do you trust your fellow officers?’

A:   ‘Yes, sir. With my life.’

Q:   ‘With your life? Let me ask you this then, officer. Do you have a room where you change your clothes in preparation for your daily duties?’

A:   ‘Yes sir, we do!’

Q:   ‘And do you have a locker in the room?’  

A:   ‘Yes sir, I do.’

Q:  ‘And do you have a lock on your locker?’

A:   ‘Yes sir.’

Q:   ‘Now why is it, officer, if you trust your fellow officers with your life, you find it necessary to lock your locker in a room you share with these same officers?’

A:   ‘You see, sir, we share the building with the court complex, and sometimes lawyers have been known to walk through that room.’

The courtroom EXPLODED with laughter, and a prompt recess was called. The officer on the stand has been nominated for this year’s ‘Best Comeback’ line –  and I think he’ll win!!

Worst case scenario, even if nobody does anything and each member of the MDRE committee bring in 2 new members – there will be 92 new Rotarians!! Against a membership of 1,750 or so, that represents a growth of more than 5%!!!

Mind you, it would also be a shining example of leadership by example.

Imagine if we all did just that!

Just to motivate all of you I want to share a story about an Indian Salesmen. Afterall that’s what we have to become to grow members – better salesmen.

An Indian moves to Montreal and goes to a big department store looking for a job. The manager asks, “Do you have any sales experience?” The Indian says, “Yeah, I was a salesman back home”.

Well, the manager liked the young man, so he gave him the job. “You start tomorrow. I’ll come down after we close and see how you did, but let me give you a bit of advice. If a customer comes looking, say, for toothpaste, you might suggest for him a toothbrush, or shaving cream etc. You get the idea?”

“Of course,” the young man said. His first day on the job was rough but he got through it. After the store was locked up, the manager came down. “How many sales did you make today?

The Indian says, “One”

The manager groans, “Just one? Our sales people average 20 or 30 sales/day. How much was the sale for?”

The Indian says, “$101, 237.64 .”

The manager exclaims, “What? $101,237.64? What did you sell him?”

The Indian replied, “First I sold him a small fish hook. Then I sold him a medium fishhook. Then I sold him a larger fishhook. Then I sold him a new fishing rod. Then I asked him where he was going fishing, and he said down at the coast, so I told him he was going to need a boat, so we went down to the boat department, and I sold him that twin engine Chris Craft. Then he said he didn’t think his Honda Civic would pull it, so I took him down to the automotive department and sold him that 4X4 Pajero Sports.”

The manager says “You mean a guy came in here to buy a fish hook and you sold him a boat and truck?!”

The Indian says, “No, no, no, he came in here to buy a box of Kotex for his wife and I said since your weekend’s already screwed up you might as well go fishing!”

That’s how we should be selling ROTARY. So my friends – go forth multiply!!!! For Rotary’s sake.

I joined Rotary a long time ago. At the time it was my belief that Rotarians were men and women who took time off from their busy work and family commitments to help those members of society who are less fortunate. When I was a boy I joined the Scouts and enjoyed the experience immeasurably, that too was part of the motivation to become a Rotarian. But above all, I think it was to share the company of distinguished men and women and to that extent to ameliorate my own ego and sense of distinction. Not necessarily a bad thing for a twenty something still grapling with self esteem issues.

However, the affectations of Rotary and some Rotarians (including myself) disguise its true goodness and virtue. My early Rotary years (and I am sure that of many Rotarians) were tainted by my own pretensions. Yes, I was generous with money, but I can’t be sure that I gave earnestly. I wanted to impress more than help. I suppose that is a marginally better position than being a pompous narcissist who doesn’t give a damn about other people. Let’s be honest and face the truth – GOD knows we talk about the ’4 Way Test’ enough times.

‘Is it the TRUTH?’. We must at some point in our life start directing the cannons of elucidation introspectively rather than at others.

The Rotary journey for me, as I have said before, is a melange of experiences. Good and not so good. I beleive that every peregrination in life leads us down many paths and gives us with many choices. The astucity with which we make those choices defines the quality of our life and experience. Often, with the benefit of hindsight, we say to ourselves, “I could have handled that better” or “I should not have said that”.

This is the true evolution in a man’s life, we make ourselves better than we are. The greatest discovery I have made in my life is that, we can alter our lives by changing our attitudes. This is true of our Rotary journey too. All of us have done good things, some even great things and that is jaundiced by the not so great experiences we have had. But as the great Winston Churchill said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference”. Remember this, you cannot direct the wind, but you can adjust the sails! It is when I came to this realisation that it occurred to me – Now I am a Rotarian, finally. They are not the problem. I am.

Since that day I have become determined to make my Rotary journey all that it can be. By sharing the love and unique fellowship with my fellow Rotraians. Brothers and sisters born of different parents but united by the same ideals and aspirations.  In words of Anthony J. DÁngelo, “Whereever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine.”

The perspicacity with which one is prepared to discern the good from the bad ultimately defines us as Rotarians. It lies in developing the ability to exaggerate the good and intensifying the positives in Rotary. And to subjugate the bad and vanquishing the negatives. Ultimately, it is not our position but our disposition that makes us happy!

In my heart and my mind I would like to think that those vainglorious days are long gone. But I am constantly reminded at almost every Rotary dinner I attend, that we are surrounded by the evils of self importance, pretension, narcissism, self love and sycophancy. These values should be replaced by altruism, selflessness and humility. I pray every day that God keep me in my present frame of mind and everyone else too. 

Your heart is a Sun -

Joy its Stars,

Faith a moon, shining in your darkness…

Are we still Rotarians?

GOD BLESS ROTARY.