Who do not have hands to give

In many occasions we have been asked to give our support to the Rotary Foundation, either to participate on a project granted by our Foundation, or to make a contribution to one of the available Funds.

When doing monetary contributions, we made them with two certainties: that every cent given has the right destination to support a project and to administer it and that its use will be diligently monitored.

While participating on an humanitarian project, it will be necessarily directed to a sustainable development of human beings and by that reason there will be continuity on its effects. We may not perceive immediately the totality of the effects of this project in the transformation of our lives or in other’s lives, but certainly we will benefit in some way by the chain reaction that the project will produce. It is what we usually call as “The Boomerang Effect”, which means that all the good that we do will somehow come back to us. We will than giving our time, our effort and our work to soften or mitigate the suffering of those in need.

This take us to a short story which try to explain that we must give thought to situations we may fall in with:

“An expert construction foreman was in the imminence of retirement after many years of being a role model in what he did. He was then asked by the owner of the construction company to do a last job: build a big and beautiful house in a privileged area of the city.

Interpreting that request of his boss as a punishment, he went on building the house, but with not much care, not paying attention to details, using material of low quality level, almost as an attitude of retaliation in relation to that request that in his view was unfair, considering he was finishing a long period of dedicated service to the company.

To his surprise, at the end of the construction of the house the company owner communicated to him: “Dear and dedicated foreman, this house is yours. It is a gift of our company to you and the excellent services you rendered during so many years”.

From this story we conclude that we must do all, like for instance while rendering service through Rotary, execute with the best quality the projects in which we participate, because what we are doing can one day come back in our direction. I we give our best during the execution we will be able to receive its effects after the conclusion.

We have to give assistance where it still do not exist, give new solutions to old problems and verify that the happiness of a Rotarian is complete when their projects are completed and then be able to proudly show them up. Not to beat on our chest saying that we have done this or that and speak up with distinction of a personal action, but remembering always that no one do something alone and will not receive alone its effects. The effects of a completed project can be seen when we go to the community to which the service was rendered to ask for support and this help comes with pleasure. In the same way when we go to that same community to ask to one of its member to come with us to serve, this person will come with pleasure, because he or she will already know the effects of what we have done.

The support of the Rotary Foundation, will only acquire real value, when it will be possible to evaluate what this support can produce and which is the legacy that will remain. This support should always be considered, having in mind that the service we render is to help people, transform their lives to a better one and be the link between the need and receive.

Be an active part of the construction of a better world. Lend your hand to give, because only than you will have courage one day, humbly, to reach on to receive its effects.

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