Serve with My Heart..”

Keliek J. Soegiarto

District Governor 2008 - 2009

It is a great honor to be Leader of leaders, sharing ideas and inspirations, in the dawn of the Rotary year of July first, 2008.

Being a President is a privilege God has given to you, all Rotary leaders, to help the Rotary Clubs in the district to serve the community, and do good to the society, something we, Rotarians, should be proud of.

It is a fact that the present world is not a safe place for children to live in. RI President 2008 - 2009, Dong Kurn Lee, has reminded us that every year 30,000 kids under five, in the world, die because of illnesses, which should be avoidable, such as malaria, dengue fever, thalasaemia, hare lips and cleft palates, hydrocephalic diseases, diarrhea, typhoid, and others. In our beloved country, Indonesia itself, around 100,000 of them die everyday, which means one dies every two minutes.

So amazing, yet so gruesome! So critical the situation is, not only for the children, but also for the parents …… . and for Rotarians, as well! So difficult the situation is for us, all!

What can we, Rotarians, do?

Napoleon once said, “ A LEADER IS A DEALER IN HOPE ” . As leaders, we, Rotarians are dealers in hope, in times of difficulties. We dream of the impossible to make them possible, pursue goals of the improbable to make them probable, and realize unrealistic dreams to make them come true, in other words, “ TO MAKE DREAMS REAL ” .

These, all, involve our willingness and determination to deal with great difficulties. They need our commitment to do our best, our endurance to keep a light in the dark, and a hope in time of hopelessness.

And we will surely be able to do it because we all possess what we need to have: “ ONE TEAM, ONE SPIRIT, ONE GOAL ” . We are the district 3400 team of leaders, the chosen ones to do best to serve the society. We are the district 3400 team of Rotarians, the chosen ones to do best to do good to our society.

And in our Rotary action, we are energized by one spirit, the spirit of “ SEMAR: SERVE WITH MY HEART! ” It is not the money, time or energy we contribute that matters, it is the heart! It is the true heart of a Rotarian which high-spirits the Rotary services to the community to make dreams real. How we give with our heart will matter most!

And we do it all, not by chance. We do it with a purpose. We do it with one goal: to help realize the dreams of all children in the world, the dreams TO LIVE LONGER, SAFER and HEALTHIER, the dreams to have the opportunity to grow old and live in a better place in peace. This is the goal we have and share, the goal to MAKE THEIR DREAMS REAL.

As the District Governor, I am here to help you, Rotarian leaders, to achieve the humanity goal of this Rotary year of service, focused on three main aspects of human life: Literacy and Education, Health and Hunger, Clean Water and Environment. And with July as the Literacy Month in the Rotary calendar, I urge that you all focus your club ' s attention to literacy and education, especially to children and young mothers in rural and urban areas of the poor.

I am proud to be with you all, because I am aware that with your high spirits of service, you have been and will always be the source of inspiration to all people in your areas, and your communities, helping motivate them to do good to others. I am proud that you all have always served the community with all your hearts, and done SERVICE ABOVE SELF.

Concerning our club and district matters, we are so well-aware that membership is our main concern. Some of us think it impossible for us to reach the membership of 3,000 Rotarians in the district. Some think redistricting is a dream too good to be true.

Still another concern is ahead of us, our contribution to the Annual Program Funds of the Rotary Foundation. We have received millions and millions of dollars from The Rotary Foundation, from Rotary Clubs and Districts abroad, in the form of Matching Grants, Polio Plus Grants, Group Study Exchange and others.

And yet, we also have contributed, though quite a little. Some of us may still be in the opinion contributing to The Rotary Foundation is of little importance. Of course this is not true!

In Rotary we give! In Rotary we share! The Rotary Foundation shares with us what they have, Rotary Clubs and Districts abroad give us what they have. Now it is time for us to give more and to share more, because in the coming three years, what we give, what we donate, will return to our community, not only doubled, but tripled, and even more in an amount we all cannot imagine.

Now we come to the challenges for all of us!

The first club that is able to induct more than 20 members during the period of July 1, 2008 – December 31, 2008 and they are all registered in Rotary International, will get a free air ticket to Rotary International Convention in Birmingham, England, in June 2009, plus a beautifully-decorated frame of the “ FOUR-WAY TEST ” PIN.

Rotary Clubs in the district which are able to sponsor more than one new clubs: either Rotary Clubs, Rotaract Clubs or Interact Clubs, during July 1 – December 31, 2008 and they all have got their charters from Rotary International, will get a free registration and accommodation for the District Conference 2009 in Yogyakarta, plus a beautifully-decorated frame of the “ FOUR-WAY TEST ” PIN.

Rotary Clubs in the district which are able to sponsor 1 new club and it has got its charter from Rotary International, during July 1 – December 31, 2008, will get a free registration for the District Conference 2009 in Yogyakarta, plus a beautifully-decorated frame of the “ FOUR-WAY TEST ” PIN.

Club Members who personally recruit or sponsor more than 2 new members, inducted during July 1 – December 31, 2008 and they are all registered in Rotary International will get a beautifully-decorated frame of the “ FOUR-WAY TEST ” PIN.

Club members who have contributed to Annual Programs Fund, The Rotary Foundation, of at least US$ 1,000, during July 1, 2008 – May 31, 2009 will get a beautifully-decorated frame of the “ FOUR-WAY TEST ” PIN.

Club members who have contributed to Annual Programs Fund, The Rotary Foundation, of at least US$ 100 during July 1, 2008 – May 31, 2009 will get an “ EREY ” PIN from District 3400.

And the crown of this contribution is, that,

Any club with the biggest Annual Programs Fund contribution, of more than US $ 50,000 to the Rotary Foundation during July 1, 2008 – May 31, 2009 , will get a gold Rotary pin and a beautifully-decorated frame of the “ FOUR-WAY TEST ” PIN.

Dear Rotarians,

I know that deep in our hearts, we are so touched by the sufferings of our children, our new generation, that we are more than willing to do whatever we can do to help our children and make their dreams real. I am convinced that starting from this very first day, we will keep in our hearts these words: I WILL SERVE WITH MY HEARTS. It is this spirit of Rotary: “ SEMANGAT ROTARY ” , that keeps us united, hand-in-hand, to do good to the community of Indonesia, and of the world..

Have a nice year of Service Serve with My Heart to Make Dreams Real

Keliek J. Soegiarto District Governor 2008 - 2009