David C. Forward, who wrote the history of Rotary International in its first 100 years, came out with the book, A Century of Service. In his introduction, he wrote: "Even the world's mightiest rivers have humble beginnings. They start as tiny springs, bubbling to the surface, or as a single, melting snowdrop. As the rivulet trickles down, it brings new life to everything it touches. Soon, other tiny streams join the path and together they unite as a river, ever confident and forceful."

Such is the story of the river called Rotary International. One hundred four years ago on the cold wintry evening of February 23, 1905, in the bustling city of Chicago, Illinois, USA a young, lonely lawyer named Paul Harris and his three business associates sat together to form a club that would meet for fellowship. They shared similar backgrounds in their youth and they missed the friendliness of people in their small communities. They wanted to get together regularly and widen their circle of friendship.

Their club was the tiny spring that started the mighty river of Rotary International. It became the first service organization in the world, which inspired the birth of many other service organizations that now have also become worldwide.

Today, Rotary has 33,446 clubs composed of more than 1.2 million Rotarians spread in 531 districts and geographical areas as of August 31, 2009. One of these districts is our very own RI District 3780, which has the special distinction of being one of the only two "one-city" districts in the world. As of the start of the Rotary Year 2009-2010, this district has 95 Rotary clubs composed of more than 2000 Rotarians, and growing.

Rotary's programs, as well as, the humanitarian and educational programs of The Rotary Foundation, continue to change people's lives in the promotion of international understanding and peace. Inspired by Rotary's Ideal of Service, expressed in the motto, "Service Above Self," Rotarians touch people's lives without seeking any material rewards in return. They bring positive change to their communities through relevant service projects that address the needs of people in almost every area of concern, such as, water, poverty, health and hunger, literacy, the environment, crime, drug abuse, etc.

One shining example is the tremendously successful PolioPlus program, which aims to eliminate the dreaded polio disease from the face of the earth. Started in the Philippines in 1978 in cooperation with the Philippine government, PolioPlus was adopted by the World Health Organization for worldwide implementation in 1985. Today, more than 2 billion children have been immunized from polio and are living normal and happy lives. Of the more than 125 polio endemic countries at the start of PolioPlus, only four - Nigeria, India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan - remain with pockets of polio outbreaks. And with the commitment of Rotarians worldwide, the total elimination of polio is expected in just a few more years.

Despite its spectacular success as a worldwide movement, Rotary still remains a myth to many people. This website is therefore meant to open the world of Rotary to everyone to increase public awareness on what Rotary is and the good things it does to build a better world. This website allows access to every Rotary club in the district to enable the reader to discover the myth that holds Rotarians together in the promotion of friendship, understanding, and lasting peace in the world. It features the many significant projects they undertake to improve lives and build better communities and a future that is bright and secure for our children and the coming generations.

For information on clubs in other districts in the Philippines and in the world, the reader is encouraged to visit the websites of said clubs or districts. To discover the world of Rotary, its programs and those of The Rotary Foundation, the reader may log on to http://www.rotary.org/.