The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International has, through its humanitarian grants programs, supported the fulfilment of the object of rotary in R.I. District 3770. Rotary district 3770 is composed of 11 provinces located in regions 2 and 3.

All the sixty-four (64) Rotary Clubs in District 3770 participated in an ambitious yet truly humanitarian and beneficial multi-million peso water project which district 3770 has recently completed.

The WILSERV PROJECT, an acronym for "water is life - sanitary extraction in rural villages," was principally conceptualized and implemented by District 3770 in response to PRIP Carl-Wilhelm Stenhammar's challenge for Rotary Clubs and Rotarians to embrace "continuity and cooperation" and implement any project on water management during RY 2005-06.

The components of the WILSERV PROJECT are the provisions of a deep well, if no water source is available; a water storage tank and tower if necessary; and a rotary gearwheel drinking fountain station especially customized for the project.
Implemented through 3 Matching Grants (MG nos. 60750, 60751 & 60752) amounting to US$128,000.00 or about Php 6,655,400.00 from the Rotary Foundation program and the 3 Rotary Districts (of D3780 of QC, Phils., D3740 of Korea, and D3770, Phils.), a remarkably 93 public elementary schools located in 11 provinces were provided with the facilities of the WILSERV PROJECT. .

Because of the broadness of the area where this project will be implemented, in order to facilitate the immediate approval of this district-wide project and get away of the competitive Matching Grants, the 3 Rotary Clubs in the district were selected to be the lead implementing clubs - the Rotary Clubs of Meycauayan, Marilao and Meycauayan Uptown.

Conceptualized and chaired by then District Governor Mauro "Ogie" Villamar (RY 2005-2006), and with the assistance of TRF grants expert, then DGSC Armando "Sandie" B. San Diego, it was decided that the available District designated Fund(DDF) would be used in a project that can be implemented by all the active clubs in District 3770, thus, a total of US$24,000.00 D3770 DDF formed part of the budget.

In addition, PDG Ogie asked his classmate PDG Benjie Bacorro of R.I. D3780 if he could support this water management project with some of his DDF. Since District 3780 had plenty of available DDF and this project will benefit public elementary schools in remote provinces, PDG Benjie agreed to donate US$20,000.00 for this project.

With the help of PDRFCC/PDG Efren Martinez, D3770 sought the assistance of D3740 of Korea which has been supporting various projects in District 3770. PDG Min-Dong Ahn, who was also the District Governor in RY 2005-2006, agreed to support this project proposal on water management to the tune of US$20,000 coming from his available DDF. DGSC Sandie maximized the total possible budget and to complete the picture, with US$64,000 being donated by the 3 districts coming from their respective DDFs, the Rotary Foundation matched this fund with the same amount of US$64,000 ("dollar" to "dollar" basis) thus, raising the project amount to US$128,000.00 with an equivalent of approximately P6,655,400.00, to fund this proposed project.

Because of the WILSERV PROJECT,, thousands of school children studying in 93 public elementary schools in our district, now enjoy continuous access to clean, safe and potable drinking water and the many health benefits associated with it.

When the project was conceived, it was never realized that it will address "continuity and cooperation" in a very real way.

As all the requirements were satisfied and with the diligent and scrutinizing efforts of DGSC Sandie, the applications of the three(3) Matching Grants were finished and signed by the three Club Presidents. With these well prepared and complete applications submitted, TRF did not hesitate to approve them in LESS THAN ONE DAY.

The project was conceptualized and approved during PDG Ogie's term as governor in RY2005-2006; and was continuously implemented under PDG Ted Briones in RY 2006-07; and is completed in RY 2007 - 08 under IPDG Rogie Fragante, under the untiring efforts and guidance of then DRFCC Sandie (RY2006-2008). Because of the impact and magnitude of this successful project and because only less than 10% of the schools in District 3770 were benefited, a similar project is being eyed again using the same procedure for continuous implementation in succeeding rotary years. With the full support of the incumbent DRFCC Ogie and in tandem of DGSC Sandie, D3770 will always MAKE DREAMS REAL.

Through this project, the principle of "cooperation" was carried on as we have seen in the following instances.
cooperation among Rotary Districts (in this instance, D3780, D3740 of Korea and D3770)

cooperation between the 3 Rotary Districts supporting this project and the Rotary Foundation where TRF provided 100% matching financial support to the contributions of the 3 Rotary Districts' DDFs.

Cooperation between district officers and District Rotarians as well as cooperation between the lead implementing clubs (RCs Meycauayan, Marilao and Meycauayan Uptown) and all the D3770 clubs which chose and nominated the public elementary schools as their beneficiaries. All the Rotary Clubs in District 3770 implemented this "water management project" without the need for financial contributions, however, each one provided full service support, management, reporting and documentation of the project.

Cooperation between Rotary Clubs and the community they are serving. In this instance, the Department of Education through the leaders of the particular public elementary school beneficiaries of this project.

Needless to say, this project gave a positive image to the communities being served by all the clubs
in the district and to Rotary International as a whole.
During the Rotary International Assembly in San Diego, then RIPE Dong Kurn Lee challenged all the incoming rotary governors to do their part to give children "hope and a chance at a future" when he said, "We will bring clean water to their communities and create sanitation projects that keep children healthy". With RIP D.K. Lee's call "to focus on the most precious resource of every community: our children," preventable water-related diseases, which is the cause of death and illness of around 6,000 children worldwide on a daily basis, would be minimized greatly, if not totally controlled, by THE WILSERV PROJECT.

What is the significance of THE WILSERV PROJECT? It is certainly not to showcase matching grant projects because any rotary club may and can avail of the same but its significance lies on the inspiration which District 3770 Rotarians hope to bring to the rest of the rotary world, especially to the remaining 9 Districts in the Philippines.

In the beginning of RY 2005-2006, Rotary International District 3770 was still suspended by the Rotary Foundation on Humanitarian grants because of administrative reasons like reportorial deficiencies and other related requirements of whooping 34 grants in question. Through the guidance of PDG Ogie and DGSC Sandie, this rather gloomy situation challenged District 3770 Rotarians to turn the table around and bring back the District to "business as usual." Upon reinstatement of District 3770 to humanitarian grants of TRF sometime in October, 2005, the District rotarians had amassed enough moral courage, armed with their focused determination and humility to ask for help, started setting into motion THE WILSERV PROJECT without doubt nor delay.

Thus, when District 3770 was finally returned to the bosom of the Rotary Foundation in October, 2005, the District Leadership wasted no time in implementing a project which D3770 is truly proud to consider as the District's renaissance monument. As a matter of fact, the experience of becoming the only suspended District by TRF in the Philippines during that time, gave a strong challenge for all the Rotarians to give importance to compliance reporting required by the Rotary Foundation. With this, District 3770 was further adjudged as a model of compliance reporting by TRF's John Strickland and was even cited by the Rotary Foundation with "100% compliance reporting."

THE WILSERV PROJECT demonstrated in unmistakable terms what Rotarians can and are willing to do in the true and genuine spirit of SERVICE ABOVE SELF.

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