Annually, the Rotary Club of Iloilo City (D3850) led by Hope Creating President Ian Dela Serna, holds the Boys and Girls’ Week Celebration, the club’s flagship project. Already emulated by our brothers and sisters in Mindanao, and other provinces, this collaboration with the Iloilo City Government and Department of Education, develops future leaders through the honing of leadership and problem-solving skills.
On September of each year, in sync with the Rotary Calendar’s Basic Education and Literacy Month, the top two learners of each school in the district or the top two qualifiers from each school who have gone thru pre-qualifying exams in their campuses, specifically in junior high or in grade 10 Basic Education, go thru qualifying written and oral examinations given by DepEd and RCIC to determine the rank or position in the city government, that the learner would be handling for a week, the highest being the City Mayor.
The weeklong celebration or “sitting-down” in their respective offices, doing the main function of the specific department heads, will allow the learners to get the feel of making policies, passing resolutions, handling important tasks, and doing problem solving for the city government. All these tasks will allow them to build confidence, help them think out of the box, know their government officials, and develop tight bonds as they trudge through the week with much enthusiasm and camaraderie.
This two month long project has given much pride to the Rotary Club of Iloilo City (D3850), as this has empowered many products of the Boys and Girls’ Celebration to be the leaders that they are today, most of whom, are now handling real positions in the city government, and corporate areas.
For two consecutive years after the pandemic, this project was chaired by RCIC’s President Nominee, Dr. Kimberly Charmaine Ganzon-Mahinay, a practicing physician, and president of the Panay chapter of her own medical society. Dr. Charm, as she is fondly called, was a product of the Boys and Girls week, many years ago.
In its 49th year, RCIC’s Boys and Girls’ week celebration has stepped it up a notch, by adding more schools (some being new, others not found in the old roster) to the list of qualifiers. This year, the qualifying students/learners have reached a hundred heads, an unprecedented number for this event.
Last September 9, 2023, the learners took a written examination at the Diamond Jubilee Hall. Next step would be the oral examination! We bid the learners much luck and blessings from above, as they embark on this exciting and memorable journey. Let us cheer them on as they make history together, on October 16-20 (Boys and Girls’ Week celebration) and October 21 (culminating activity).
Add Comment