President Chris awarded Club Member Ruth Carlos Martinez with a Paul Harris Fellow 8 Sapphire at the meeting on Wednesday 5 June 24. Ruth was recognised for her efforts in the area of WASH Projects in particular in the Philippines and was accompanied by Philippines Honorary Consul General, Maria Lourdes Salcedo.
Citation
THE ROTARY CLUB OF MELBOURNE
recognition of
Ruth Carlos Martinez
as a
Paul Harris Fellow 8 Sapphire
The Paul Harris Fellow was established in 1957 in honour of Rotary’s founder and is combined with a US$1000 contribution in support of humanitarian and educational programs of The Rotary Foundation, funded, implemented and managed by Rotarians and Rotary Clubs around the globe. Foundation programs provide educational opportunities, food, potable water, health care, immunisation and shelter for millions of persons. It is the tradition of this Club that the naming of a Paul Harris Fellow is based upon the contribution of individual members and deserving members of the community who practice the Rotary motto - “Service above Self”.
Ruth Joined Rotary Melbourne on 28 June 2017 with the classification Business Development — International after the closing of Rotary Brighton Beach which she had been a member of since 2003 and serving as President in 2009-10. She is a member of the Toorak 2/Bayside Group, the International Programs Committee and the Reflection team. Ruth is also an Honorary Member of the Rotary Club of Lubang Island.
Ruth has an extensive Rotary CV serving as a charter member of the District 9800 Rotary Australia World Community Service [RAWCS], Water & Sanitation group. While Ruth’s projects are mainly in the Philippines, she has worked on projects in Thailand, Uganda and Nepal. Ruth served as RAWCS Chair, Water & Sanitation from 2012-2020 and is 1 of 5 Water Sanitation in HealthCare Facilities international mentors. She was a Group Study Exchange Team Leader 2015-16 and is the only Australian recipient of the Lingkod sa Kapwa Pilipino Award.
Ruth has been recognised by District and Rotary International and has received the 2020-21 District Service Award. In 2018 she received the Zone 8 Humanitarian of the Year award as well as the “Service Above Self Award”. This is Rotary’s highest honour and recognizes a Rotarian who demonstrates Rotary’s motto, Service Above Self, by volunteering their time and talents to help others. The award is internationally competitive and is granted to no more than 150 Rotarians worldwide, and no more than one from each district, each year. Much of Ruth’s service is with water & sanitation projects - toilet blocks to tanks & water wells to wash stations. All her projects improve infrastructure and wellbeing with emphasis on sustainability.
Ruth has worked tirelessly completing more than 100 major projects to improve lives & opportunities for countless Filipinos in her country of birth, especially in underprivileged and remote international communities, with project expenditures of many millions of dollars.
At any given time Ruth will be juggling 6-10 major and many minor projects on the ground and remotely, over several Rotary Districts on behalf of the many clubs who support projects she has identified. Identifying need: for emergency relief, feeding malnourished orphans, literacy, peace building, the environment, pollution control; skills training; assisting victims of human trafficking; maternal and child care; community libraries; medical equipment and services; solid wastes management; provision vaccines and other medicines to various health centres and district hospitals; establishment of fish and aqua-culture livelihood programs; sponsorship and donations of school aids; relief goods for typhoon survivors.
In 2008 Ruth visited typhoon prone and devastated Sorsogon province Philippines, resulting in a site review, donations and a pilot project to provide Bio Sand Water Filter (BSWF) units for water sanitation. Ruth set up a program for the water filter units to be locally manufactured to provide employment for "out of school" youths. In September 2008 the phase 1 installation provided the municipalities in Magallanes, Sorsogon City, and Juban, Sorsogon 90 filters with awareness training to the public on the use and misuse of the filters. Later that year, Ruth launched her Rotary club's Aid to Municipalities project by organising the construction of a major water distribution system to supply clean filtered water to over 6000 people. The project also included the donation of an ultra sound machine and medical supplies to health facilities in Sorsogon.
Ruth embodies Service Above Self: Filipino by birth, Australian by choice for the future of her children, Ruth is highly respected by fellow Rotarians who are inspired by her selfless commitment, being motivated by her mother from age 12 to make a difference for the impoverished.
She expresses her values this way: We make a living by what we get, but it is through hard work, effort and wilful tenacity to help the underprivileged that we make a life by what we give. And today our Club honours her efforts lifting her to a Paul Harris Fellow 8 Sapphire.
Dr Chris Sotiropoulos, President
5 June 2024
