EDITORIAL

GSE Team Visits Aklan

On February 8-10, 2010, the Group Study Exchange (GSE) Team from District 1560, The Netherlands, visited Kalibo to start their visits to Rotary clubs in Aklan and Roxas City.

The Rotary Foundation’s Group Study Exchange program is a unique cultural and vocational exchange opportunity for business and professional people between the ages of 25 and 40 years old. They are in the early stages of their careers. The program provides travel grants for teams to exchange visit in paired areas of different countries.

For four to six weeks, the team members experience the host country’s culture and institutions, observe how their vocations are practiced abroad, develop personal and professional relationships, and exchange ideas.

In a typical four-week tour, the GSE team participates in five full days of vocational visits, 15 to 20 club presentations, 10 to 15 formal visits and social events, two to three days at the district conference, three to four hours per day of cultural and site tours, and three to four hours per day of free time with host families. For each team member, the Rotary Foundation provides the most economical round-trip airline ticket between the home and host countries. Rotarians in the host area provide for meals, lodging, and group travel within their district.

The Rotary Club of Kalibo has prepared a diverse itinerary of vocational visits to the GSE Team. The morning schedule took one team to visit eco-park, Buswang New, Kalibo; Kalibo Pilot Elementary School; DRSTMH; and Aklan State University, Banga campus. They also visited the feeding program project of RC Kalibo in Linabuan Norte. They went to the museum, the Cathedral, some historical spots, and the Dela Cruz House of Piña.

In the evening, the GSE team joined the Rotary Club of Kalibo in their weekly meeting and fellowship. Here, the GSE team in a powerpoint presentation presented their cultural heritage, history of Netherlands, their socio political, economic condition, and government.

The GSE is a cultural program designed to: 1. provide to outstanding business and professional persons opportunities to study another country, its people and institutions through participation in a program of study and discussion in the country concerned; 2. further international under-standing by allowing persons of goodwill to meet, talk, and live with each other in a spirit of fellowship so that they may get to know each other’s problems, and aspirations, and to permit such personal contacts to develop into lasting friendship; and 3. involve Rotarians in a specific, practical and meaningful International Service projects by organizing educational programs for Group Study teams and providing hospitality for them.

The Netherlands team is composed of five professionals headed by a painter Jonaske de Ruiter, a nurse Maartje van Ommeren, researcher Geo Ecologist Hanneke Haesman, a therapist, Chris van de Plas, and education policy adviser, Ferdi Geleijnse.

They visited Zamboanga City; Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay; and Dipolog City before coming to Kalibo. From Kalibo, they went to Boracay to visit the Rotary Club of Boracay. From there, they will visit Rotary Clubs in Roxas City, Iloilo, and Negros Occidental. Their visit to the Philippines specifically R.I. District 3850 will culminate during the District Convention in Bacolod City on February 25 – 27, 2010. They will be back to The Netherlands on the first week of March.

The Netherlands GSE team is sponsored by R.I. District 1560.

The Philippine will exchange the visit to The Netherlands composed of five members including Atty. Buenas Aires Celi Carpio Dela Cruz. They will leave for The Netherlands sometime in May or June 2010 /MP