The Club’s Pinatubo Assistance Program took a different turn under Pres. Armand “Jun” Braun as it focused on meeting a need that is usually without obvious outward manifestations, but just as real, and critical, as the need for basic physical needs. It turned its attention on families sheltered in the Clark Air Base Command (Cabcom) evacuation center, where it put in place a Psycho-Social Development Project, under which they underwent stress management and counseling in periodic sessions with psychologists.
On the practical side, RC Dau carried on with training programs and job placement assistance in the RC Makati- funded livelihood center.
What made it possible for the Club to implement the Pinatubo project and other assistance plans were two fundraising activities that generated a combined revenue of nearly P1.4 million—the Christmas Bazaar and a second run of the Super Family Bingo.
The fresh funds also put MRTC in a position to intensify its training programs, conducting various courses for a record 17 batches of trainees, including out-of-school youth and employed persons wanting to acquire a new skill. The year ended with 197 graduates skilled enough to battle it out on the job market.
It was an active time for community service. The assistance program for Cabanelas ni Brgy. La Paz received a strong shot in the arm with the establishment of a cooperative sari-sari store from which residents bought every-day items at cheaper prices and whose operation provided community leaders with a platform for learning the rudiments of business management and accounting. With the observation that the barangay had many obviously undernourished children, the Club enlisted the assistance of the Rotary Village Corps for a supplemental feeding project that provided free meals to underweight children. In the area of health, 13 medical missions were held, three in select communities, the rest, surgical missions at the PGH.
Aside from its excellent performance in the vocational and community service departments, the Club recorded gains in the other avenues of service: under Youth, the formation of two Rotaract Clubs; under Club Service, an essay writing contest on the Four-Way Test in six public high schools in Makati; and under International Service, the enlistment of 30 new Paul Harris Fellows, a new record for the Club, and the initiation of brother-club relations with the Rotary Club of Cavite East.
The year ended on a happy note with the Club receiving two major awards during the district yearend awards: Most Outstanding Club in District 3810 and Overall Award of Excellence in The Rotary Foundation.