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Brief histories of the
first clubs of each geographic regions or countries
Rotary Club of CURACAO,
the
First Club of Netherlands Antilles
Rotary International
District 4370
Part of our
Rotary Global History in Central America/Caribbean
Section
Rotary
Club Curaçao was founded on March 10th, 1937. The very first Club consisted of 29 members. Since then the Rotary Club of Curaçao
has enjoyed a period of uninterrupted growth and now is stable and about 100 members. The club form part of iRotary District # 4370,
which comprises Venezuela (Eastern part), Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire (fondly referred to Rotary "ABC")"
Our Rotary Club Curaçao has been host to six District Conferences, in 1941, 1960, 1973, 1982, 1992 and 2003 and at least one
District Assembly. It has been honored five times by visits of a President of Rotary International. It has produced two District
Governors, Sha Capriles in 1944 and Rene Moreno in 1965. Rene Moreno thereafter served Rotary International on various
occasions as a special Representative of the President of Rotary International.
The Rotary Club of Curaçao did not waste anytime in spreading the message of what it means to be a Rotarian to our neighbors.
Slightly over a year after its establishment the Rotary Club of Curaçao sponsored the formation of the
Rotary Club Aruba, chartered December 10th, 1938. Then in 1953 it sponsored the Club of Paramaribo in Surinam and in 1982,
the Rotary Club of Curaçao sponsored the creation of the Rotary Club of Bonaire.
The Club has always been an active contributor to the Rotary Foundation and it is at present a substantial contributor,
thirty-five of our members are 'Paul Harris-fellows'. We have been fortunate enough to obtain three Rotary Foundation scholarships
for candidates presented by our club.
Considering is an important tourist and business destination there is virtually never a meeting without fellow Rotarians from all
parts of the world in attendance, often representing a sizable percentage of total attendance.
Those wishing to exchange club banners are presented with our unique, locally hand-crafted,goat skin banner produced by the
Foundation for the Promotion of Handicraft, one of the many worthy enterprises sponsored by the Club.
In professional service Rotary Club Curacao has been consistently active in giving vocational information to graduating high school classes.
Club members representing various professions hold talks with students setting forth details about each alternative and counseling
them on how to follow higher studies in their chosen fields.
Many club members take active part, often as chairman, in local business and professional organizations such as the Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, the Association for Trade and Industry, the Curacao Medical Association, the Association of Pharmacists,
the Bar Association, the Association of Certified Public Accountants, the Association of Insurance Brokers, the Royal Society of
Engineers, etc.
Community Service is the Avenue in which the Club has been most active. In 1938 our very first project was to help bring back
to Curaçao local laborers that were stranded in Cuba after the collapse of the sugar-cane boom. During World War 11 the Club
spearheaded a drive to acquire a Red Cross lifeboat, helped establish the "Prins Bernhard" Foundation, founded the Curaçao chapter of the Fellowship of the Bellows, and pushed for the creation of a direct telephone connection with New York.
International Service comes naturally to our club because almost all its members are in one way or another involved in
tourism, international business, shipping or finance. Intrinsically our Rotarians help improve international relations, promote
the island to the world outside, host visiting foreigners, and maintain close and friendly contact with official representatives
of foreign nations.
On occasion several members of our club organize projects to bring our island and our Club closer together with other nations and
other Clubs throughout the world.
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