126 1946-1955 The Fundação de Rotarianos de São Paulo Emerges A very active member at the Rotary Club de São Paulo, over which he would eventually preside in 1949-50, senator José Ermírio de Moraes considered transferring his ownership of Colégio Rio Branco to the institution to be the natural next step. However, a big hurdle stood in the way of that initiative: among the principles fostered by Rotary was that of not engaging in any such activities as might generate permanent liabilities and entail any transfer of encumbrances of any nature to the following administrations. Even prior to José Ermírio de Moraes’ intent to proceed as aforesaid, discussions were already taking place within Rotary Club de São Paulo, led by Herbert de Arruda Pereira (then president of the club), concerning the creation of a foundation devoted to education. Such discussions had been motivated by the existence of another institution intending to affiliate with Rotary. It was a school for underprivileged children located in Cotia, in the Granja Vianna area, which provided primary education and an introduction to vocational training, as well as social work service. Maintained by two active Rotarians, the brothers Niso and Genuino Vianna, that school was growing and expanding the important social role it played in the area, which had made its administration more complex and more costly. With contributions received from several fellows from Rotary Club de São Paulo who donated time and money to the school, the Vianna brothers realized the initiative might have a much wider reach. Hence the idea to rename it Lar Escola Rotary (in Portuguese, “lar” is the word for home, and “escola” for school) and transfer it to the club. However, as previously mentioned, there were restrictions on Rotary’s involvement in activities of that sort. The idea of creating a foundation that could take care of both Colégio Rio Branco and Lar Escola Rotary seemed, to some rotarians, to be a solution. However, the idea failed to gain the expected traction because the Rotary Foundation was already in existence on a global scale to support initiatives designed to improve health and education and to combat poverty. Many thought priority should be given to that institution, which was already carrying out projects of great social impact and, although created 30 years earlier, had only just begun to take shape. Discussed at the Rotary Club de São Paulo Community Service Commission, chaired by Álvaro Machado – who, soon after, would be chosen as the first president of the Board of Directors of the Fundação de Rotarianos de São Paulo –, the theme aroused intense debates. The situation is summed up in an account by Herbert de Arruda Pereira, who was the president of the Rotary Club de São Paulo when the Fundação was created: “However, those same Rotarians from São Paulo wanted to do something more tangible, indefinite in duration, with services provided on a daily basis, which would leave its Rotarian character indelibly marked (…) As suggestions were put forward by one person and studied by many, the relevant constraints were identified and confirmed by several fellow members, who sustained a very reasonable theory: inasmuch as Rotary is not a charity, it neither can nor should take any responsibilities of that kind.” An active Rotarian, Paulo Reis de Magalhães corroborates that view in a letter where he gave his testimony about the period, highlighting that the disagreements were not related to the merits of the projects that some were seeking to associate with the club. He says, “On the Rotary Club de São Paulo Board of Directors, it was our job to find a solution, while trying to moderate conflicting opinions. One thing is certain and needs to be made quite clear: the disagreements were all subjective in nature, involving Rotary principles, which were being upheld in a way I thought exaggerated. From a material, economic and financial standpoint, it was all about selflessness, and there were no restrictions on the great construction project whose outline was starting to appear: the Fundação de Rotarianos de São Paulo.”
Livro Comemorativo dos 70 anos da Fundação de Rotarianos de São Paulo - Uma história de ideias e ideais
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