Rui Cunha is a generous champion for good cause. He is a wealthy and prominent lawyer in Macau who by practicing philanthropy gives money and time for others to make their lives better and worth living. He is the founder of the Rui Cunha Foundation established in Macau on April 28, 2012.
The Rui Cunha Foundation was established with the mandate that it should “do something for the advancement and for the welfare of the old Macanese Community.” Thus the foundation seeks to enhance the capacity of those working in the artistic field by helping them to learn from emerging practices in order to build more effective information system to advance the quality of their work.
The name the Rui Cunha Foundation comes from the founder’s name. The Foundation was established to administer his philanthropy. Besides the stated purpose of the foundation, its other purpose is to contribute for the development of the identity of Macau as a separate autonomous region of China with its own autonomous legal system.
The scale of the foundation and the way it seeks to apply business technique in endowing makes it one of the leaders in the philanthropy-capitalism revolution in the local philanthropy, though the foundation itself notes that the philanthropic role has limitations, yet, it is stated that more funds would be spent to expand the goals of the Foundation.
The Foundation also maintains an online database of grants made on its website. Fellowships are intended to provide gifted and skilled people the opportunity to work with as much creative freedom as possible. Its other aim is to expand educational opportunities and obtain access to information technology for the benefit of local students and enterprises.
To maintain its status as a philanthropic foundation, it must donate at least 5% of its assets each year. Now in its 3rd year, the foundation is making an effort to support the brightest minds in the fields of art, architecture and design. In addition, it is going to fund the law research and publish books connected with the local law.
The RC Foundation has also an impressive art gallery with the founder’s art collection to enhance public understanding of local arts. It has become a leading institute for the collection, preservation and research of modern and contemporary art and operates a museum.
Rui Josè da Cunha son of a solicitor and great-grand son of a lawyer was born in 1941 in Bombay now Mumbai because in his native Daman, where his family lived did not have adequate delivery hospital but soon the child was taken back to Daman. There his culture was marked by Portuguese traditions and customs, inherited from his parents and grand-parents.
At a young age, after finishing his primary education he was moved to Goa. After concluding his secondary education in Goa, he went to live with his sister in Portugal and lived in a rented room and from there attended the Faculty of Law.
In his 3rd year of faculty, he suffered of pneumonia caused by the physical stress. As he was a professional badminton player in the national championship – being 1.90 meter tall and weighing 50 kilos, forced him to halt his studies.
During this period of his life he took a course in photography. With his Eastman Kodak Camera he began to take pictures. At that time he had no idea that professional photography ever existed. Photo-journalism was at its infancy.
At the end, his learning in photography proved an asset when Goa, Daman and Diu were annexed by the Indian Union, his family remittance that provided his sustenance ceased. He then became a student cum worker, studying during the day and working at night as television assistant producer. He completed his studies by graduating in law in 1964.
He married by proxy to Ana Maria Bravo and has two children – Alexandra and Rui Pedro. She passed away in 2011.
He was assigned to East Timor former Portuguese colony between 1969 and 1971 and during the trip he passed by Macau. In 1981 with the advice from a friend he accepted an invitation from Dr. Stanley Ho to practice law in Macau.
Stanley Ho, also known as Ho Hung Sun, Stanley Ho Hung Sun, is a Hong Kong and Macanese business magnate. Ho has been nicknamed “The King of Gambling,” reflecting the government granted monopoly he held on the Macau gambling industry for over forty years. In the beginning, Rui Cunha found a bit difficult to practice law in the territory for it was a profession concerned with the customs, practices, and rule of conduct of a community that are recognized as binding by the community. Enforcement of the body of rules is through a controlling authority. Therefore, he thought that he would not stay in the territory for more than a year. Yet, the goddesses of fame and fortune had something better in store for him in Macau.
Within a short period in Macau he became well known as a trained lawyer licensed to prepare, manage, prosecute or defend a court action also as an agent for another. He also became known for giving advice on legal matters that may or may not require court action. These were his best assets as a lawyer in Macau.
Because of his dynamism in the implementation of several enterprises with various purposes he pioneered in incorporating a law firm C&C in partnership with another prominent lawyer Dr. Antonio Correa, which has a total staff of 65 including 25 lawyers. The enterprise is growing fast under his shrewd leadership.
Dr. Rui Cunha is also the Executive Director of SJM Holdings Ltd., a company of Sociedade de Jogos de Macau, one of the six companies authorized to operate casino games of fortune and other games of chance, under the terms of a concession granted by the government of the Macau Special Administrative Region in March 2002. SJM is the only casino gaming concessionaire with its roots in Macau, and is the largest in terms of gaming revenue and number of casinos.
Rui Cunha, an indisputably a great philanthropist, who first took care of his family and on the way made others happy. The key to his genius and success in life lay in his humility and in his humanity. With his humility and humanity he was able to revive Goa, Daman and Diu Cultural Association and organize a string of cultural activities in the territory including the feast of John the Baptist celebrated by Catholics in Macau in a great pomp on every June 24. His generosity also allowed Goa, Daman and Diu Cultural Association to function from his office.
(Diogo Fernandes wrote for Portuguese and English newspapers and magazines in Macau and Hong Kong)
