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Rotary Club Collaboration

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Rotary Club Collaboration

Rotary Club collaboration
Daryle and I with members of the Chiquimula Rotary Club at the dedication of a newly completed water project.

Worldwide there is an amazing collection of worthwhile projects pursued by the 1.2 million members of Rotary Clubs. Projects focus specifically on supporting education and job training, providing clean water, combating hunger, improving health and sanitation, and eradicating polio.

Knowing that there are groups of people around the world individually and collectively committed to the ideal of “service above self” is in itself incredibly encouraging to me.

So I was excited to receive my first chance to experience first-hand some of the joint projects between a US club and a club in a developing nation on this trip.

Rotary Club Collaboration

The way international service works in Rotary, is that clubs with an excess of resources partner with clubs with an excess of needs. In this way the resources are directed to the actual needs of a community, not those perceived from afar. Both clubs put in time, money and resources and through all phases of the project, there are people nearby invested in and overseeing the project.

A few weeks ago, we were given the rare opportunity to visit projects successfully completed by the Rotary Club of Fort Collins and the Rotary Clubs of Chiquimula and Gualan, Guatemala. We were hosted in the homes of fellow Rotarians and were even able to unexpectedly represent the Rotary Club of Fort Collins at the dedication of a recently completed project.

Rotary Club collaboration
Ribbon cutting on the most recent water project with the head of the City of Chiquimula

To see more of what we saw and experienced, take a look at the photos below. Watch as a slideshow or click to enlarge to see the description of each photo.

Some of the work as the water project was in progress - building the tank
Laying the tubing to transport the water - all done by hand and hauling done by horse.
Rotary members and volunteers from Fort Collins and Chiquimula
Project information
the gathering for the project dedication
me saying a few words of thanks to those gathered, in Spanish
leaders and representatives from the community and Rotary Clubs contributing to the project
me accepting certificate of recognition for the Rotary Club of fort Collins for its role in the project
enjoying lunch as honored guests in the communities served, El Poshte and La Catocha
Brick oven built by Rotary collaboration, with tasty conchas made in the oven. Members of the community are now able to make and sell baked goods within the community. the same project also included training farmers in masonry and construction trades.
Dedication plaque for computer lab provided to a primary/secondary school by Rotary Clubs in Chiquimula, Guatemala and Fort Collins & Loveland, Colorado
Fresh drinking water made available to the school by this project. The project also made bathrooms with running water avaialble, a serious upgrade from the previous latrines.
The (air-conditioned) computer lab provided by another collaborative project between the Chiquimula and Fort Collins Clubs
These kids were learning about adjectives, while using Powerpoint. A smart utilization of their weekly computer time.
Daryle and I with our gracious hosts from Gualan Rotary Club, Salvador and Milvia.
The Rotary Club of Fort Collins also partners with the club in Gualan, Guatemala. Primarily working on water and health projects. Here Daryle and I are pictures with Edwin and Benedicio from the Gualan Rotary Club during a tour of the health center that has been improved by collaborative work between the two clubs.
But there\'s still a lot of work to be done, unless you would want yourself or your loved ones to give birth in this room with no equipment in case there are complications.
Thanks to other Rotary collaboration and grants, schools are being refurbished.
And expanded.

[Show as slideshow]

Rotary Club collaboration

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Comments

  1. Cathie

    so cool you can be a part of a life changing event for these good folks – good water – what could be better?