2007-2008: District Water & Literacy Projects - The last week of February, District Governor Marlene Brown and Rotary eClub NY1 Club President Earl Lewis traveled at their own expense to visit India, where we took part in the NIDS polio drops, and visited Clubs and projects in India's District 3200. We have one Matching Grant project completed here - our opening of 'Gurukulam', a Vocational Training Center for Girls. View blog & pictures here.

The last week of March, District Governor Marlene Brown and District 7150 eClub NY1 Rotarians Earl Lewis & Brad Brown traveled to Haiti at their own expense to attend their District Assembly. After several meetings with the D-7020 Governor, their Task Force, and Club Rotarians, the team was able to agree upon a Matching Grant project in the Thibeault, Haiti area. View blog & pictures here.

The 2007-08 District Grants Committee Chair Earl Lewis and District Governor Marlene Brown have applied to The Rotary Foundation for a Matching Grant for our District-wide Water Project in the Thibeau, Haiti area. We have also applied to TRF for additional projects in India in the areas of Technology Literacy & Water. We are asking Clubs throughout our district to join with us as we help achieve sustainable long term success with both of these district and club projects.

Our goal in India is to provide desks and computer equipment to Rotary schools in Cochin and Coimbatore, and to set up an additional computer lab for girls in Tirupur, and to provide clean water in these three cities schools and centers. Our goal in Haiti is to provide clean water through purifiers and sand filters; green energy generators & sun ovens. These projects will bring renewable, human-powered energy to the communities of both countries; along with literacy training & resources to ensure healthier living conditions.

Download the online printable India Project form letter. Download the online printable Haiti Project form letter & join in with us to make a difference! Our DRFC Jack Luchsinger reports "Any money given to the 'District 7150 - Haiti Project' account toward our Matching Grant from RI can be used to designate Paul Harris Fellows by the clubs donating the money". The same applies to any money given to the India Project.

Through Rotary projects, teachers and students pair up with Rotarians to educate the community and get hygiene, sanitation, clean water, and literacy to be a part of daily life in individual homes. The importance of literacy being a part of this project is the need for the community to be able to read. As President Wilf Wilkinson said " Literacy empowers people. It is the foundation for virtually all forms of education and an essential component of poverty reduction, social inclusion, and economic development. Despite the importance of literacy, there are more than 800 million people unable to read or write in the world today, and 64 percent are women and girls".

To have a program presented to your Club on either of these Projects, Contact DRF Chair Jack Luchsinger, DG Marlene Brown, or one of the following Foundation Committee Members: Sandra Fentiman, Tim Gaul, Jerry Gortner, Earl Lewis, Ward Vuillemot, Frank Decker, Tom Taylor, Joe McCarthy, Jim Austin, Paul Scott, Jim Yonai; or Resources: Roger Skinner, Stu Wood, Jack Weidner, Dick Shineman, Peter Anderson, Bill Tuthill; or our Assistant Governor's: Doug Mouncey, Charlotte Tarwicki, Ann Blask, Sam Crisino, Cal Lyon, Colleen Bennett, Fred Cholet, Paul Graziano, Jim Gascon, Tom Collins. Read more about Rotarian Bob Hood's Haiti Project. Email us if you'd like more information.

Dirty water is killing children, as is the inability of adults to read labels. Haiti is one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. The country occupies one-third of the island of Hispaniola and is home to about 7.8 million people, of which some 80 percent live below the poverty line.

Water is life. An adult can survive without food for weeks, but the human body can't go more than a few days without water. Yet in our world today, an alarming number of people struggle every day to get it. Haiti is a tough place to be a kid. The infant mortality rate for 2005 (73.45 deaths/live births/per year) places it at 33rd highest out of 226 contenders. Though Haiti has made progress against HIV/AIDS, far too many young lives are lost to diarreah, respiratory infections, malaria and other conditions which can be prevented and treated.

While we will witness the poverty and hardship of these people, we will also witness the gratitude of those we'll help. In many areas, there are no improved water sources sufficient to meet the needs of the 1,000's upon 1,000's of people living in some of the regions of Haiti. The majority of people rely on fresh water springs for their daily water needs and many women must wake at 3:00 am in order to begin the task of providing water to meet the day’s needs. How fortunate it will be when each day children and families have plenty of clean, pure water and do not face disease and death due to impurities and water shortages, all due to Rotarians who Care, and the Rotary Foundation's matching grant programs. The U.S. remains Haiti's largest trading partner. Port-au-Prince is less than 2 hours by air from Miami, with several daily direct flights.

Rotarians and villagers try out a new well in Haiti.

Water is life. The human body can't go more than a few days without water. Yet in our world today, an alarming number of people struggle every day to get it. It's daunting when you think of it, the number of people affected — 1.2 billion without access to safe drinking water, 2.4 billion without sanitation. According to the United Nations, some 6,000 children die every day from diseases associated with the lack of safe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygiene.

The painful irony is that water appears to be abundant on our "blue planet." It covers more than two-thirds of the earth's surface. But only 2.5 percent of that water is fresh water. And 99.7 percent of that freshwater is unavailable, trapped in glaciers, ice sheets, and mountainous areas. This means that about 0.3 percent of the planet's freshwater is shared by all of its people. And while the amount of available freshwater remains stable, the number of people sharing it continues to grow.

Few things affect human survival, and the production of everyday necessities, as directly as water does. But with such a broad range of challenges and the unfathomable numbers of people affected, how can Rotary clubs approach the issue with any hope of making a difference? Sometimes the key is for clubs to identify a community's needs and to be sure that the work done results in a realistically sustainable benefit.

Biosand filters are a cheap, reliable way to turn contaminated water into drinkable water. Rotarians from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, have set up a factory in Haiti to manufacture the filters and implement them in that country. Creating awareness is also a key ingredient in the work that Rotary clubs can do. The range of water project opportunities available to the world's Rotary clubs is varied and, above all, necessary.

The important thing is not to be daunted by the immensity of the task. The reality is that Rotarians in their own way are having a huge impact on the water-deprived people of the world. Think of a simple adage: "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

Rotary and Water
The challenge- About 97 percent of the world’s water are oceans -- and saline. More than 2 percent of the rest of the water is frozen in icebergs and glaciers, leaving less than 1 percent of all water available for human use. If it were possible to fit all the water on Earth into a gallon (4 liter) jug, the relative quantity of water available would be about one tablespoon (4 fluid drams). Fresh drinking water and water for food production and waste disposal are essential and increasingly threatened. Population growth and megacities have increased demand six times since the beginning of the 1900’s. Pollution contaminates available supplies. Today, almost half of the world’s countries have severe water problems.

Rotary Solutions- Recognizing the vital importance of safe water, Rotary International policy encourages all Rotary districts and clubs to support efforts which help people to provide themselves with safe water. The safe water projects are to be reasonably close to homes using simple sustainable technology. This policy is reflected in projects of all sizes in all parts of the world.

Indicative of Rotary activity are the number of Matching Grants awarded by The Rotary Foundation for water-related projects. The trustees of The Rotary Foundation have made clean water as one of three priorities for major Health, Hunger and Humanity (3-H) Grants.

In recognition of Rotary’s work to provide safe water in communities around the world, the International Water Resources Association presented the 1997 Crystal Drop Award to Rotary International. Rotary was cited for its projects in Senegal, Haiti and Thailand.

The Rotary Foundation awards Matching Grants to projects coordinated by Rotary clubs throughout the world for wells, water tanks, school or hospital water systems, and lavatories.

Multi-Continental Efforts - The Rotary Safe Water Project has resulted in the construction of 710 wells --565 in India and 145 in Guatemala. The project was initiated by three Rotary International Directors from India, Guatemala, and the United States, to increase Rotary awareness and support for providing safe water to communities in developing nations.

October 2006 Since our District conference we have been very busy with our water projects! Carolyn Meub our Zone Coordinator spoke twice at the District conference and touched many hearts. I continually have club members telling me what they heard at the District conference made sense to them. I have spoken at various clubs and have dates booked for the next two months.

Now for our update!

2006-07 completed Projects:
· Chittenengo-Phillipines- wells for schools
· Oswego, Rome, Oneida Shores, Cazenovia - slow sand filters in Honduras
· Syracuse- proposal for water harvesting at Rom Jori temple in New Delhi

Previous Projects that Continue from 2005-06 are:
· Auburn and Cato clubs-Argentina wells in rural schools
· Eastwood-Goats and wells in Malawi

New Projects in 2006-07
· Chittenengo-trip to Ghana to determine a water project
Pure Water for the World - slow sand filters in El Salvator
· Fulton and Oswego ($2,000)
· Greater Utica Sunrise, Utica, Herkimer, Sherrill, Dolgeville, Camden, New Hartford, Chittenengo, E-club, Kuyahoora, Sauquoit, Oriskany Whitestown, Little Falls (total $4,350)

Rotary District 7150 Water Projects: 2006-07

We were fortunate to have Carolyn Mueb, Zone Coordinator for Water Projects present at the District Conference plenary and work shop sessions. Her information was enlightening-6,000 children a day die from water borne illness the equivalent of 18 jumbo jets fully loaded-per day! Only less than 1% of our planet’s’ water is safe to drink. By 2020 the demand for water will increase by 40%. Humans can survive only three days without water. The facts are compelling. Rotary International is urging all Rotary clubs to do a water project. Joette Deane, District Water Projects Chair, is available to discuss water projects.

Some of the current projects are very affordable, reliable, and sustainable. Water projects are in the planning or finalization stages in the following countries:

Argentina: The Auburn and Cato Rotary clubs with the Seneca Falls Kiwanis contributed funds for a project with the Rotary Club of Ezeiza in District 4900 last year. The project was submitted past the deadline to Rotary International and was denied. The current project is to provide wells to four rural schools to prevent hepatitis, gastroenteritis and diarrhea. The Argentinean club will contribute funding also and the project will be supervised by local Rotarians and a former scholarship recipient who is now a chemical engineer. The Auburn and Cato club are checking on final costs for the current project and are seeking DDF and matching grant funds from Rotary International if needed.

Honduras: The Oswego and Cazenovia clubs have committed funding from their clubs to sponsor a project with Pure Water for the World based in Vermont to provide slow sand filters to families in remote mountain villages in Honduras. The filter has no moving parts, requires no electricity and uses the natural biomass of micro organisms formed in the process to decontaminate the water. This process removes fecal coli form, giardia cysts, worms, and parasites, organic and inorganic toxins from the contaminated water. Families are taught to not recontaminate clean water. The cost of a filter is $75 for a family (usually 6 persons). Several other clubs are in the process of deciding how much they will fund this project. The clubs are requesting DDF and will submit a matching grant to Rotary International with the help of Carolyn Mueb, Zone Coordinator for Water Projects.

India: The Syracuse Club has made contact with the Rotary club of Delhi. The rotary club of Delhi has developed several concepts for projects involving water harvesting. More information to follow soon. This project would also rely on a matching grant.

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