Rotarians travel to aid those less fortunate

George Gerard and Eileen Carney were among the more than 200 participants at the Central American Rotary Project Fair in Antigua, Guatemala, in late January.

The conference brought together Rotarians from Canada, the United States and Central American countries.

The purpose of the conference was to unite groups representing poorer countries that need help solving problems with clubs that are looking for worthy ideas to fund. The Libby Rotarians are working on water projects in Guatemala and hoped to find some interested clubs to partner with.

They made contact with a group from Washington state that showed interest in providing a sewer project to San Juan Maza where Montana Rotarians have been improving the delivery of water to the town. A sewer system would be a lot more complicated, expensive and difficult for the Libby/Troy club to puruse on its own. By co-operating with a larger club with more resources, the project would be much more likely to be achieved.

San Juan Maza is a village that has a small water system, but as the village has grown, more access to water is essential. Montana Rotarians have built a tank to hold water that comes from a spring in the mountains. A larger spring has been found to provide the additional water that is necessary but pipe work has to be completed from the spring to the tank and from the tank into the town.

Rotary is a worldwide organization that seeks to provide water, sanitation, health, conflict resolution and education services from the first world to the third.  The poverty that characterizes the southern hemisphere needs to be alleviated to make the world a more peaceful place.

“Rotary provides the needed structure to help those most in need,” said Project Director George Gerard. “Because it has a worldwide presence, (Rotary) is able to use the resources of each country to solve the planet’s problems.”

Besides the water project in the village, the Montana Rotarians are working to improve the water system in a school built by Montanans near a small village. A new spring has been found and pipes will be laid to the school from there.

“Water is essential for life,” said Rotarian Eileen Carney. “Any help we can give to make this available for the poorest of the poor helps bring more justice to an unjust world.”