Kootenai Valley Rotarians return to Guatemala

The Rotary Club of Kootenai Valley took another successful trip to Guatemala in March. 

The purpose of the voyage was to look at some of the projects that have been completed and celebrate with the villages. Besides that they heard from some places about needs that they have and asked for assistance.

Those on the trip were George and Linda Gerard and Eileen Carney from Libby and Sandy Carlson and Lucy Smith from Kalispell. The first stop was at a village that makes hand washing stations and clean water stations.

These are small projects that at the moment are mostly in schools but also are available in one village. These are very beneficial and easy to set up and maintain. They teach the children about the value of washing their hands.

Jim Regh from Libby, who accompanied the Rotarians, stayed here for the week and worked on constructing these.

George Gerard presented them with a check for $5,000 which was raised by a friend of George’s daughter in Tacoma. It was her senior project.

The next day the team visited a school in a town called Cocales. They had constructed three new classrooms for a school of 387 students. They visited another school where they had built a new classroom out of space between two buildings. New walls and a roof were added between the buildings. There was room for 20 students though the room was very small.

In the town of Pasac they had built school rooms and put a clean water system into the school. George gave them a check for $5,000 from his daughter’s friend to help with expenses for the school.

On Sunday, they visited a water project in La Vega that will provide clean water for the community. In this village of 400 families, each house has its own water instead of having to go to a common tank and carry it home.

In another school, Rotarians had built a library, pump and outside bathrooms for the students.

Besides looking at completed projects, the group talked to some villages about the possibility of new ideas. One school needs two new classrooms. The principal showed them where there is space between a building and an outside wall if they build one room on top of the other.

They visited one area very high up in the mountains that is only accessible by a very rutted road. They have access to a spring and need the infrastructure to bring the water to the village. But the spring is 12 kilometers away. 

Accessing the village in the rainy season when it rains every day would be very difficult and costly. The Rotarians agreed to work to see if the project is possible.

The last place visited had a water system for 12 years but it seems to have been poorly planned. They have an elevated water tank that has not been well maintained. The pump is no longer working. Several problems were discussed that have to be addressed before reparations can be made.

Water and education are some of the most elementary needs of every community. Normally these are provided by the federal or state governments. These entities are non-functioning in Guatemala. 

That is why we must come from outside to provide services that belong to the villages by right. But the Guatemalan government is very corrupt and exists only to help the wealthy and does nothing for the poor.