Rotary Shines, Rotary Shares

The World Service Committee has chosen to support water projects from the proceeds Rotary Shines. In May 2012, The Rotarian magazine said that “water and sanitation, one of Rotary’s six areas of focus, is a local concern of global importance.” The return on investment in clean water and sanitation was estimated at 747%. In January 2012, Sridhar and his four siblings visited the school where he completed 5th grade. About 750 children attend this state supported school that serves lower to middle class and the poor. They saw a crumbling, rusty holding tank that provided water to the children. When they saw this, Sridhar and his siblings made a pledge to replace this with a new system that can provide clean, cool water to these students. In addition, our Club will be giving $2,052 to complete this project and the Rotary Club of Gangavathi-Central will provide oversight and follow-up. The Sri Vidya Foundation will also be providing funding. Egide Nimubona wanted to help provide clean water to schools in Burundi. Clean water is a rare commodity in Burundi. Water infrastructures were originally brought in from missionaries. The Mubimbi III Elementary School Water Project was started last year by the Rotary Club in Neenah and the Bujumbura Rotary Club who raised $2,000 to provide a water fountain. After members of the Neenah Rotary Club visited the area, it was determined that a water tank built in the 1960’s was in need of major repairs and 4 additional fountains were needed to satisfy the needs of about 1900 students. Some of the additional cost ($2,600) will come from the proceeds of Rotary Shines. Local Rotarians are managing the project. This water will benefit the families of the students who will take buckets of clean water home after school. This water will decrease disease making students miss fewer classes. The Kinama II Elementary School Project will provide water to an elementary school that has no water. Students ask permission to leave to get polluted water from neighboring creeks that is 2 miles away. This creates class disruption and most don’t come back to school. The school has 773 students and 16 teachers. The goal is to capture water from a spring to allow students and the community to have clean water. Local Rotarians will manage the funds, make a contribution and report back to our Club.