A grant proposal from four area Rotary clubs was recently
approved by The Rotary Foundation, enabling a partner Rotary club
in Haridwar, India, to purchase $23,408 worth of equipment for a
new medical clinic in that community.
A grant proposal from four area Rotary clubs was recently approved by The Rotary Foundation, enabling a partner Rotary club in Haridwar, India, to purchase $23,408 worth of equipment for a new medical clinic in that community.
The clinic was recently constructed, largely through efforts of Gilroy doctor Barry Armstrong, but it lacks adequate equipment and supplies to be fully operational. The India Ministry of Health has been unable to supply these materials to the clinic.
Working together with the Ranipur Rotary Club, located in Haridwar, India, Rotary clubs from Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Hollister and San Juan Bautista set their goal to raise money locally and then apply for matching grants through The Rotary Foundation, the worldwide philanthropic arm of Rotary International.
Charles Weston of the Morgan Hill Rotary Club spearheaded the effort.
“When I visited Haridwar, with my daughter last year, I was astonished at the poverty and human suffering, visible right out on every street.” Weston said. “I knew we could do something. This $23,000 will make an incredible impact on the community.”
Haridwar is located in northwestern India, one of the few regions on earth that still has the wild polio virus. Beginning in 1985, Rotary International began a campaign to rid the world of polio by the year 2005, the centennial year of Rotary’s existence. In 1985 polio was almost unknown in developed parts of the world, yet nearly 1,000 children per day were contracting the disease in developing areas of the world. Now 134 countries have been certified polio free, and only ten remain affected.
“Most Americans have never seen a case of polio in their lifetimes, so we have a hard time appreciating the devastating effect the disease has on individuals, families, even entire communities,” said Scott Schilling, immediate past president of the Morgan Hill Rotary Club.
“This medical clinic will contribute significantly to the eradication of polio in this, one of the remaining ‘hot spots’ of the world,” said Ron Culler, past president of the Hollister Rotary Club.
Ernie Filice, past president of the Gilroy Rotary Club, said, “Putting this project together with the cooperation of four Rotary Clubs here and one in India is testimony to the fact that we are all members of a world-wide community, striving for common goals.”
Looking to the future, the four area clubs have now begun raising funds to renovate and improve sanitation facilities in a run-down orphanage in Oruro, Bolivia. The facility is home to 74 boys, and it is currently being operated on a government subsidy of about $1 per day. About $22,000 is needed to complete this project.
The Live Oak Interact Club, the high school derivative of the Rotary Club, completed several community fund-raising events for this project.
“The Interact kids have been a wonderful support for this project,” said Elizabeth Perrier, Morgan Hill Rotarian and coordinator of the project.
Persons wanting to learn more about these projects, or about other international activities of Rotary can contact the following Rotary Club directors for international service: Lou Mirviss, Morgan Hill (779-4554); Pearl Masterson, San Juan Bautista (831-623-4441); Francene Markle, Hollister (831-637-7717); or Regan Brown, Gilroy (848-8118).
Tax deductible donations to the Bolivian orphanage project are currently being sought, as well as to the Rotary International world-wide Polio Eradication Project. Contributions to these projects can be made through the Rotarians listed above.
