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International Service
Argentina GSE Team and Blog
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Vietnam Water Projects
For the third year our club has led efforts to fund development of fresh water wells and installation of distribution lines and individual residence spigots in rural Vietnamese villages. Last September, Bob Cary invited Northern California Rotary Clubs to join us in raising a total of $64,000 to complete ten separate projects. Whatever was raised would be matched dollar for dollar by our partner, East Meets West Foundation. Clubs wishing to participate were asked to seek District Simplified Grants in addition to what they raised themselves, since these projects were not eligible for RI Matching Grants this year.
The Sebastopol Rotary Club provided $2,500 of its own money, and received a District Simplified Grant for $975, for a total contribution to the East Meets West Foundation of $3,475. Nine other clubs participated in raising a combined total, including Sebastopol's contribution, of $9,750, plus $6,975 in District Simplified Grants. The total came to $16,725. With East Meets West Foundation matching 100%, the grand total was $33,450.
Daywa Afghan Widows Vocational School
This project will provide both commercial ovens and sewing machines to the Daywa Widows Training Center in Kabul, Afghanistan, to train 500 widows, living at a subsistence level, in marketable skills to create products badly needed in this war-torn country, In addition to teaching commercial baking and sewing, the school will assist those with apparent entrepreneurial skills to establish their own commercial bakeries or clothing manufacturing firms, which, in turn, will employ the school's graduates.
This project, headed by Rotarian Russ Cunningham and his wife Shirlee, was developed with the assistance of the Hayward Sunset Rotary Club, a club of predominantly Afghan immigrants who have many contacts in Afghanistan. The in-country Rotary Partner is the Rotary Club of Kabul.
The Sebastopol Rotary has contributed $6,080 with a 100% Matching Grant from District 5130. The Los Gatos Sunset Rotary has contributed $1,000 with $708 from District 5170. And, the Delhi Mid-town Rotary Club, District 3010 in India, has contributed $1,000. RI has just approved a matching grant for $10,328, thereby completing the funding needed. Subsequent to filing the RI Matching Grant application, the oven manufacturer, Merrill Bevan of Woodstone Pizza, has agreed to donate $995 of used equipment to go with the ovens.
September 6 2004 Update
The Afghan Project is in full swing. The 40' container should
be arriving in Pakistan in the next 10 days to be trucked to
Kabul. We have a terrific consignee who is the International
Chair for Rotary Kabul and is a staff person with CARE Afghanistan
and knows the ropes as they do about $25 million each year there.
We are in touch with him weekly.
The container ended up not only containing the 12 commercial sewing
machines but also cabinets for them so that each will have a
free-standing workstation. The two generators had two transmission
systems built by the Club's two Russ's so that all the sewing machines could be run off of them.
In addition we shipped the pizza oven and all of its equipment
(5,000 lbs). Also shipped were 41 sewing machines (home-type);
11 hospital beds; a wheel chair; an exam table; 16 heart monitors;
and many other miscellaneous supplies. Total value for the shipment
ended up being close to $200,000.
We are currently tracking the shipment with the shipper.
Phase II:
We have close to $7,000 in the bank and will be looking for a
district match for this too. Steve and Jay will you let Russ
and I know if the District will do the match? It will be for
furnishings and other supplies for the school This time all
materials will be purchased on site as they are available there
(the pizza oven and commercial machines were not last year).
The Rotary Club and the staff of the school are currently
obtaining the names of vendors and the prices for all the
equipment and furniture for phase II. As soon as we get that
from them will will do a continuing matching grant application...
plugging in those numbers and information. Since we will be away
from 9/3-9/15, we hope to have it written and out to you all by
the end of September.
Even without this equipment over 225 widows are attending the
school every day with the supplies supplied by our partner, De
Solay Daywa (Sophia Omar's Foundation).
Finally, Karl Stucki, past DG from the Hayward area, went on the
last trip to Kabul about 2 months ago with Sophia. They did
another video which they have been editing and promise it in
couple of weeks. We hope there will be photos too.
Please give me a call if you have any other questions and we hope
that the District will follow through on the match...let me know
your thoughts. Also, the Pacific Grove Club has donated $2,500
and will apply for matching district money once we get the
application together too.
Sunrise House
The Sebastopol Rotary Club entered into partnership with the Sebastopol Sunrise Rotary Club and the Kabarole (Uganda) Rotary Club to refurbish and equip a dormitory and school on two acres in Ft. Portal, Uganda. Rural villages are far apart, making daily travel from home to school impractical. The target students for Sunrise House are orphans, many made so by parental death due to AIDS. The project will be operated by the Wenzeri Community Service Development Organization of Ft. Portal, a Christian church-related community organization. A Matching Grant was received from the Rotary International Foundation. Our contribution to this project is $2,500.
Programma des Becas
This is a partnership with the Rotary Club of Puerto Vallarta Sur, Mexico,
which has provided scholarship support to low-income students desiring to continue
their education beyond the sixth grade. During the 2003/04 academic year, Sebastopol Rotarians contributed $7,000 for twenty (20) scholarships. All but one of the beneficiaries maintained the
required academic record to receive continuing support. Last year's sponsors are currently being invited to renew their support to pay for required school uniforms, books and school supplies to enable their student to continue during the 2004/05 academic year.
Community Kitchen/Community Hall
The Rotary Club of Puerto Vallarta Sur, Mexico, initiated a weekly feeding program for 150 - 200 women and children living near the community dump, and have invited the Sebastopol Rotary Club to be their partner. Last year the club allocated $1,000 to equip the kitchen in the building constructed by local Rotarians. District 5130 committed to match this amount. An application to the RI Foundation was resubmitted earlier this year for a matching grant. Now that the building is completed, it will serve as a place for mothers to learn better hygiene and health and food preparation methods. It will also serve as an activity center for the children. Before the building was in place, Puerto Vallarta Rotarians discovered that the one hour of attention the children received on feeding day was as important as the healthy meal.
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