Working on a World Community Service (WCS) is not a quick process and the road to follow might be long, with many pleasant and not so pleasant surprises and sometimes disappointments. It is important to keep focus on the goal, in this case to provide necessary sanitation for heavy public traffic areas to avoid many diseases and to improve the general health condition of the people.
After my visit with my son Mark in November 2015 to the West African Project Fair (WAPF) in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, we started on this project in December 2015. Our club decided to support this project and take the lead. During the past course regular updates were provided to our membership by write-ups and presentations.
In total 9 other clubs on the Island supported this project: Port Hardy, Port McNeil, Campbell River Daybreak, Courtenay, Comox, Cumberland Centennial, Strathcona Sunrise, Qualicum Beach, Nanaimo plus the Mid Island Group (MIG), as well as 4 clubs in the States and one club in Australia. Also four Rotarians, who were our travel partners to the West African Project Fair (WAPF) made a personal contribution towards this project. Total cash contributions mounted to $ 44,867.18 US. TRF matched this amount with $ 0.50 cts. for the dollar adding $ 22,433.59 US
District Designated Funds (DDF) were provided by our District 5020, Host District 9101, 2 Districts in the States and one in Australia for a total amount of $ 51,500. That amount was matched by TRF dollar for dollar.
On September 12 we received the message from the Finance Department of TRF that they were ready to release a total grant payment of $ 165,882.18.
Now the construction can start and we look forward to receive regular updates about the progress and development of this project. We will keep you posted.
Submitted by Pieter Koeleman
Coordinator Latrine Block Project
Rotary Club of Campbell River
September 14, 2017