Nancy Morris introduced our guest speakers for the evening. They had been scheduled to make this presentation back in April, but due to a late blizzard -that date had to be cancelled.
Gord is the Chair of the Canadian Ripple Effect Committee since July 1st, 2009 and is a member of the R.C. of Kenora for 16 years.
As coordinator of the Ripple Effect Program with his wife Deb, Gord and Deb have been “on the ground” in Guatemala eleven times since 2008 and have witnessed first hand the educational needs of the children. They have been privileged to help this initiative, Ripple Effect, grow to include many Rotary Clubs, to build many schools and to significantly impact many communities in Guatemala. More children are attending pre-kindergarten, more girls are attending school, and more children are graduating from grade 6. Gord is very passionate about the positive changes the Ripple Effect Program is bringing to the lives of the children of Guatemala and the “Hope for a Brighter Future through Education”.
John has been a member of the Rotary Club of Kenora for 37 years, is a Past President, a member of the Canadian Ripple Effect Committee and is currently a member of the RC of Kenora WCS Committee. John and his wife Rowena like to travel and have accompanied Gord and Deb to Guatemala five times. John and Rowena take an active role in Project Monitoring of the school construction projects.
Ed Thompson is also a member of the Ripple Effect Committee and is the Cluster Chair for the Winnipeg region.
The Ripple Effect Program in Guatemala is the first and largest International World Community Service (IWCS) program ever developed in District 5550.
Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in the western hemisphere. 45% of it`s population is indigenous. There has been a 36-year Civil War in Guatemala. During that time a lot of the population went to small villages in the hills and lived there in relative isolation for the past 30 to 40 years. Education suffered greatly because of this. The parents realized that for their children to have any future, they needed to find a way to educate the children. They were willing to do anything to get their children into school and keep them there. Education helps provide a brighter future, eradicate poverty, keep kids out of gangs.
The Ripple Effect Program (REP) is committed to fighting poverty and promoting world peace by enhancing educational opportunities for children living in challenging environments. The program focuses on kindergarten to grade 6 and scholarships for Middle and High School students.
Since the inception of the Ripple Effect Program in 1999, Ripple Effect has built 80 schools in poor rural areas. Direct beneficiaries of the Program exceed 25,000 students and teachers. The program has spent $3million for Education in Guatemala since 1999.
Why is Ripple Effect successful? (John Berringer)
- Must have an enthusiastic person involved in the 1st world country of sponsor. Gord and his wife are remarkable. They commit 60 hrs/week to REP in order to keep all functions working.
- Boots on the ground at the project site. There are 6 to 8 really good Rotary Clubs in Guatemala that REP works with. There must be contact and working relationships with multiple layers of local government, teachers, contractors etc.
- Know how the money works. District Grants and Rotary Foundation must be fully understood to get the largest benefit out of them for every dollar that is donated.
The next World Community Project that has just recently received approval to proceed is a $61,000 project to build a school with- 3 classrooms, washrooms, kitchen, storage room.
There is a signed document of agreement from the Minister of Education in Guatemala to provide one teacher for every classroom that is built. The teachers are getting to be of better quality as time goes on due to a higher level of education for them as well.
The REP works with the NOVELLA FOUNDATION for concrete (only supplier in Guatemala), FUNSEPA for the donation of computers for the schools (replaced every 3 years), TIGO for cellular communications.
Hugues Rousseau, Ambassador of Canada to the Republic of Guatemala was present at a REP school opening.
The Ripple Effect Scholarship Program works in partnership with the Rotary Club of Vista Hermosa in Guatemala to award scholarships for students from the rural community of Santo Domingo Xenacoj in Guatemala. The Rotary Club of Moose Jaw - Wakamow is the lead funding partner and project manager for this Rotary International District 5550 program.
The primary objective of the Ripple Effect Scholarship Program is to increase the number of students who can progress beyond Grade 6 to Middle School (Grades 7, 8 &9) and to graduate from High School (Grades 10, 11 & 12).
Requirements to receive a scholarship include marks of 80% or higher and 30 hours of volunteering. James Taylor (Moosejaw -Wakamow) was the individual to make donations to in the past. He has recently moved, so the new contact for donations is Marian Kettlewell. Scholarships are $160 for Middle School, $650 for High School and $1,500 for University per year. The funding that must be covered for Scholarships per year is now at $15,000.
The program for training teachers was based on taking primary teachers and training them on Saturdays for 3 years in order to complete the required courses. Now applications are being taken from High School graduates that want to train as teachers. The students go to university at Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG).
Recently there was a volcanic eruption in Guatemala (Sunday June 3rd, 2018). Ash fall would affect 1.7 million people across the country of 15 million. More than 3,000 have been evacuated from areas threatened by the lava flows. The death toll stood at 99. But the number of fatalities is expected to rise as at least 197 people are still listed missing.
It is possible to use Global Grant Funds for the purchase of furniture etc. for schools.
The 2018 – 2019 Projects include;
- Los Pinos School / $61,000. Status is approved on July 15, 2018
- The Rotary Foundation Canada Grants Review SubCommittee announced that application for funding for a large computer project was approved!
The amount is $30,200 US, which will be part of a planned $125,000 US Global Grant (pending approval by the Rotary Foundation) for the purchase and installation of 340 computers in 20 schools in Guatemala, complete with training for teachers and students. The Rotary Club of Regina Eastview is working in partnership with the Rotary Club of Guatemala Oeste and FUNSEPA.
- 20 WASH in school. $263,000 USD. Moosejaw – Wakamow R.C. will be working with R.C. of Guatemala.
Members of the Ripple Effect Committee travel to Guatemala every Fall. Do you want to go with them? If you do, start planning. Self funded travel as all fundraising efforts are directed into the projects, not committee travel.
Q/A
- Lloyd Talbot asked if they ever feel unsafe.
- No, they always are travelling during the day, never at night. Escorted by local Rotarians and as a group.
- Darvin Jasper asked what the accommodations are like.
- In larger cities they usually are in good hotels. As they travel into smaller communities, the level of accommodation does decrease… but always acceptable.
- Nancy Hansen asked if measure are taken to allow for people with disabilities to use these schools?
- Yes, the entry is a ramp if required. Actually, less expensive to build an access ramp than stairs. Grab bars in washrooms are installed.
- Roh Goenka asked how they make sure children attend the schools that are constructed?
- Parent communication / committees. Always talk to the parents. They know the value of the education for their children. Where there are computers, the children want to be there. Food is also provided as mandated by the Government. A breakfast meal must be provided to the students every school day.
Darvin Jasper thanked Gord and John for their presentation. They were advised that a donation to ShelterBox would be made in their names.
Nancy Morris advised that Ripple Effect started by a comment from Ken Hana to Alex Zharidnitzki that he should have the connections to make something happen in Guatemala regarding education for the children. In 2010, at the District Conference in combination with U.S. District, Alex was awarded the `Service Above Self Award`, for his work starting Ripple Effect in District 5550.
