Request for Northbrook Rotary participation in Bath Grant #2 for Indri Boarding School.
Indri is the Ak’Tenamit sister school, newly formed just before the pandemic and designed to be as successful as the original school. When I asked Steve, the founder, about the sister school, he told me that it was great – they had classrooms and dorms but no bathrooms or showers! So, I got busy writing a grant to solve that issue.
That grant has been accepted and closed by Rotary International. Northbrook Rotary contributed minimal DDF and paid the 5% RI fee for the first grant. Dundee put in $500 cash and I funded $18,000. This grant totaled $61,250 with a 3.25 match.
Northbrook Rotary is thanked (see sign) as the international club for the first bath facility grant.
Ak’Tenamit Society (Ak’Tenamit and Indri) graduates are typically offered 4 jobs at 2 to more likely 3 times minimum wage! (Can you imagine if you had a young person in your family offered $45 per hour rather than $15 as a high school graduate what a difference that would make in their life…)
Lake in the Hills & McHenry built a boy’s dorm on the other side of the soccer field this past January.
A bathroom facility for the boy’s side (evening use to keep the hormones separate…) plus additional laundry sinks and an improved septic system (the original one has been outgrown) will be the basis of the second grant. Lake in the Hills & McHenry will provide labor to build the bathroom facility (March).
Budget is $58,000 – Rotary now allows a 2.8 match.
My summer was spent visiting 25 clubs to tell the story and raise DDF and cash. Twenty-two clubs put DDF into the first grant and 15 are putting cash and DDF into the second one. Five individual Rotarians have promised cash! This can be done directly to RI with a 5% user charge and counts toward your cumulative giving at RI or to our charitable fund with no 5% charge and a tax deduction.
President Sandy pledged/reserved the $5666 DDF excess from our last Rotary year for grant #2.
So many have stepped up that, if my math is correct and there are no additions or subtractions, I am requesting that Northbrook Rotary fund $3322 cash for the second grant. We will be credited for having raised the money for and writing both grants. I would like the club to agree to up to $5000.
Northbrook Rotary has been involved with Guatemala for a long time:
Barbara Spaniak, Northbrook Rotarian/retired anesthesiologist took medical teams and left money for our club to continue our charitable efforts.
Carlos Frum led a team from our club to build a dorm at a Sumpango orphanage at Barbara’s encouragement – that was the kickoff for our district being so involved with Guatemala. Our club paid for the materials for this dorm and provided labor side by side with Guatemalans.
The Larry Kanar Library is at the original Ak’tenamit Mayan Boarding School.
