Todays’ program speaker, Marty Pease, Team Leader for Public Relations in the International Project Alliance IPA, was introduced by Paul Grey. Marty is a member of the LaConner Rotary Club and has worked in IPA activities for several years. Members will recall that our club recently joined the IPA as part of our International Outreach efforts.
The International Project Alliance is an innovative, cooperative organization made up of eleven Rotary Clubs in and around the Skagit County area of our district, committed to helping the Mayan village people in Copan, Honduras. The IPA group identifies and supports a variety of aid projects, and currently has projects underway in twelve of the 30 villages in the Copan area.
IPA focuses its efforts in two areas, education and development, in several programs. Examples of education support are shown by the Adopt-a-School and Adopt-a-Dream programs that support kindergarten and elementary school children and high school and college students, respectively.
Depending on the situation and need, support is provided in the form of school supplies, uniforms and library materials for students and teaching supplies for teachers. Currently support is going to more than 2000 students. Development projects in schools include building, remodeling, repairing and furnishing classrooms. Community projects include home improvements, building bridges, basic health care, improving water supplies and training in agriculture best practices.
The IPA is well organized, having both an Operations section and a supporting Foundation. The Operations unit is organized into Marketing and Operations areas, with a group of focused teams in each unit. Based on figures presented by Marty it appears the IPA has worked with about $200K in project funding this past year, of which about $35K came from the participating Rotary Clubs, $15K came from our District and the remainder raised from private sources. Members of our Club are encouraged to get involved and to participate in IPA activities. The Alliance supports projects monetarily and also through direct participation by members of the IPA clubs. Each year several teams of IPA Rotary club members travel to Copan to participate in the aid work and to interact with aid recipients. Marty has made several trips. She notes that she has enjoyed working with the local people and experiencing the local Honduran culture. She encourages our members to get involved.
