Greetings Monadnock Rotarians!
We welcomed Tony Gilmore to our meeting. Tony is a member of the Capital City Sunrise Club and was our speaker today. Jamie Hamilton had Opening Words. She spoke about her friendship with her local librarian and how the relationship fostered her life-long love of books and reading.
A club discussion was held regarding the 2018 Wellness Festival. Jim Fearnside recounted a meeting he and Bill had with one of our sponsors. The sponsor will not be able to offer the same level of financial support as in prior years. A motion was made to cancel the Wellness Festival next fall and explore other options for community service including the possibility of identifying new funding streams for the Festival in 2019. The motion carried and further discussion will be held to determine our next steps as a club.
Announcements included the following:
- On May 22, Jim Guy has Opening Words and Bill has “The Hat”.
- Our June 12 meeting will be held in the evening at the Community Center. This will be an opportunity for socializing and highlighting our club projects. This is a great opportunity to invite prospective members and friends. The evening will begin at 6:00. Members are asked to bring appetizers and BYOB. For more information, see Jim Guy or Jerry Branch.
- The “Pass the Gavel” party is scheduled for 5:30 on June 26 at the MacDowell Dam.
- The Club will not meet on May 29 in observance of Memorial Day.
Bob Meissner introduced our speaker, Tony Gilmore. Tony has been a Rotarian for many years. He has combined his background in photo journalism with a deep commitment to addressing the needs of people in Honduras and Haiti for potable water and sanitation. Tony and his colleagues have made many trips to the region and have supported the work of Pure Water for the World which offers communities and families a safe and inexpensive way to filter their drinking water. The need is great with families still losing children to water-born diseases. Tony reported that most families in the area do not name their children until two years of age in response to the likelihood that disease will kill the children as infants. Through films, Tony illustrated the difficult living conditions that include garbage strewn neighborhoods and humans sharing their water supply with domestic animals. Deforestation has led to flooding during the rainy season which pollutes community drinking water with human and animal waste.
Pure Water for the World is based in Haiti and produces filters using sand and a cement container. The filters are effective and rely upon a culture of healthy bacteria growing in the sand to filter out the toxins. New more easily transported filters are coming on the market making them more accessible for remote rural areas. Families and communities must make a small financial commitment and agree to regular maintenance of the filters to ensure sustainability. The cost of a filter is about $7.00 which is the equivalent of a week’s pay for most folks. Along with the filters, emphasis is placed upon the use of latrines for sanitation and improving the understanding of personal hygiene. Larger projects addressing villages and schools are underway and progress is being monitored with indicators such as infant mortality and work days lost by parents having to stay home with sick children.
Vance Finch has visited the Honduran villages during a Rotary trip and can share her experiences with the region and people. Tony will be sending out information on how Rotarians may contribute to his work. Their website is https://purewaterfortheworld.org/.
See you Tuesday!
Bill