The Milford Rotary Club is joining 41 other Rotary clubs in six states to bring clean drinking water to remote villages in Africa. Those villages, in Ghana in West Africa, have been plagued with the guinea worm parasite and other health dangers caused by drinking contaminated water. The goal of the Rotary clubs is to eliminate the parasite by 2010 by providing clean water, and the clubs are raising $149,700 to fund a Rotary humanitarian matching grant to accomplish the goal.

MILFORD, MA - The Milford Rotary Club is joining 41 other Rotary clubs in six states to bring clean drinking water to remote villages in Africa. Those villages, in Ghana in West Africa, have been plagued with the guinea worm parasite and other health dangers caused by drinking contaminated water. The goal of the Rotary clubs is to eliminate the parasite by 2010 by providing clean water, and the clubs are raising $149,700 to fund a Rotary humanitarian matching grant to accomplish the goal.

 

They are bringing clean water to the villages by digging new wells, repairing old wells, drilling boreholes and filtering water. With the help of Rotary clubs, safe drinking water will be provided to over 20,000 people in three regions of northern Ghana.  "We are excited about making a difference in our hometown as well as in West Africa by being a part of this ambitious project," said Mike DiCicco, Past-President of the Milford Rotary Club. "A son of a Rotarian, Peter DiCampo, was serving in the Peace Corp in Ghana.  He started our interest in West Africa.  Now, people in New York, North Carolina, West Virginia, Texas, Virginia, Georgia, and Massachusetts felt they could team up together to help eliminate the guinea worm disease from Ghana by 2010 by providing clean water."

 

Remote cities in Ghana where the disease still exists will be targeted, reflecting a strategy used by Rotary clubs a few years ago to eliminate polio in Ghana.  Rotarians here are teaming up with the Tamale Rotary Club in northern Ghana, which also partners with the Jimmy Carter Center, Ghana Health Services, International Aid, UNICEF, UnitedMethodistChurch and the Ghana Guinea Worm Eradication Program.   The CarterCenter campaign to eliminate this disease started in 1986 when cases were reported in 20 countries. The guinea worm disease has been eliminated from the world except for Nigeria, Sudan, and Ghana.

 

In 20 years, the guinea worm disease has been reduced from 180,000 cases in Ghana compared to 350 cases of the parasite in 2008.  The parasite is 3 feet long and lives in the body for one year before it starts to emerge. It takes a few weeks to three months for the parasite to painfully exit the body.  The Rotary project also plans to prevent blindness caused by trachoma for people who lack clean water to wash their hands and face. These are just a few of the illnesses caused by unsafe water.

 

The Rotary humanitarian funds will be available starting this fall. Two Rotarians will be traveling to Ghana on Oct. 18 to start implementation of this work.  The goal of eliminating the remaining guinea worm cases will be reached by digging over 20 wells, repairing five boreholes and building household latrines. The grant will fund water filters and purifiers as well.

 

This project completes work started earlier and it is inspiring additional humanitarian efforts to provide clean water in West Africa for more families in need.  Local Rotarians and those as far away as Switzerland will join in future efforts.