When it comes to our area of focus, Providing Clean Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, I always think of Rotarian Walter Hughes from the Rotary Club of Rocky Mount, Virginia. I first heard Hughes speak at the District 7850 Conference in 2005. Hughes shared his vision of providing clean water to all citizens in Ghana to eradicate Guinea Worm. Since then, Hughes has led a multinational Rotary partnership that eradicated Guinea worm disease in Ghana, and he is attempting to repeat that in South Sudan. It is estimated that he has led the efforts to provide clean water for over 650,000 citizens in Africa. Hughes’ vision would not have been achieved without fellow Rotarians who share his passion and have helped make his vision a reality. Hughes represents the “power of one.” Other Rotarians have been “the boots on the ground,” and our many donors, especially major donors are “the engine” that made and continue to make Hughes’ global grants possible.
The Rotary Foundation reminds us https://www.rotary.org/en/our-causes/providing-clean-water:
Clean water, sanitation, and hygiene education are necessities for a healthy environment and a productive life.
When people have access to clean water and sanitation, waterborne diseases decrease, children stay healthier and attend school more regularly, and mothers can spend less time carrying water and more time helping their families.
Through water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) programs, Rotary’s people of action mobilize resources, form partnerships, and invest in infrastructure and training that yield long-term change.
The next time you take a drink of clean water from your faucet, consider how much safer the world might be if we could provide even more clean water to citizens here at home and around the world.
If ensuring everyone around the world has access to clean water and proper sanitation systems, consider making a major gift to support this important area of focus. There are several ways in which you can support these basic humanitarian needs. From an outright gift to support a directed global grant to help fund a Water and Sanitation project to endowing a Water and Sanitation global grant scholar to ensure we help train and educate the next generation of engineers and experts who can help find solutions to bringing clean water to remote communities around the world, your gift will make a significant impact on the work of Rotarians like Walter Hughes.