International Service Projects
Madison South Rotary has a long history of supporting international service projects that improve lives and strengthen communities worldwide. Through Rotary grants and partnerships with local Madison-area clubs and clubs in other countries, our members have helped provide clean water, education, healthcare, and other essential resources to people in need.
Below is just a small sampling of the many international projects our club has been proud to support.
Our Club's International Committee: Rob Gooze (Chair), Dan Millmann, Shawn Fischer, Alice Anderman, April Gardner-Taylor, and Jeff Mayers
Literacy and Education of underserved indigenous students in the highlands of Guatemala
Madison South Rotary partners with a local organization in Guatemala, Cooperative for Education, on this education initiative.
One of our long-time Rotary members, Rob Gooze, recently visited the country and saw firsthand the projects we support.
School refurbishment for Disabled Children in Guatemala
Madison South Rotary partnered with the UWARA Rotary Club of Guatemala City and the Oregon Interact Club to help refurbish a school in Alotenango, Guatemala, that serves children with severe disabilities. After the school was forced to relocate because its original building was taken over by the local government, students and staff were left with inadequate facilities and many of their supplies were lost. When a new location became available, Madison South Rotary stepped in to help provide paint, desks, furniture, equipment, classroom supplies, and other essentials so the school could reopen and expand its services.
Although the COVID-19 pandemic prevented Madison South Rotarians from traveling to Guatemala to work alongside local volunteers, the UWARA Rotary Club managed the project on the ground, stretching grant dollars through careful purchasing and negotiation. The project ultimately came in under budget, allowing additional funding to be used for COVID-related supplies. Thanks to the collaboration of Rotary clubs, community members, parents, and volunteers, the school was able to reopen in a welcoming, well-equipped space and continue serving children with disabilities for years to come.
The Guatemala Community Center project
Guatemala Water and Sanitation Project
Chronic childhood malnutrition is a problem all over Guatemala. Almost 50% of children aged 5 and under are malnourished. In the highland villages of Tecpan, however, the number is as high as 95%.
In 2019, Madison South Rotary wrote a Global Grant for a Water and Sanitation Project in two villages in the highlands of Tecpan, Guatemala. We partnered with ABPD (Association Behrhorst Partners for Development), the Antigua RC in Antigua, Guatemala, District 7750 in South Carolina and clubs in Florida and Maine. At the same time, Deb Walters from District 7790 (Maine and Quebec) wrote a Global Grant for Maternal and Child Health for one of the same villages plus one other that had been assessed to need this type of help. The “ask” comes from the village leaders themselves; then a detailed assessment is done by ABPD.
Sanitation Project in Togo, West Africa
Rob Gooze, a member of the Madison South Rotary club visited his son, David, who was serving in the Peace Corps in Togo, West Africa. Rob also met other Peace Corps volunteers and a Shea Flynn asked if our club could help her village by funding a latrine and hand washing station. The middle school is the only school in the community with no latrine, and it serves over 700 students, and they have nowhere to use the bathroom other than the family fields behind the soccer field. Girls miss school during their menstrual cycle because they have no place to safely attend to their feminine hygiene issues.
Construction on this project cost less than $4,000. Thanks to Madison South Rotary and the Peace Corps, over 700 students now have proper school sanitary facilities.
Loving Arms Program in Guatemala
Madison South Rotary did a district grant to provide classroom furniture for a new addition to Association Brazo Amorosos (Loving Arms), a school for disadvantaged indigenous children in San Andres Itzapa, Guatemala. Loving Arms provides education as well as a variety of programs including health, water filters, stoves and income generating cooperatives to promote sustainability and self sufficiency.
The school serves kindergarten through 3rd (now 4th) grade. Their goal is to add an additional grade each year so they eventually serve the total educational needs of the children through high school. Parents are actively involved with the school.
