Celebrate World Water Day
World Water Day.....
Rotarians mark World Water Day at forum, on streets
By Joseph Derr
Rotary International News
| 30 March 2006 |
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| A child in Bangladesh enjoys clean and safe water from a water pump installed through a Rotary project. | |
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| Rotarians and villagers try out a new well in Haiti. | |
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World Water Day on 22 March coincided with the final day of the World Water Forum in Mexico City. There, Ron Denham and Louis Marciano, coordinators of the RI Water, Health, and Hunger Concerns Resource Group joined Rotary Foundation Chair Frank Devlyn to discuss ideas with attendees from around the world. Several Mexico City Rotarians met hundreds of forum attendees at a Rotary booth highlighting water projects.
"Rotarians interacted and exchanged views with hundreds of groups," says Devlyn. "It was interesting to see that many of the groups present [included] Rotarians or persons having a great respect for Rotary and our work."The group also participated in several informative sessions to learn the latest trends and developments related to water issues. Marciano learned about regional solutions to water challenges in places like Singapore, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. "Recycling and reuse of water is a big concern," Marciano says.
Rotarians also met representatives from several large nongovernmental organizations, strengthening existing ties. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of Rotary's partners in the drive to eradicate polio, was among them.
"Over the past few years, CDC has worked closely with Rotary clubs in the United States, Bolivia, Zambia, Japan, and Kenya, to develop and implement programs that are providing access to safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene to tens of thousands of families," said Daniele Lantagne, an environmental engineer at the CDC. "In addition, CDC has served as an information resource for many more clubs interested in developing, implementing, and evaluating their own safe water programs. We look forward to continuing to work with individual Rotary clubs and with Rotary International."
In the United States, Rotarians also commemorated World Water Day by participating in Walks for Water in Hartford, Connecticut; San Francisco Washington, D.C.; Seattle; and several other cities. Recognizing Rotary's commitment to community service and water issues, EthosT Water, part of the Starbucks Corporation, invited Rotarians to take part in a three-mile walk to raise awareness of the world water crisis.
To help spread the word about the walk in Hartford, Susan Atkins, the incoming governor for RI District 7890 (Connecticut and Massachusetts), called up Eric Fahnoe of the Rotary Club of Bloomfield, Connecticut, who promoted the event on the radio station where he works. District Governor Karen Andrews kicked off the walk with a speech.
"I explained Rotary's focus on clean water and that one of my goals for this year was to have all clubs [in District 7890] involved in water projects," says Andrews. "With the help of a committee, six projects were chosen, and each club picked which project they were interested in. To date, we have collected almost $13,000, with much more to come."
Worldwide, hundreds of other ongoing water projects attest to Rotary's commitment and ability to address the problem in thousands of communities. In 2003-04 alone, Rotary International spent more than $1.3 million on water projects.
Look for water initiatives to be highlighted on the Rotary International Web site.