Submitted By: Bob McLean, District Governor- Nominee, District WaSH Chair 2017-2018It may have been 2001, attending my first Rotary International convention, when I heard the alarming comment: “The next world war will be fought over WATER!” That haunting statement has stuck with me.
At the beginning of the millennium (2000) various international organizations collaborated to establish Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) for our future. It addressed various steps towards improving access to key/basic services; education, electricity, poverty relief (economic development), health and wellness, and, of course, safe water and basic sanitation. The list reads much like Rotary’s Six Core Areas of Focus with WATER at the center of it all.
Nearly two decades since those goals were espoused, almost two billion people still lack access to safe water and nearly 2.5 billion people lack access to basic sanitation. According to the most recent newsletter from the Water And Sanitation/Hygiene Rotary Action Group (WASRAG), every 90 seconds a child dies from water-related disease. A horrific 3.5 million people, mostly young children in poor underprivileged countries, die annually from these preventable water-borne disease – cholera, dysentery, diarrhea and typhoid. Over 80 percent of all illnesses in the world are related to contaminated water, poor sanitation, and poor hygiene; nearly 90% are children.
Water is central to our health, our economy, our productivity, education, our capacity to produce food and produce pretty much everything else, our capacity for peaceful co-existence with our neighbors and every living creature. It ALL depends on water.
As dire as the situation is for so many who suffer from a lack of safe water, I am encouraged and hopeful by the work championed by Rotary Clubs around the world and Rotary Clubs in D5580.
Though just a small sample of the great work by clubs of D5580, we have WaSH projects supporting wells in much needed areas like Chad, Ethiopia, and India. Our clubs have placed water filtration systems, sanitation systems, and water treatment systems in Bolivia, Haiti, Honduras, and Guatemala. Our clubs are combining access to education (and safety) for girls by placing water wells and sanitation facilities at schools; away from dangerous remote sites. These and so many more projects around the world are being supported by the clubs of D5580.
But you don’t have to travel the globe to find efforts by Rotary to address critical water issues. A project is underway to bring clean water to people of the Navajo nation in Arizona. Working with the 501c3, Dig Deep, an exciting program is being introduced to clubs of D5580 this month; encouraging support for a system that will provide storage and delivery of water to U.S. citizens who have never before had clean, drinkable running water within their homes.
Even with that alarming statement: “The next world war will be fought over WATER!” … I am encouraged by the forward thinking of Rotary International AND the opportunity for clubs in D5580 to be proactive. For those who attended the wonderful district conference in Thunder Bay, many had the opportunity to meet the RI President ’s Ian H.S. Riseley’s representative, Pamela Russell; an exceptional Rotarian! During her visit to our conference, she began a dialog with D5580 Foundation Chair, Keith Brokke, regarding an exciting program; providing global grant scholars with the opportunity to study Water Cooperation and Diplomacy. RI’s initial focus will be on the impact in Central Asia but the program is applicable worldwide! The D5580 G
rants Sub Committee has agreed to provide funding in support of this highly impactful program. More information is available on the district website under the Home Page Download Files “Water Cooperation and Diplomacy”.
rants Sub Committee has agreed to provide funding in support of this highly impactful program. More information is available on the district website under the Home Page Download Files “Water Cooperation and Diplomacy”.The day before this year’s Rotary International Convention in Toronto, WASRAG will be holding its 10th annual summit. This will be my third time attending the summit! This year’s theme WaSH and Health is so fitting to the crisis that exists today in so many parts of the Rotary world. There will be a broad array of plenary sessions with particular emphasis on disease control and the challenges of clean water in healthcare facilities. The speaker list is incredible including: Barry Rassin, RI President 2018-19, Peter Lochery, former director of CARE’s Water Team, Silvia Gaya, UNICEF Senior Advisor Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. It will be an important precursor to the RI convention and I look forward to reporting back to the Rotarians of D5580 on what I learn.
As a close, this is a sincere “shout-out”, KUDOS, and thanks to outgoing District Governor Debra (and Ed!) for her great support of WaSH projects throughout the year; wonderful hands-on participation on numerous projects and DG Debra gave WaSH the highest priority for the district!
The coming years with DG Blaine Johnson and DGE Rick Bricker will be exciting. They have a clear sense of the importance WATER and how central it is to the Core Areas of Focus for Rotary. I look forward to working with them and our new WaSH D5580 Chair, Karl Everett on raising the awareness of opportunities for service throughout D5580.
For additional information on how you and your club can get involved with WaSH project, a list of websites are noted below. Also, feel free to contact me or Karl to learn more about how you and your club can team up with other clubs of D5580.
Yours in Rotary,
Bob McLean Karl Everett
D5580 WaSH Chair 2017-2018 D5580 WaSH Chair 2018-2019
For more information on Rotary Water and Sanitation/Hygiene (WaSH) projects visit http://www.wasrag.org and search the world for projects!
For other ideas on Water and Sanitation/Hygiene: