Copy of

Meeting Notes for July 21, 2016

 

Opening: Marie Galbo took center stage as a stand-in for Kathy welcoming us to S.R.

          Rotary. “Our R.I. President for this year is John F. Germ and his theme is:

          ‘Rotary Serving Humanity’”.

Rotary Moment: “The last time Polio infected a child in Europe was last year. Two

         Ukrainian children were diagnosed with paralytic polio. Only 50% of children

         were fully vaccinated there, and as a result, a rare mutation in the

          weakened strain used in the oral vaccine was able to spread.

 

Greeter: Colette lay advised: “The world is changed by your example, not by your 

         opinion”.

 

Rotary Foundation: Ray Giles says this is his 29 year working on behalf of our

        Foundation.

 

Paul Harris Fellow: Dr. Bill Harlan’s granddaughter, Erin was awarded a Paul

        Harris.

 

Recognitions: Dr. Bill Chris Gayler, Ed Duarte and a few others were recognized - at a price, of course.

 

Program: Gary Sloan introduced Peace Corps Volunteer, Dana Wosterberg, who presented slides about his two-year Peace Corps experience in Ghana. Dana graduated from San Ramon High and San Diego State University.

 

The Peace Corps was founded in 1061 by President Jack Kennedy. Since then over 220,000 have served as volunteers. Areas of service include: Agriculture, Education, Environment, Community Development, Economic Development and Health and Sanitation.

 

After completing his training Dana was sent to a village in Ghana on the shores of Lake Volta. Ghana is a former British Colony in West Africa bordered by the Ivory Coast to the West, Berkina Faso to the North, and Togo to the East. His residence was a small house with a corrugated metal roof and no running water. Temperatures there often run to 115 degrees.

 

Dana’s main project was a to organize the community around a water project. He explained that such a project can only succeed by gained the trust and support of the various grouping. It is critical that the men, the women and children all take ownership, and the project has the support of local officials.  After about three months of meetings it became clear that clear the drilling a well was the top priority. Without a well the people had to make as many as five trips per day of about one kilometer to obtain large jugs of water from Lake Volta and that water is polluted with toxic substances and a variety of parasites.

 

In any event, Dana succeed in getting a committee formed to complete the project, two bores were drilled to a depth of some 120 meters, and the wells struck water. Finally, the people were able to go to a pump nearby their home or school and drink what was, for many of them, their first glass of clean water.

 

Dana hopes to raise funds with the help of Rotary for additional wells. The cost for a single bore hole is about $6,000. He is asking for $5,500.

 

Raffle: Gary Sloan won the Greeter’s Gift and Norbert won a shot at the Progressive, but drew a blue ball.