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Published: March 2nd 2006
2006 Rotary Panama Water Team
Wes McCoy , Bryan Kidney, Greg Peterson, Bob Green, Lois Kastner, John and Wanda WilhiteWe arrived in PC Tuesday the 28th after a very long flight. Fog in Texas meant we were sent to New Jersey instead. After being picked up at the airport by our local Rotary friends, we checked into the Hotel Marbella
The group this year is made up of seven Rotarians from Kansas. Greg Peterson, Lenxa. Wes McCoy, Olathe, Lois Kastner, Leavenworth. Bob Green, Ottawa. John and Wanda Wilhite from Overbrook.
I´ve been asked quite a bit about what and why we go to Panama... Rotary District 5710 in Kansas has worked over the years with Rotary clubs in Panama. There has been a very successful annual health fair, assistance with schools, orphanages, medical supplies, etc.. The clubs in Panama had noticed that many of the children are still not coming to school and that many times the doctors at the health fair are treating the same ailments over and over. They realized that the basic need of a safe water supply is not being met here in Panama.
In 2005, a team of Rotarians traveled to Panama in order to review numerous water projects the local Rotary clubs identified as being needed to enhance the quality of
life to hundreds of their fellow citizens. The team traveled accross the countryfor two weeks meeting with local clubs and visiting villages in the countryside to understand the water needs. What they found was amazing. Thousands of Panamanians were drinking a very poor quality of water. If there is a safe well to drink from, many times it was sometimes up to two miles away from their house! We saw people bathing in the same water that they drank. A majority of the needs could be met with a b udget of $500 to under $5,000. They typically included pumps, motors, and pvc piping. Many times the village had the infrastructure in place but had broke down and they had little or no money to complete repairs.
With this information, the team retunred to the Kansas local clubs gave many presentations asking for their assistancein funding the projects. Several clubs funded projects in whole or sometimes two or more clubs combined funds to complete a project. District 5710 added simplified grants to help a club to fund a project. Many more clubs contributed money to District 5710 in order to build up a fund for matching a major Rotary International grant.
This trip is being taken with the assistance of a grant from Rotary International to gather information about more water needs in Panama and to follow-up on the projects funded by Kansas clubs last year.
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