ROTARY CLUB OF SANTA MONICA CONTRIBUTES TO WATER PROJECTS
El Salvador is facing chronic water stress and is recognized as one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change due in part to degraded land and water resources. Nationally, more than 50% of water does not meet international standards for drinking.
In 2017 the Rotary Club of Santa Monica (RCSM) partnered with a Rotary club in San Salvador to rehabilitate and upgrade the water system of Santa Catarina, a municipality of 10,500 people. They were facing major water deficits due to failing water infrastructure and poor water management.
A $40,000 grant from RCSM leveraged $215,000 in local loans and additional grants to fund this $255,000 clean water project. The RCSM grant helped to restore the storage tanks and replace mainlines in order to create a modern, sustainable water system. To see what the project means to the people of El Salvador, take a look at the video at: https://vimeo.com/275403964/e06d1acf82
Virtually all families in El Salvador can afford $5/month for water. The challenge is to create a Water Service Provider (WSP) that can operate with the users’ monthly payments. Infrastructure provided by a Rotary grant lowers the amount financed to an affordable level. This enables a sustainable system that can pay for and support itself. This year the Rotary Club of Santa Monica is working with three communities with over 2,300 families to improve their water systems. A $50,000 grant from RCSM is being combined with $67,000 in grants from other Rotary clubs and Rotary International. This then facilitates an additional $298,000 in grants and loans from other sources for a $405,000 impact on CLEAN WATER FOR EL SALVADOR.
In other clean water news, Rotary District 5280, of which Rotary Club of Santa Monica is a part, along with multiple other US districts, and our Rotary associates in Mexico and South Korea have joined together to address a serious problem in the United States. The lack of access to clean water. There are families in the United States that do not have access to clean water in their homes. This year, through a Global Grant, the Rotary Club of Santa Monica will partner with Dig Deep, a non-profit committed to providing clean, running water and solar panels on the Navajo Reservations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.
Rotary Club of Santa Monica’s participation in this project will commence Phase 3 of Dig Deep’s efforts and will provide 305 homes (typically occupied by multiple families in a trailer) with a 1,200-gallon clean water tank, a sink, pump, heater, solar panel, three lights, and a carbon monoxide alarm. The cost for each home installation is $4,500.
The Rotary Club of Santa Monica is proud to be a part of bringing clean water to families.
The Rotary Club of Santa Monica is a dynamic group of business and civic leaders who have joined together to share fellowship and to support local and international charities. We are part of Rotary International which has over 1.2 million members in more than 33,000 clubs around the world. We are dedicated to service above self.
Rotary Club of Santa Monica meets Fridays at noon at the DoubleTree Suites. For more information or to attend a meeting, please contact Savi at rotaryclubofsantamonica@verizon.net or 310.917.3313.
