Fellow Rotarians Visit Haiti
Posted by John Greenbaum
Our fellow Rotarians, Messrs. Siegel, Silver and Hirsch, from the Liberty Rotary Club, recently returned from Haiti, where they were part of a fifteen member team that assisted in distributing one hundred water distillation systems to families living in Cap-Haïtien, a community on the country’s northern coast, which is about 150 miles from the capital, Port-au-Prince. In addition to providing the water distillation systems, the team provided medical assistance to a local clinic and assisted in an educational assessment study. Their presentation, which was extensive, showed the many hygienic, medical and economic hardships faced by this community. The assistance provided by this group of Rotarians went directly to the recipients, as opposed to most international aid to Haiti, which is funneled through NGOs or the Haitian Government. Messrs. Siegel, Silver and Hirsch will be returning to Haiti in late March to distribute additional water filtration systems. Each system costs about $25.00, and it takes a member from the team about thirty minutes to teach a family how to use and maintain a purification unit. The team is seeking donations to further this cause. As part of their fund-raising efforts, they are applying for a Rotary Global Foundation Grant, which will match 100 percent of any grant funds provided by our Rotary District.