Rotary Club of Capitol Hill and Partners Provide Safe Potable Water to Thousands in Bolivia

For the people of the Chiquitano Forest in Bolivia any water at all can be scarece or a long distance from their villages for much of the year. Safe drinking water has been nearly non-existent. The inhabitants of the villages in this area must drink, cook, and bathe in the same water where their animals drink and wallow.

Through the grassroots efforts of Maria-Nelly Pavisich, a native of Bolivia and member of the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill (RCCH), the club created a working partnership with the Rotary Club of Santa Cruz de la Sierra; together they contacted, FCBC (Fundacion para la Consevacion del Bosque Chiquitano or Chiquitano Forest Conservation Foundation), a Bolivian based NGO, to administer the installation of 26 water pumps in the Chiquitano Region of Eastern Bolivia.

An estimated 3,000 people in more than 20 remote Chiquitano communities now have fresh, safe, potable water from water pumps. This video was taken on September 6, 2009 in the village of Guadelupe outside Concepcion, Bolivia. Five RCCH members, led by President Blair Bennett, visited this community and six others to see firsthand the impact of this project and to understand better the issues confronting these communities.

Initial funding of $47,250 was provided by the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill Foundation, the Rotary Club of Santa Cruz and four Rotary Districts along with a matching grant by Rotary International. This initial funding was levereraged to more than $200,000 to support the project through partnerships with FCBC, local governments and other local entities.

RCCH is committed to continue serving and empowering the inhabitants of these communities with the help of its partners.

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• Rotary Club of Capitol Hill
• Rotary District 7620
• FCBC
• Bolivia
• Water