Initial Countdown

In less than three weeks, I will be joining several other Rotarians from around the world, as we travel to India to participate in Rotary International's effort to eradicate POLIO from the world. In addition to working alongside some one hundred thousand other volunteers, both from India, as well as other countries, in what is called a NATIONAL IMMUNIZATION DAY (NID) on Sunday, February 1, 2009, our team will be very involved with a "hands-on" project.

The project is part of a sustainable relationship we have created over the past two years, with the people of a poor Muslim village, about fifty kilometers west of New Delhi, close to one of the evolving "IT "centers in India - the city of Gurgaon. The village - Chahalka (also spelled Chehalka) is located in pretty desolate landscape, about ten minutes from the small city of Sohna.

In February 2007, I had the good fortune to lead a group of Rotarians from three countries to Chahalka, where we funded and constructed (working with local laborers) two washing platforms near the center of the village, which helped to re-establish the village drinking water to safe drinking standards. Prior to our involvement in Chahalka, women and girls would take their clothes, pots and pans, and yes, their water buffaloes to the central water supply - a tiled well close to the largest school play yard, and proceed to dip down into the well, gather water and then wash their clothes, dishes, and water buffaloes, with the waste water either pouring or seeping back into the water supply. It was a self-perpetuating prophesy that anyone drinking from the well would undoubtedly get sick from water-borne diseases. By constructing the two washing platforms, and diverting the waste water away from the water supply, we were successful in changing the potability of the water from unsafe and polluted to safe for drinking!

This past year, I led fifty-four Rotarians and Friends of Rotary (from seven countries!) back to Chahalka, where together with local laborers, we transformed two-thirds of what was a derelict local government building into the ROTARY COMPUTER AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTRE and the remaining one-third into the ROTARY DAY CARE CENTRE OF CHAHALKA. Already, we have been pleased that more than sixty young people from the village have been educated in computer technology, and will soon enter the work force at entry-level wages, rather than having to rely upon more menial jobs, which pay little and are only sporadically available. {for more information about this project, please visit my BLOG: http://rotarydreamteam-india2008.blogspot.com }

This year, there will be two groups of Rotarians coming from Canada, the United States, England, France and India, and our "hands-on" project will be the construction of thirty-five Sanitation Enhancement Facilities (toilet blocks) to be located in a centralized area in the village. These SEFs will contain toilets, showers and sinks. This year, we are pleased to announce that through the efforts of one of last year's participants - Lawrence Furbish of the Rotary Club of Sanford-Springvale, Maine (USA), we applied for a Matching Grant from THE ROTARY FOUNDATION and received approval. We worked with several clubs and districts throughout the Rotary world, some which were involved in the 2008 project, and some which will be involved in the 2009 project.

In future postings, we will learn from several members of our two teams what motivated them to join our ROTARY DREAM TEAM - INDIA 2009, and what they expect to gain from the experience. In addition, throughout the coming three or four months, we will continue to post here, so family, friends and fellow Rotarians from around the world will be able to follow our progress and share in our efforts to MAKE DREAMS REAL.


NAMASTE
or
नमस्ते