Here's a letter regarding the African water project to which our club contributed!
Greetings,
I write to you to update you and all the 20 donor clubs and individuals who have pledged to fund the global grant for providing water wells in Ethiopia as partners with the Northwest Austin Rotary Club and Rotary Club of Addis Ababa Central Mella.
With great thanksgiving and excitement I now say that The Rotary Foundation this past week approved our global grant for $157,155 to provide 24 water wells in the rural region east of the Lake and city of Hawassa in southern Ethiopia.
There was an unanticipated delay after we submitted the grant when the Rotary Foundation put funding coronavirus grants in top priority above regular global grants, and spent all remaining budget funds ($14 million) on those grants. Our grants were postponed to after the new budget year (July 1). So, now we have the approval!
This is wonderful news, not just for us in Rotary, but to the people who were interviewed and voiced their need to our Rotary team last year when we did the needs assessment. They have been waiting for this approval and clean water. Your donation, District donations, and TRF donations matching them will now make it a reality. We are now in the Rotary Clean Water Business!
We hope that our team and workers can begin work in August after the rainy season lets up. Ethiopia is also dealing with the coronavirus and are going through the same protections of distancing, work from home, masks, etc. as we are.
But, washing hands is difficult when you don't have access to clean water! For a visual impression of what this means I include a picture of women at a recent well provided by our partner, Water to Thrive, in northern Ethiopia: masks and distancing. Now they have access to clean water. And soon our 24 communities will also!
Thank you, and please thank your club for being a partner with us in this project. Give your members our gratitude along with this update. Rotary connects the world!