Rotary Intl/Clean Water Grant Approved!

We received the news that Rotary International approved the grant application submitted by the Asheville, NC and San Cristobal, Chiapas Rotary clubs for portable well-drilling equipment. This project was the brainchild of Starfish Fund founder, Glenn Pierce. He garnered the support (and dollars) from his own club in Asheville, wrote the grant application, and met with the club members in San Cristobal to solicit their support.

The $25,525 project will have 2 phases:

• Phase I will use well-drilling equipment for the Manos de Cristo medical clinic in Ocosingo. Because the clinic is outside the municipal water system and bottled water of sufficient quantity for the clinic would be cost prohibitive, a clean water well and clean water storage is essential to the effectiveness of the medical clinic. It is projected that the initial phase will be completed during in 10-14 project this fall.
  
• Phase II will use the well-drilling equipment to surrounding villages to provide them with clean water. Glenn's research for the grant proposal reported that "73% of the country's water supply is polluted and 93% of the rivers (the main source of water in the south) are also polluted." The well-drilling projects will be arranged in cooperation with the Maya Synod of the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico, Hebron USA, volunteer Rotary groups, and the Mills Family Mission.
  

This is indeed an exciting opportunity. I guarantee that next week's medical mission teams will encounter many, many patients whose health problems can be directly attributed to contaminated ground water. Diagnoses of water-related diseases are likely to be our single most prevalent diagnosis - all of which can be prevented with the availability of clean water.

We look forward to working with Rotary clubs and others to bring this dream to fruition in the coming months. Stay posted for more updates!