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 Best Rates for the Convention until Dec 15th
While you are registering for the Rotary International Convention, remember to also join us at World Water Summit V & Project Fair - Friday June 21, 2013, immediately before the Rotary International Convention in Lisbon.
Check out the program for WWSV. Lots to learn and share. New this year - the Wasrag project fair. Check the January newsletter for details.
Save with Early Bird Registration! Visit our website for more info.
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Living Without a Safe Toilet
1 in 3 women around the world has no access to a safe toilet, threatening their health and exposing them to shame, fear and violence. WaterAid has released a video to highlight the realities women in the developing world face - and the increased risks they are subject to.
Reaching the Millennium Development Goal for sanitation remains a huge challenge for the world with an estimated 2.5 billion people lacking access to improved sanitation (CDC).
The WaterAid video imagines what life would be like for a women living in the western world without sanitation. Read More...
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Vote For Rotary International: Charity Miles Free!
A simple, free and fast way to provide significant support to Rotary International. By voting you can help Rotary win up to 10 million United Airlines travel miles. It won't cost you a penny - and the miles will be used to help numerous Rotary projects.
You can vote every day up to December 25th and track RI's progress.
Stop the press! As we pressed the send button on this email, Rotary was running a close second - only 600 miles behind the Shriners!
Invite your friends! Charity Miles
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Notes From the Field: A PEP PPP Team in India
PDG Arvind Phukan is leading the PPP team to develop a program plan for the project. The project consists of 9 hamlets/pandas (cluster of homes ranging from about 30 to 70 homes) with about 2000 population. The project is located about 90 miles north of Mumbai, India (financial hub of India) called Akre Gam Panchayat, Thane District (Maharashtra State, India). The Akre region is mountainous and the entire aboriginal (Tribal communities) are neglected by the Government. Read More...
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Heard about PEP? PPP? WASH?
Wasrag has produced an information circular to clearly explain TRF's PEP pilot program, how it is used, who can benefit, and what other resources could help your club and district plan sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene programs.
The brochure explains in an easy to understand way how Wasrag's Start with Water program works and the benefits for clubs and districts. Download a copy now, and attend the WWSV to learn more.
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 New Video Shares Lessons Learned As reported in a story a few issues ago, a coalition of 18 Rotary clubs from District 5160 (North Central California) has carried on a multi-year, multi-focused, sustainable series of projects in the Mt. Kilimanjaro region of northern Tanzania since 2008. Directed primarily toward clean water and sanitation, these projects have been planned and implemented in partnership with the Rotary Club of Moshi, Tanzania (District 9200). With support from a Rotary District Grant, a new 14-minute video has been produced describing these projects and identifying lessons that might prove useful for other Rotary clubs contemplating international humanitarian projects. The video can be accessed at the project website. Email for more information. |
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 A Self Filling Water Bottle? What Next? Recently posted on the website, TNW, The Next Web, was a story of a scientist who is developing a water bottle that mimics the behaviour of a beetle found in the Namib Desert, an area that receives only a half inch of rainfall per year. The article quotes Sorenson (the inventor) "We see this being applicable to anything from marathon runners to people in third-world countries, because we realize that water is such a large issue in the world today, and we want to try to alleviate those problems with a cost-efficient solution. We are looking to incorporate this in greenhouses or green roofs in the immediate future, and then later on, we're looking to see how far we can really scale this up to supply maybe farms or larger agricultural goals." And it's low energy as well! Read More... |
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 Tom & Primrose Drake Honoured by the Prince of Wales! Rotarians Tom and Primrose Drake from Kingswood (UK) were honoured by HRH Prince of Wales, President, WaterAid in October. They received the Award for Outstanding Voluntary Contribution in recognition of their dedication in fund-raising and campaigning for WaterAid over 15 years. During this time they have addressed over 250 conferences and meetings, raising £200,000 and saving or improving the lives of over 14,000 people in Africa and Asia. Read More... |
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 Editorial Decries Lack of Government Attention AllAfrica.com reported in a recent editorial that "The significance of World Toilet Day, marked every November 19, appeared to have been lost on governments on the African continent. This is particularly so in Nigeria, where no effort was made, except by nongovernmental organisations, to draw attention to the acute shortage of toilets in the country." Sadly, says the editorial, colonial-era practices are still prevalent, with most rural and riverside residents defecating in bushes, open fields or into bodies of water. Read More... |
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 New Projects...
We love hearing about your projects and are delighted to pass on these great opportunities for Rotarians to get involved in WASH projects! When posting your projects, please remember to tell us the name of your Rotary club and District number.
Honduras: District 4250's San Pedro Sula club has just started a project that will provide 380 families (some 2000 people) with clean water. Located in Armenta in the El Merendon mountain region, as many as 50% of the local children are afflicted with waterborne diseases. Clean water is provided in expensive 5-gallon jugs. For a delivered cost of $125, the project will provide a filter device, storage devices, transportation, educational materials, training on WASH concepts, monitoring and evaluation. Project cost is estimated at $47,500. For more details and to express interest in the project go to www.wasrag.org and search for Project Number: 2012-002428.
South Sudan:
Arilo in South Sudan is home to approximately 16,000 people. It has no permanent rivers that can provide water during the dry season. As much as 95% of the population uses unsafe water from unprotected sources shared with animals. Water borne diseases are rife and the children spend many hours fetching water - time when they should be in school.
The Rotary club of Wausau (D6220) is planning a project to alleviate these terrible conditions. A borehole will be dug and a solar pump installed providing clean, easily accessed water and saving women and children from disease as well as providing the opportunity to take part in income generating activities. Go to www.wasrag.org and search for Project Number: 2012-002429 for more information and to express interest in contributing.
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 Wasrag needs your membership. Membership revenue helps cover our administrative costs, website upgrades, training, development of support materials etc. To check whether your membership has expired, email Anna. To become a member, simply click on the button.
Interested in Upcoming Events?
Click here to see the Calendar. To submit items for the calendar, please email info@wasrag.org
To submit stories and pictures for our newsletter, please email marcom@startwithwater.org |
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The Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group is a group of Rotarians whose purpose is to support Rotary clubs to effectively plan, finance, implement, monitor and evaluate water, sanitation, and hygiene programs, where they are most needed in a collaborative, cost-effective, timely, and sustainable manner, true to the principles of Rotary International. Wasrag operates in accordance with Rotary International policy but is not an agency of, or controlled by, Rotary International.
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