Newsletter  
March 2016



March 22 - World Water Day
In 1993, the United Nations designated March 22 as World Water Day to highlight global issues associated with water. UN Water is coordinating March 22, 2016 with an emphasis on water and jobs. This is a great opportunity for clubs to focus on WASH and UN Water's site is a great place for ideas!  Their resources are available here. 
End Water Poverty is promoting a month long awareness of water and sanitation issues. Visit their website to find resources and learn more about their activities including the Walking for Water Challenge.


Save that Water! 
A unique commercial that was aired by Colgate during the 2016 Super Bowl will resonate with WASRAG members. You can watch it here:

 


Rotary International Centennial 
Starting July 1, 2016 The Rotary Foundation is celebrating its 100th birthday. Lots of special events are scheduled! Significant for WASRAG is the announcement that 10 outstanding global grant projects completed during the 2015-16 Rotary year will be recognized by TRF at the 2017 International Convention in Atlanta. 
Criteria are: Community Impact, Sustainability, Rotarian Involvement and Replicability. To be eligible, the final global grant report must be accepted by June 30, 2016. We know that there are many outstanding WASH projects that would be eligible!  Please contact us at  if you have a project that would qualify.  More information... 


WASRAG's WWS8 gets a glowing endorsement! 
The International Assembly is a huge event in the Rotary world!  During the third week in January the DGEs (District Governors Elect) come to San Diego to be trained for their year in office. This was a wonderful opportunity to showcase WWS8 to the Korean DGEs.  WWS8 Co-Chairs Marga Hewko and Sandra Forster organized the event and RI President Ravi Ravindran, WASRAG Chair and PRIP Bill Boyd,  Ian Risely (RI President 2017-18) and other senior Rotarians encouraged all Korean Rotarians to attend WWS8. The Summit will be held on Friday May 27, 2016. More info... 


Low Cost Sanitation Workshop 
The Troy Rotary Club, District 6380 and the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation (CAWST), Calgary, Alberta, will host their popular four-day workshop again this year. This year's program includes theory, instruction and hands-on experience on eco-sanitation, sanitation promotion and hygiene.
The program is being held in Ypsilanti, MI from April 28 - May 1, 2016. 
To register and to get more information contact Eileen Heasley at Vision for Clean Water


WASH e-club and Digital Presentation Library 
In earlier newsletters we've mentioned Rotary's first WASH e-club.  Founded in New Zealand, but with a global reach, the club plans to have it's "launch" meeting in Seoul.  
The WASH e-Club is an ideal way for Rotarians with a passion for WASH to keep up-to-date.   
To support e-clubs and others interested in online materials, WASRAG is developing a video library of presentations that can be used as meeting topics for e-Clubs and traditional Rotary Clubs.  Read more . . .


Power of Social Media 
"Girls in Nashik Schools Don't Quit School after Puberty Any More. Thanks to One Australian!" is the title of an article in The Better India on the work of Mark Balla in India.
Mark has been working in India to improve WASH services in schools - improved toilets, water, menstrual hygiene management, hand washing etc. 
The article has been shared almost 3,000 times on Facebook. Social media is a powerful tool in getting out the word on WASH projects!



Masters Degree in Water Education 
UNESCO-IHE is the world's largest international graduate education facility in water.  The institute, located in Delft, Netherlands,  offers a fully accredited Master and PhD degree program. To learn more about the program visit. UNESCO-IHE
The Rotary Foundation awards annually 10 scholarships to graduate students. For more information of the scholarships visit Rotary Water Masters Scholarships


WASH Resources


Water, Sanitation and Hygiene in the News
Read news media articles about the work Rotary is doing around the world in the areas of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene. 




Calendar of Events
April 28-May 1, 2016 - Yipsilanti, USA
A Vision for Clean Water and Eastern Michigan's Sanitation Workshop
 
May 16-20, 2016 - Brisbane, Australia 
Wash Futures 

May 27, 2016 - Seoul, Korea - WASRAG World Water Summit
Held in conjunction with the Rotary International Conference

July 11-15, 2016 - Kumasi, Ghana
39th WEDC International Conference: Ensuring Availability & Sustainable Management of Water & Sanitation for All      

August 9 -13, 2016 - Brisbane, Australia
World Water Congress and Exhibition 

 

New Projects
We love hearing about your projects and are delighted to relay these great opportunities for Rotarians to get involved in WASH projects! 
When posting your projects on the wasrag.org website, please remember to include the name of your Rotary club and District number.
Contact us at  [email protected] if you need help with your posting. We have writers ready to help tell your story!

WASRAG needs your membership.
Membership revenue helps cover our administrative costs, website upgrades, training, development of support materials etc. To become a member, click on the button.To check whether your membership has expired, email  Anna Shepherd.

 To submit stories and pictures our Newsletter, please email: [email protected] to the attention of Wasrag newsletter editors Ian Rumbles and Terri Black.

*The Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (Wasrag) is pleased to consider partnerships with any corporate supporter. Due to the unique attributes of water sources and water provision, acceptance of corporate support does not imply an endorsement of any particular water technology. Rotarians, Rotary clubs, and Rotary partners must evaluate any technology to determine if it is the best solution for the conditions where the program will be implemented. Wasrag can provide guidance about where different technologies work best, but Rotarians and Rotary clubs must make the final decision about how to implement their programs.

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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.

 

Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group | c/o A.T.Kearney, Box 114, Suite 1910 | 121 King Street West | Toronto | Ontario | M5H 3T9 | Canada