MG No. 69957 – Saraburi. Clean drinking water systems in 10 provincial schools.

Project

We installed reverse-osmosis water filtration systems in 10 schools in rural Saraburi province here in Thailand so that poor students, teachers and surrounding communities can have access to clean drinking water daily. Saraburi province is about 150 kilometres north east of Bangkok.

Need

Contaminated water is a major cause of illnesses for poor rural children, men and women. By installing these 10 clean drinking water systems we help to improve the lives of up to 5,000 people in many ways. Typically, attendance at school improves dramatically when children have access to clean water, as do grades after a while, as healthier children make for better learning.

Cost

The total cost of this Matching Grant project was US$ 24,500.

Contributors

This Matching Grant was entered into by the Rotary Club of Amsterdam Minerva, who coordinated the project internationally and the Rotary Club of Bangkok South, who coordinated the project locally.

The contributions were as follows:

– Rotary Club of Chalermprakiat, Saraburi (Thailand)                        US$    1,000
– Rotary Club of Bangkok South (Thailand)                                           US$       350
– Rotary Club of Amsterdam Minerva (The Netherlands)                  US$   6,000
– District Designated Funds from District 1580 (The Netherlands)  US$   6,000
– District Designated Funds from District 3350 (Thailand)                US$    1,000
– Matching Grant from The Rotary Foundation                                     US$  10,150 US$ 24,500

Comments

This Matching Grant project was done in a very collaborative environment among Rotarians.

Rotarians from the Rotary Clubs of Bangkok South and Chalermprakiat made physical visits to the recipient schools to advise teachers and address comments and questions from teachers, students and families alike. They obtained water samples and sent them to Bangkok South for lab tests, coordinated with the teachers for publicity to students, families and nearby communities with regards to this clean water project, as well as monitoring the construction of the actual sheds.

RC Bangkok South Rotarians took care of the water lab test, ordered the equipment and coordinated the installation.

Due to the significant distance, most of the coordination with the international partner club was done by Rtn. Hans Mannheim who, in turn, took charge of the publicity for the project, both within his own club and at the District level. Rtn. Hans also made regular inquiries on the progress of this project and was personally present at the Inauguration, which was greatly appreciated by everybody there, not least the recipient schools. He kept his club fully in the loop with personal updates at club functions as well as pictures and stories from the inauguration ceremony.