Local Rotarians Help Provide Clean Water by Drilling a Well

Rotarians believe in "Service Above Self" and that service is not restricted to the local communities but extends world wide.  That was recently demonstrated when the Cedar Springs, Comstock Park and Sparta Rotaries paid for a clean water well for residents in a small community near Aca Jutla, El Salvador and helped sponsor a team of local Rotarians to help with the installation of the well and the training of hygiene a few weeks ago.

 

Comstock Park Rotarians Todd Vanden Toorn, wife Patti, Dan Clark, wife Ellen and Sparta Rotarian Lou Knooihuizen  were on hand Thursday to give a first hand account of their experiences.  The group worked through an organization called "Living Water International" which has completed more than 10,000 water projects for communities in 26 countries.

 

783 million people lack access to an improved source of drinking water. Great progress is being made globally, but whole people groups are being overlooked—it's the poorest people with the least political power that continue to suffer, and these are the people Living Waters International feels called to serve.

 

While the men helped with the actual drilling of the well, the women on the trip, Patti Vanden Toorn and Ellen Clark assisted with teaching local residents the importance of hygiene.

Todd and Patti VandenToorn, Lou Knooihuizen, Ellen and Dan Clark