An Ambassadorial Scholar arriving from Japan, a Central American Project Fair set for Costa Rica, World Community Service projects in progress in Uganda and Mexico, and plans to help a community in El Salvador are at the top of Pearl Rotary’s International Committee agenda, reports Dave Bangsund, the committee chair.
Here’s Dave’s update on his committee’s activities:
Ambassadorial Scholar to be hosted by Pearl Rotary: Takuro Uehara has been selected to be an Ambassadorial Scholar from Japan. He will be studying Systems Science at Portland State University. the arrangements are still being made for his stay here, so time of arrival for him and his wife is not yet set. He is currently studying in London. Nancy Parker is the chair of our Ambassadorial Scholar subcommittee and will be helping Takuro and his wife find housing and get settled in Portland. We hope to have takuro join us at some of our weekly meetings.
Uniendos Americas Project Fair Set for next January: The 15th Annual Central American Rotary Project Fair will begin in San Jose, Costa Rica on January 24, 2008. Last year, five Pearl Rotarians flew to El Salvador for this Fair, sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica and Panama.
At the Fair, representatives of these Clubs seek Rotary partners from the U.S. and Canada for the humanitarian projects they are preparing to launch. The personal friendships established at the Fair often form the basis for these partnerships. The Hotel Herradura in San Juan, Costa Rica will be the host site of the Fair. Visits to current or completed Rotary International projects in Central America will be possible beofre or after the Fair. Any Pearl rotarian planning to attend should make their own hotel and travel reservations. If you plan to attend, please let me or Donna Tallman know.
World Community Service: (1) Uganda. Pearl Rotary and four other Portland area Rotary Clubs have joined with the Rotary Club of Jinja, Uganda to equip the library of a girl’s school in Jinja Town. A Rotary International grant has been approved for the project and if all arrangements are in place, this project should be underway before the end of this year. (2) Bomberos, Guadalajara, Mexico. Help is on the way for the suburban areas of Guadalajara badly in need of firefighting capacity. The Guadalajara Rotary club plans to build a fire station and the Portland Fire Dept. will donate a fire engine for the new station. Our Club’s role is to join with other Rotary clubs from District 5100, now being sought as partners, and with the Guadalajara rotary club to raise money to buy the equipment needed to outfit the new station.
El Salvador Community Water System: Fifty families of the community of La Laguna, El Salvador would be the beneficiaries of a proposal to build a clean water system with rotary help. this project, which emerged from last year’s Project Fair, would bring a source of safe water to these farming families. Pearl Rotary’s International Committee is pursuing ways to participate in making this project happen.
