Haiti
Lighting for Literacy
The meeting started out with a poem by our Rotarian Poet Alan Lowe with his thoughts on the 4-Way Test. Thanks Alan. (Click on Alan Lowe Poem to view). This was followed by a great lunch.
As with most meetings, we announced birthdays (Paul Ratcliffe) and anniversaries (Jeffery McCoy). Both gave customary donations to the Rotary Foundation as well as to our Club Foundation. Thanks to both.
Ken Campbell reminded us that 28 years ago that the Berlin wall came down. Apparently having been there, he showed us his piece of the wall.
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Kimberly announced that we would be accepting turkeys (for the Fireman's Turkey Drive) at our meeting on Thursday 11/16 and that we would help to deliver those collected at local stores to the Joiner Fire Station. Members may also donate directly at the fire station.
Dan announced that there would be no meetings on November 23rd (Thanksgiving) and November 30th (5th Thursday) but we would having a social party on the evening of November 30th for members, spouses or significant others, and invited guests. Please let Harriet or Claire know if you have not signed up at a meeting. Also, December 21st will be our holiday party at Turkey Creek; need a few volunteers to help with setup.
We inducted new member Carol Feineman back into the club, sponsored by Joann Hilton. (She had been a member for a short time in 2008 but found then she did not have the time.) Carol is the Editor at the Lincoln News Messenger. Welcome back Carol.
Our speaker for the day was Jim Quinney, accompanied by our Lincoln Treasurer Jerry Harner, both members of the District 5180 Rotary Passport Club. Jerry has been working on various projects in Haiti for 20+ years. Jim started working at the St. Luc elementary school several year ago, helping to provide clean water with Sawyer Point water purification buckets and later water wells. In 2017 his group (associated with St. Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Rocklin) started a project to provide school lunches, to train and pay teachers, and to provide school uniforms to the students. He is working on establishing a non-profit that can provide more funding for schools in Haiti. They are attempting to build a hygiene facility and latrine at the school by 2020.
Jim also spoke about his support of a Lighting for Literacy program, developed by two Rotarians from Los Gatos. It works like this:
- Search out an find a local school who is interested in a STEM-related program to build small solar powered lighting systems that can be installed in schools. Work with the students for build a number of the solar lighting systems.
- Find a location (e.g. like St. Luc school) that needs better lighting for students both during the day and in the early evening.
- Deliver the systems to the local school, where the student there help install the lighting.
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Locally, he is working with two schools (Granite Oaks Middle School (sponsored by South Placer Rotary) and Adelante High School (sponsored by Roseville Rotary) to build a number of lighting systems. Locally in Lincoln, Glen Edwards Middle School has approved a project but has no sponsor. The plan is to distribute the systems in Haiti and Uganda. Is this an opportunity for Lincoln Rotary to get involved? See following for more about Lighting for Literacy: https://youtu.be/brG9WbDWflk and https://youtu.be/D0ioKIbKMkg.
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