Seventh Guatemala Water & Sanitation Project Completed

Rick and Elin Lawrence Mark Completion of Seventh Rotary Water and Sanitation Project

On February 11th, the villagers of El Pericon, Guatemala welcomed Rick and Elin Lawrence to a day-long celebration marking the completion and dedication of their village's water, sanitation and indoor cookstove improvements.  This is the seventh such project financed by clubs in District 7890 and 7950.  The Rotary Club of East Hartford has participated in this joint effort each year since the first and smallest village, initially partnering with Rick's club, the Rotary Club of Manchester and just a handful of other clubs in District 7890.  Every year, more clubs join in with their support, enabling the project to expand to larger and larger villages.  The following picture of Rick and members of the village Water Committee highlights a plaque with the names of the participating Rotary clubs, which will be permanently cemented onto a concrete pedestal benerath the water storage tank.  East Hartford Rotary is proud to participate in this wonderful project.  Congratulations to Rick and Elin for personally supporting and being ambassadors for these valuable projects that change the world, one village at a time.

The project brings clean water, concrete latrines and safely vented and raised indoor cookstoves to villages high in the mountains of Guatemala, where previously the women and children of the village had to trek miles each day to bring low-quality water back to their villages. 

Well-vented cookstoves replace open fires which not only caused a burn hazard to home and family members but also caused respiratory health issues for both children and adults.