On February 14th , President Bill Chadwick will be leading a multi- Club team of Rotary volunteers and friends deep into the jungles of Guatemala. Team members from Westbrook-Gorham Rotary are: Bill Chadwick, Steve Rand, his son Tyler Rand, Carlo Giraulo and Doctor Wayne Lopez. They will join forces with four members of the Celebration Florida Rotary Club in Miami. And finally at the destination of Cuatro Cayos a third club, the Los Amates Rotary Club will join the team for the projects
Projects include the construction of 20 brick ECO-STOVES in the village homes. These stove remove deadly toxins caused by open fire pits that are used for cooking inside of the huts. This project reduces lung cancer in women, which currently stands at an alarming 18% percent. The team will also install 13 cement floors in village huts, improving sanitation. They will also hang more than 20 Zika nets over the sleeping areas of village homes.
Mosquito netting being placed
on a previous trip
In addition, there will be distribution of school supplies that were collected by the Gorham High School Interact Club. The club, consisting of 120 students, solicited the Gorham High School student body and the local community. They received enough donations of notebooks, pens, glue, pencils, crayons to completely supply the school in Cuatro Cayos for an entire year.
GHS Interact President Aaron Farr
delivers school supplies
At a recently built medical clinic, Dr. Wayne Lopez and Rotarian Dr. Brenda Valdez of the Los Amates Club will be offering dental services to over two hundred people. Dental hygiene instruction will be provided to help cultivate proper oral care.
The Rotary efforts will be hosted by Centro Cultural Cristiano de Guatemala who provide logistical support, translators, and transportation. Sixteen members of the Stroudwater Christian Church of Portland will also be on the trip.