On March 7, our board of directors voted to pursue a Global Grant for water drilling in Guatemala that will provide clean drinking water to thousands of people. The target date for this project is February 2018 with a club commitment of $1000.
 
 
 
A global grant requires a minimum of $10,000 from a club or clubs to qualify for the grant. Our partner club, Los Amates Rotary Club of Guatemala, has also committed $1000  It is our goal to find eight more Rotary Clubs in our district, each contributing $1000, to help us meet the Global Grant obligation of $10,000 dollars.  During PETS, Bill Chadwick started soliciting support from his fellow PEs.
 
Bill has done the groundwork in Guatemala to engage Rotary and drilling partners, and has been working on completing the required paperwork to request the grant.  In addition, DGE Dave Underhill has challenged his PEs to lead their clubs in participating in projects during 2017-2018 within each of Rotary's areas of focus. This water project could help several clubs in our district with the area of focus: Providing Clean Water.
 
Bill is also working the details on another project in Guatemala with Los Amates Club President Marvin Paiz - Clean Air Guatemala.  The plan is to plant 22,000 trees to combat deforestation in that country and improve air quality. The investment in trees will pay back to the local economy through government payments.  
 
As it turns out, Rotary International PE Ian Riseley has a passion for the environment.   At Northeast PETS, attendees heard him challenge every club to plant at least one tree for every member of their club!  In addition, this Clean Air project will help grow the local economy, another Rotary Area of Focus.  Clean Air Guatemala will provide another opportunity for our club and several other clubs in our district to participate in a project of interest to our incoming RI leader.
 
Rotary International President-Elect Ian Riseley
working the crowd at NE PETS 3-10-17