Page 15 - Gears and Ears September 2014

Gears and Ears

Journal of the Rotary Club of Lake Buena Vista
Page 15
From Rotary International

ROTORACT AWARD WINNERS

The Rotaract Club of H.R. College meets with the villager leaders of Kumbharwadi to discuss their clean water project.

The village of Kumbharwadi is one of many in a
drought-prone region near Mumbai, India. Until
recently, its residents had access to only one well
with drinkable water. During the summer months,
the well runs dry, and the women and girls of the
village travel three to four hours a day to search for
water.
Enter Project Boond, undertaken by a Rotaract club,
a Rotary club, and the Watershed Organization Trust
to provide clean drinking water and sanitation
facilities in Kumbharwadi. Nikunj Pherwani, 2013-
14 president of the Rotaract Club of Hassaram
Rijhumal College of Commerce and Economics in
Mumbai, India, says that droughts are a serious
problem in India and often exacerbate malnutrition
and illness in remote regions.
Photo courtesy of Nikunj Pherwani

“Our major aim through this project was to provide clean water for drinking and domestic purposes to the drought-
affected areas of Maharashtra,” he says. “These villages not only suffer due to shortage of water but also due to several
waterborne diseases.”

Pherwani’s Rotaract club teamed up with the Rotary Club of Bombay, Maharashtra, India, to raise funds for the project
through donations and events, including a comedic play and black tie dinner. The project has over $13,000 in its coffers,
and the clubs are using the funds to dig wells and install toilets.

Pherwani’s club also worked with the Rotary Club of Bombay to choose a local nonprofit organization to partner with. They
found the Watershed Organization Trust, a nonprofit dedicated to ending water scarcity and poverty in rural India. After
meeting with officials and signing an MOU, the Watershed Organization Trust helped them choose a village, and the
Rotaractors traveled there to speak to locals about the credibility of their partners. Pherwani says they continue to visit
Kumbharwadi every two months to check in with the village and see if additional resources are needed. Village leaders
have been trained to maintain the new facilities.

In addition to providing clean water and sanitation facilities, Pherwani says they also aim to provide villagers with
chlorine tablets and a workshop on basic health and hygiene.

Among the seven Rotaract projects that were honored at this year’s Rotaract Preconvention, Project Boond was chosen as
the international winner of the Recognition of Outstanding Rotaract Project. Two members of the Rotaract Club of
Hassaram Rijhumal College of Commerce and Economics attended the preconvention on 30 May in Sydney, Australia. They
traveled there using miles that Rotary won through United Airlines’ 10 Million Charity Miles giveaway. They, along with
representatives from other winning clubs, presented their projects and received their awards.

for information about other Rotoract Award winners, please click below.

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