Rotary club of Tsawwassen

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Rotary Club of Tsawwassen
PO Box 1405
Delta, BC, Canada
V4M 3Y8

Ucayali Well Project                  Pictures

Our World Community Service project is in partnership with the Rotary Club of Pucallpa / District 4450, Pucallpa, Peru. Pucallpa is approximately 300 air miles (500 km or 800+km by road) north east of Lima. (See map) It is a fast growing sawmill and port town (pop 100,000+) located on the Ucayali river, a main tributary of the Amazon. Over 300,000 people live in the Ucayali Region, an area with economic development based on the exploitation of exotic tropical woods. Agriculture, oil, gas and some tourism also contribute to the economic mix.

Our project will fund development of 6 potable water wells for communities of Shipibo/Metibo people in the jungles around Pucallpa. About 350 remote villages of this hunter/gatherer culture of approximately 40,000 people, live on the banks of the Ucayali and its tributaries.

The machete and spear are the level of Shipibo/Metibo technology. Although contact was made with these people hundreds of years ago, very few speak Spanish. They still do not use money. No Shipibo/Metibo community has electricity and very few have safe water

Outsiders have developed resources in and under the jungle. Twenty-first century technology, culture, pollution and disease have arrived. Their traditional water sources are contaminated and intestinal disease is endemic for all ages.

Shockingly high infant mortality sees 40% of the children die before reaching the age of five. The urgent, vital and basic need for safe water gives our Club an opportunity. We may save many lives with well projects. Our club succeeded in getting a Carl P. Miller Discovery Grant to investigate that possibility and to research a significant project that could last several years.

Carl P. Miller Discovery Grant Awarded to Tsawwassen Rotary Club

The $3,000 (US) grant enables Cliff Myhill and Ted Lands to visit Pucallpa and -

  1. Continue planning of the project through personal visits to relevant organizations and sites.
  2. Confer with Pucallpa Rotarians to discuss needs for future projects.
  3. Visit several Shipibo/Metibo communities and meet with their leaders.
  4. Assess the integrity of financial and project management.
  5. Ensure that systems for well maintenance and basic public health information are in place.
  6. Consult with local authorities and agencies to learn from their counsel and knowledge.
  7. Establish the protocol for a permanent Rotary identification at each well site.
  8. The planning trip will enable us to get a good grasp of the current situation. Additionally it will let us responsibility and with first hand knowledge assess a more ambitious series of projects.

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