Members of Rotary Club of Fort Myers South meeting with the mayor of Santiago, Dominican Republic.
Rotary Club of Fort Myers South went international this year! In March, members of the club headed to the small mountain village of Los Higos for a Dominican Republic water project. Once there, they took part in building and installing rainwater harvesting tanks in the houses and schools of the community. Rotary Club of Fort Myers South partnered with Club Rotario Santiago Gurabito (the Rotary Club of Santiago Gurabito) for this incredible project that enhanced the lives of the residents in the community. The project took place over the course of three days, Friday, March 13 through Sunday, March 16. The goal was to provide the clean water filtration systems for 20 homes, but once the organizations were done, 50 homes were equipped with the systems.
Members of Rotary Club of Fort Myers South and the Rotary Club of Santiago Gurabito prepare to go to work on providing clean water to the village of Los Higos, Dominican Republic.
Rainwater harvesting is the collection of rainwater for reuse as opposed to allowing the rainwater to runoff. Once the rainwater is collected, it is used for drinking, for storage in the event of natural disaster, for irrigation, for gardening, and for the raising of livestock. It can also prevent low-lying floods and reduce the demand on local wells, which contributes to their longevity.
This was a tremendous opportunity for the club to utilize its time and talent for this Dominican Republic water project. They saw the project through from fundraising efforts to the construction and installation of the rainwater harvesting tanks. If you’re interested in making a donation to the Rotary Club of Fort Myers South or traveling with the club on their next service adventure, please contact Jeff Fusco, International Project Chairman, at jfusco@bankunited.com / 352.871.7779 (c) or Rebecca Goff, Club President, at rebecca.goff1101@gmail.com
Rotary Club of Fort Myers South
Rotary Club of Fort Myers South has more than 130 members who are among the 1.3 million Rotarians worldwide. Service Above Self is the motto of Rotary International, which has contributed more than $1.2 billion and tens of thousands of volunteer hours toward polio eradication in addition to projects such as water quality, world peace and literacy. Meetings are held each Monday at 12:00 PM at the Crowne Plaza, 13051 Bell Tower Drive.