Newsletter - Archive  Jun 17, 2009

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P.O. Box 620700                                                   Russ Ketron                                                             Sandra Pugh 

Woodside CA 94062-0700                                District Governor                                                       Club President

                                                      http://wpvrotary.org                                          

Regular Meeting                                                                                         June 17th, 2009

7:30 AM - 8:30 AM Wednesday with breakfast by Encore Performance Catering, fellowship, project updates and an interesting speaker from the community.  The last Wednesday of some months we meet at 6:00pm at a local restaurant for and hors d'oeuvres and no host bar and meeting new people.  Please check our website calendar for details. 

Morning meetings:  Guild Hall, Woodside Village Church, 3154 Woodside Road, Woodside, California  Guests are not only welcome but encouraged!

This Week's Program:  Scholarship Recipients  This week two of our scholarship recipients from the Summit Charter School in Redwood City will come and talk to us about their experience at Summit and their plans for the future.   

Last  Week's Program:   (courtesy of Last Week Editor, Dean Babcock)

International Chair, Ken Broome, introduced his friend and neighbor, David Sowerwine to speak to us about his work in Nepal with solar powered light systems and cable bridges.  The light systems  consist of a solar collector, batteries and a LED  lamp that provides sufficient illumination to allow those living in remote areas to read and carry out domestic chores after sunset.  The cable bridges allow those in remote areas to cross monsoon swollen rivers to carry out their trading operations and allow children to get to their schools.

            David reports that they have graduated to a level where they can “manage at a distance” using their former employees who have now formed self supporting companies.   They have added systems to remove arsenic from drinking water which is a serious problem in many areas of Nepal. The system has been designed by a Dartmouth development company and provides a reliable indication of the quantity of arsenic removed, an improvement over the system being used in Mexico.

            They have recently finished a cable bridge in the Sukaura area.  David showed a video of the Nepalese adults and children crossing the fast-moving river on the temporary log bridge that the monsoon destroys each year. Then the erection by the native workers is shown and the people crossing safely well above the level of the monsoon floods.

            The Sukaura bridge is the 34^th  to be completed.  David estimates the 1000 to 1500 bridges are needed to facilitate Nepalese trade and education.  He hopes that the World Bank will be a good source of funding. They recently received funding from the German embassy for the Sukaura bridge.

            David gives thanks to Rotary for help in getting these projects started and hopes  additional funding sources will help complete them.

Next Week's Program:  Library Project in Guatemala Finished! 

Past-President and Wandering Newsletter Editor, Joan Fuetsch, will show photos and discuss the recent opening of the rural community library in Xolsacmalja, Sacatapequez, Guatemala.  Our club made a significant contribution to this library and learning center that was a five year dream of the indigenous villagers.  The first person to pronounce the location of the library correctly will receive a 1lb bag of the world's best coffee.  Said coffee will be for sale for $10 a pound.  Proceeds go to support the libraries.  Great coffee is a good alternative to a bottle of wine as a gift and also goes well with Girl Scout cookies. 

Club News:  Ken Broome is going to be our club's representatvie at the Rotary International Convention in Birmingham, England starting June 21st.

If you would like to help plant trees at Adelante School in Redwood City on Saturday, the 20th please speak to Dave Hyman to make arrangements.

Coming Events:

Next Board Meeting:  Tuesday, July 7th, 7:30am, Church Library 

Rotary Means Business:  Wednesday, July 2nd, 5:30 pm Encore Performance Catering

Rotary International Convention, Birmingham, UK, June 21st-24th

Kickout Party:  Sunday, August 16th, Guild Hall, Woodside Village Church

Taste of Woodside:  Sunday, September 20th 2009, 3-7pm, Woodside Village Church

Announcements:   Have you had a look at the Rotary International website lately for what is going on in Rotary's world?  www.rotary.org   How about finding out about what is going on in the district?  www.rotary5150.org