Posted by Paul Swartz on Jan 11, 2019
Here is an update on the Haiti project that District 6600 is supporting.
In October, the Global Grant application for the clean water and hygiene education project in the Limonade area of Haiti was submitted to The Rotary Foundation (TRF) in Illinois. They have started their review process and we have already responded to a first round of  questions that TRF has asked.  We don’t know when they will decide upon our matching grant request. We will continue to share with you the status of the project as it moves forward. 
 
If you recall, our project is a collaboration of three Rotary Districts - District 6600, 6290 (n.w. Michigan and parts of Ontario), and 7020 (Haiti).  Districts 6600 and 6290 are the primary fund generating districts, with matching funds from each district and, ultimately the Global Fund from RI.  These monies will be based upon the funds our supporters, like you, have either sent or committed to the project.  Our goal is to fund sufficient funds to place Bio-Sand Filters in 1,000 homes, in the communities of Pistere and Campeche.  And, while we wait for final authorizations from District 7020, we are still able to receive commitments and contributions, ultimately attaining our goal.  At this point, we have raised enough monies to place the water filters in approximately 900 homes.
 
The 100 home pilot project (in one of the communities that we will serve in this project), which was separately funded, is nearing completion. You may recall that this pilot project was done so that all the partners would have an opportunity to work out any bugs in the process, and optimize operations prior to staring the much larger global grant project. All the partners have learned a few things from this and will be incorporating these “lessons learned" into the larger global grant project when it commences in 2019.
 
The Rotary Clubs of Cap Haitian, Vermilion, and Elk Rapids thank you for the confidence, and financial support of our project. Most of all, the families in the Limonade (“Lee-mo- node”) area of Haiti, who are the recipients of your generosity, will thank you for years to come as their health, their children’s health, and their lives improve.