The club was greeted by Rtns. Joe Hughes and Chad Johnson.

 

Our Meeting was called to order by President Steve Quigley.

 

 

Rtn. Joe Hughes  reminded everyone that there are still some openings for bell ringing for the Salvation Army this weekend.  Rotarians will be ringing this Saturday, December 15^th, at the North Dodge HyVee.

 

Rtn. John Gross announced that this week, $800 worth of toys were given to children.  Thank you for your donations.

 

Rtn. Tara Minetos, co-chair of the Rotarians Supporting Women Committee, accounced that RSW has created a scholarship for local women in the community.  A woman or person who identifies as a woman may apply for the $1,000 scholarship to assist her in continuing her education and living the ideals of Rotary.  The funds can be used for any accredited post-secondary program or degree, with a preference given to those pursuing vocational or trade programs.  RSW is asking for donations.  Please see Tara to donate cash or checks payable to Rotary, with RSW on the memo line.

 

President Steve Quigley gave a shout out to Anna Moyers Stone, for her leadership of the joint service luncheon.  Last week, 10 different service organizations were present and a total of 175 attendees listened to answers to questions by University of Iowa President Bruce Herald.

 

 

Induction of New Member: Heath Brewer (sponsored by Rtn. Ryan Bell)

 

 

Patricia McCarthy, IC Public Library, Director of Development.  Rotary Classification is Public Library: Development.   Proposed Susan Craig

 

Tracy Hightshoe, City of Iowa City, Director of Neighborhood and Development Services.  Rotary Classification is Government: Planning and Development.  Proposed by Geoff Fruin.

 

Rtn. Jim Peterson, of the Iowa City AM Club, introducted the program speaker, Jennifer Blair.  He mentioned her 20 year connection to Rotary, and the investment of time and money that Jennifer and her husband, Ryan Dye, have made to the Kibondo community.

 

Jennifer introduced the well project in Kibondo, Western Tanzania.  She remains impressed that Rotary allows members around the world to connect to other people who possess the same values embodied in the Four Way Test. 

 

Jennifer is currently the Associate Director of Advising Services at the Tippie College of Business.  She earned her bachelors degree in History at the University of Iowa in 1998.  It was in District 6000 that Jennifer had her first interaction with Rotary, as the recipient of an ambassador scholarship for study in Dublin, Ireland.  At Trinity College in Dublin, Jennifer received her Masters in International Peace Studies, and practiced law as a solicitor in Dublin.  Jennifer returned to Iowa to work as the International Student Advisor at St. Ambrose University in Davenport.

 

It was at St. Ambrose that Jennifer met Sister Candida Massado.  Sister Candida grew up in the village of Kumwambu and became a nun at the age of 14.  She was chosen by the village to come to St. Ambrose University to complete a bachelors degree, where she asked Jennifer for help in getting a healthy, reliable water supply for her hometown.

 

The village of Kumwambu is the Western part of Tanzania and is (a far) walking distance from the town of Kibando.  Tanzania has some development and safari tourism in the East, but Western Tanzania is neglected by the government and even non-profits. 

 

The village of Kumwambu has a population of 12,000 and is a sprawling rural, agricultural community where they grow kasava, corn, mango, and banana.  The village has two spring-fed streams at each end of the community.  Most residents, predominantly women and children, walk to the streams twice per day to fill 20 liter buckets with water for their use.  The walk is 20-45 minutes each way.

 

After consulting with a water engineer, a proposal has been developed to provide two wells and 60 cubic meter holding tanks that are more central to the villagers.  The proposal also calls for the creation of a Village Water Council, who will collect a small fee from villagers, which will be used to help with maintenance, sanitation, and education on proper water hygiene. 

 

There is only one Rotary club within 8 hours of Kumwambu, which is the Rotary Club of Bukoba.  The Club President enthusiastically said yes to helping with the proposal.  He has personally made two trips to the village to take a leadership role in the project.  The project will also partner with the Kibondo District Council and their water engineer.  The project is estimated to cost about $150,000, but matching funds from Rotary have made even the smallest contributions have a huge impact.  District 6000 is being asked to fund $28,875 and they are hoping that HyVee will make a similar contribution.  Once funding and approvals are finalized, it is estimated that it will take 6 months to build the wells and tanks.

 

The meeting ended at 1:00 pm as President Steve led the assembly in reciting The Four Way Test.

 

Singing: America the Beautiful, Jingle Bells, and Deck the Halls were led by Rtn. Aaron Schaefer with Rtn. Devin van Holsteijn on piano.

 

Our Greeter, Joe Hughes, announced Jim Peterson, from the Iowa City AM Club as a Visiting Rotarian.

 

Guests of Rotarians: Jennifer Blair (Barb Thomas/Jim Peterson); Amelia Akers (Shelly Maharry); Shirley Fliehler (Shelly Maharry); John McEleney (Anne Hargrave); Julie Zerwic (Eleanor McClelland).

 

Program: Tom Cilek; Attendance: Nancy Droll