Rotary in Liberia
Dan Boeger
Father John Mangels introduced Dan Boeger, an International Service chair at the Gridley Rotary Club. Dan briefly told of the help given to Liberia in the areas of clean water and sanitation with the help of a Rotary Club Global Grant and the collaboration of Rotary District 5180, the Episcopal Church and donations from friends. He then introduced Gus and Cecelia Flomo of the Sinkor Rotary Club in Liberia.Gus and Cecelia Flomo
Gus told us about the water and sanitation problem there—using open pits, damaged hand pumps, and running creeks for drinking water. 80% of illness is due to lack of sanitation and waterborne pathogens. Children travel many miles to haul water from creeks which leads to child abuse, teenage pregnancy and sexual assaults.The team arrived march 2014 with the goal of clean drinking water, food sanitation, hygiene, and health education. This resulted in new wells, hand pumps, trucks for transportation and training. This is an ongoing project of the Gridley and Sinkor Rotary clubs which have seen great progress so far.
Cecelia Flomo then told us about Liberia’s battle with the Ebola virus. The Ebola outbreak there broke down their health system. Educational institutions closed for more than 6 months. The huge loss of jobs also took an economic toll. There were 4808 deaths. US partners, including Rotary 5180 led by the Gridley Rotary club and the Episcopal Church helped greatly in fighting this epidemic by providing supplies and education.
President Ed Bunting thanked Dan, Gus, and Cecelia for their inspiring and informative presentation showing can do with small groups of dedicated people and informed them that "in honor of" their lecture, books will be provided for the Carmichael Library.
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Augustus J. Flomo, MBA, email: augustisjflomo@yahoo.com ;
Cecelia K. Flomo, RN, email: ceceliakf1@yahoo.com ;
website: www.liberianchildren.org
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Acknowledging Terry Sweeney who took the notes for the above article.
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(above) Ed Bunting, Cecelia and Gus Flomo,
John Mangels, Philip Mulford, and Dan Boeger
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OUR ATTENTIVE AUDIENCE |