ROTARY IN ACTION IN LESLIE COUNTY: IMPROVING LIVES, CLOSE TO HOME

While global initiatives such as Polio Plus understandably garner much attention, it is good to be reminded that Rotary’s reach extends to our own backyards.

For several years our Club has been involved in a global grant to improve sanitation in Leslie County, Kentucky. The committee overseeing that project, composed of Jack McAllister, Sharon Reed, and Gerry van der Meer, is proud to provide an update on that project.

In early August, Jack and Sharon, accompanied Dale Gray from the Rotary Foundation Office for the Cadre of Technical Advisors (CADRE), headed to the mountains and hollers of Leslie County, Kentucky, to check on the progress of our grant. CADRE is a network of Rotary members who work to increase the impact of Rotary Projects. CADRE members volunteer their professional expertise in Rotary’s areas of focus, along with financial auditing to help steward Rotary Foundation grant funds and strengthen the capacity of members in project planning, implantation, and evaluation.

This grant through the Rotary Foundation was established several years ago. Slow responses to our applications and Covid delayed the project. The committee reviewed applications and identified numerous families as potential beneficiaries. Some recommendations came from Heath Vance, the Health Inspector for the region including Leslie County. We have now installed three tanks and otherwise are in the pipeline for additional installations. We have also asked the recipient families to suggest other homeowners who might benefit from installation of new septic systems.

Visiting the installations was challenging as we traversed narrow and winding mountain roads, with no cell coverage and road signs that were missing or deliberately turned around! We persisted and eventually found the homes, which were mostly mobile homes tucked on high hills or down gravel and dirt roads.

When we arrived at each home we were greeted with wide smiles. Our visits were welcomed and thanks expressed to us while we were shown the locations of the new septic systems. Several of the homeowners had large gardens with beautiful tomatoes, squash, corn, and other vegetables, interspersed with nearby flowers, a cheerful sight indeed.

Asked if they were happy with the septic systems, all responded “yes”! One of the women said “I am so happy to have a toilet that I can flush!” Her family had been using a bucket which had to be hauled down to area near the creek below their home. We were told all this while her husband, daughter, and grandchildren watched us from their wooden porch. We knew then that the entire extended family would benefit from our global grant, as would the environment.

An important part of the grant is a follow up meeting with homeowners to discuss care of the systems, thus aiding in the long-term maintenance and longevity of the systems.

We met the next day with three official who represented water, health inspections, and extension offices. They really appreciated our visit and had many suggestions for possible use of some of the grant funds.

Our global grant addresses many of the Focus areas of Rotary service, including Environmental Protection, Disease and Prevention, Water and Sanitation, and Economic Development. CADRE member Dale Gray pointed out that our Global Grant also represents part of our Four-Way Test. So be proud of yourselves, Rotarians, because you are making a difference in the lives of Eastern Kentucky families.

– Jack McAllister, Sharon Reed, Gerry van der Meer