This past week I had the honor of participating in the Global Grant supporting the Navajo Nation near Gallup, NM. This marked one of the few Global Grants supported by District 5495 in the USA and is perhaps the largest Rotary grant project to happen within the district.The Gilbert Rotary Club initiated Phase I of this Global Grant in 2017-18 for 18 homes. The Sun Lakes Rotary Club has now picked up the reins for Phase II, which will complete the installation of a 1200-gallon cistern and equipment to provide running water to 33 homes in 2018-19.
All this effort is done in partnership with Dig Deep, a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, CA. Two officials from Dig Deep were on hand for the final installation in the home of Jonas and Ida. They have been married for 59 years and have lived in their home since 1992. Their only source of water for the home is what is delivered approximately once a month by their son and his pickup truck, weather permitting, and stored in 3 x 50-gallon barrels outside - yes, they do freeze in the winter unless stored inside the home kitchen area.
For this family and many others on the Navajo Nation, their normal water usage is 5-7 gallons per day per family (usually 3-5 people in a typical home).
What is your own family's water consumption? According to the USGS, it is 80-100 gallons per day, per person. Think about that when you are showering and brushing your teeth.
During this day on the Navajo Nation, three things really captured my attention:
- This Global Grant is helping people in our own backyard.
- Jonas is 84 and Ida is 79 years old. When Ida turned on the tap in her new kitchen sink, it was the first time she ever had running water in her home - EVER!
- What resonated just as much was the attitude of the DigDeep employees - all members of the Navajo Nation except one. When asked about their jobs, they all stated how happy they were to be doing what they were doing to help others. Some had been working at high-level positions in other states and in foreign countries. One gentleman offered that his job made him feel good at the end of the day. We should all feel this good about our jobs.
Mesa West Rotary Club provided significant funding along with seven clubs in District 5495. Funding came from Rotary Clubs and districts in Arizona, California, Colorado, North Dakota, New Hampshire, and Ohio. International funding came from Australia, Canada, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Mexico, Thailand, and Uganda
To learn more and find out what might be next, attend the October 3 Mesa West Rotary Club meeting when PDG Gary Whiting will be presenting a more in-depth report.
In the photos, John McCoy is shown with PDG Gary Whiting; PDG Sherry Mischel is shown completing the installation of the outlet fixture in the 1200 gallon cistern; a typical sink installation is shown, the home is where the installation was completed Wednesday, September 25, and the bottom right photo is the DigDeep team.