Rotary volunteers put the finishing touches on a latrine on Batey 105.
By Nancy West
Houlton Rotarian
The Houlton Rotary Club has supported many well-deserving projects over the years, most of them local. However, in 2013 and again in February of this year, several members from our club in conjunction with Rotary International traveled to the Dominican Republic in support of Rotary WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) programs in and around the city of La Romana.
This year, we also worked in new Rotary Areas of Focus: Basic Education and Literacy and Disease Prevention and Treatment (Women’s Health). 
Two Rotary meetings were attended at the Rio Dulce Rotary Club and Central Romana Rotary Club.
To quote the sponsor of our trip, Dr. Bob Chagrasulis (Dr. Bob), “You will begin this week with an open heart and a full suitcase, and you will return with a full heart (guaranteed) and empty suitcase. You will get out of this week what you put into it, not speaking of material things but of the energy you bring and the compassion you show… There is no way one little team can make a huge physical impact in four short work days, but I have found that the local Dominicans and Haitians can make a profound difference in our hearts and minds.”
And that’s exactly what happened.
Five Houlton Rotarians — Amy Hocking, Becky Day, Craig Bean, Nancy West and Mac Randolph — two non-rotarians Keegan and Danika Fitzpatrick and 18 other volunteers from Canada, Rhode Island and Maine joined Dr. Bob for a week of work, education and fellowship.
Over 500 pounds of clothing, hygiene products, school supplies for both children and adults, and toys were brought to the Dominican Republic and distributed.
The primary focus of our previous work trip was installation of the plastic Hydraid BioSand water filters in the homes of the Haitian sugar cane cutters and their families. To date, approximately 6,000 of these filters have been installed. Support of water promoters (lay people who monitor the filters on the plantations) and water testing have also been done with Rotary funding.
This year in addition to installing water filters, the group participated in latrine construction and adult education. We also visited the primary healthcare clinic, two elementary schools and an orphanage in La Romana.
There was no way that 25 individuals could put in enough water filters or build enough latrines to really make a difference. We were there to see what needs to be done, what is being done, and how we, as Rotarians, can do more and inform others of those needs.
