SUBMITTED PHOTO
Clean water gets shot out of a pipe in Santa Rosa Nicaragua. The pipes and well project were made possible by the Hat High Rotary Interact Club.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@mocranker
Despite having fundraising initiatives cut short due to COVID-19, the Medicine Hat High School Rotary Interact Club was still able to put together $5,000 for a water project in Nicaragua.
The student-run group raised the funds during the 2018-19 school year through a series of bake sales and similar events. The group’s final fundraising event was slated for April of this year, but it was cancelled because of the pandemic.
The students worked with Rotarian Douglas Thorson and Theresa Eisenbarth, who acted as a liaison between the Hat High group and the Rotary Club of Medicine Hat.
Through hard work and fundraising skills, the village of Santa Rosa was able to get an updated water supply.
“Their well was hand powered and was slow to operate,” said Thorson. “It took about 30 seconds to get water and you really didn’t get much from it.
“The water they were getting was not clean. This project was life changing for that village.”
The new well pump delivers around 100 litres of water each minute to a 2,500-litre storage tank. The water is distributed through buried pipes around the village.
The project brought clean water to 41 homes and 200 community members for drinking, cooking, laundry, bathing and anything else clean water is needed for.
Hat High vice-principal and MHHS Rotary Interact advisor Sue Withers says the school is proud of the students and thankful for all the support received over the years.
“We’re so proud of the students,” she said. “The staff at the school and the families are so supportive of every sale we do, and we want to say thank you to them.
“We appreciate working with the Rotary Club to make projects like these happen.”
Withers says the student group works on a large project every couple years. Last year the students unveiled a renovated room at the hospital in the pediatric unit.
“The students have done a great job giving back to our community and others around the world,” said Withers.
