District 9100 includes Ghana and most of West Africa.  We are working with Rotarians in Tamale, Sunyani Central, and Bolgatanga Goodwill Rotary Clubs.  Past-President Joe Mumuni and Past Treasurer Alex Kpodo have done a lot of the work in the Tamale Rotary Club in the Northern Region of Ghana.  It was the vision of the Tamale Rotary Club board members who decided that we should focus on Guinea Worm Disease.  Most of the hands-on management of the projects were handled by the Tamale Rotary Club in the fight against Guinea Worm Disease.  The Rotarians took time away from the businesses and families to make sure people have water to drink and were free from disease.

Samuel Obour is the President of the Sunyani Central Rotary Club in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana in the center of Ghana.  Kodzo Anane is very active on the Sunyani Central Water Committee.  Michael Nsiah convinced the board and the International Rotarians to prioritize Buruli Ulcer as the next priority disease for the partnership of Rotary Clubs.  The Sunyani Central Rotary Club is a relatively new Rotary Club.  Kofi Nyamaah-Koffuor is the Director of Service Projects.  The photograph shows the Sunyani Central Rotarians with International Rotarians to dedicate the mechanized borehole at the Notre Dame Girls School.

The Bolgatanga Goodwill Rotary Club is being chartered in 2011.  The new President is Emmanuel Atia.  We are hopeful that their club will be embraced by many International Rotary Clubs for projects to provide clean water, help for schools, and improved health for communities in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

The Milford, Massachusetts Rotary Club in District 7910 was involved because a son, Peter DiCampo of a local Rotarian was working in Ghana at the time.  Peter DiCampo was working in the Peace Corp in Ghana fighting Guinea Worm Disease.  The Milford, Massachusetts Rotary Club provided funds for several clean water grants and a medical grant to provide medical equipment and supplies to the Tamale Teaching Hospital and Tamale Eye Clinic. Peter DiCampo continues to have a passion to spread the word about the needs of the poor in Africa.  He is pictured on the left with a certificate of appreciation from the Tamale Teaching Hospital at the dedication service in Ghana.  Walter Hughes is on the right.

District 7850 comprises of Northern Vermont, Northern New Hampshire, and Southern Québec. Rotarians Ron Cowan from the Lebanon, New Hampshire Rotary Club and Claude LaLiberté from the Sherbrooke Rotary Club were two of the visionaries for the first 3-H grant.  Ron Cowan (left) is talking to a community health worker to learn more about how to care for patients with Guinea Worm Disease.  Ron Cowan devotes his time to humanitarian projects in Zimbabwe and other extremely poor areas of the world.  Ron Cowan dedicated his work to his first wife after her death.

The first large 3-H Rotary Matching Grant 57557 for Ghana to fight guinea worm disease was sponsored by the Rotary Clubs of Lebanon, New Hampshire and Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada,  They led the way on the vision to make Ghana free of the three foot long parasite.  We've been working with District 7850 for many years.  Bill Babineau is a key contact for our work in the Lebanon, New Hampshire Rotary Club.  The photograph is part of the mechanized water system for Wuntugu in Northern Region of Ghana. Marilyn Bedell is the District Governor of D-7850 in 2011-2012.

We are so fortunate to have the support of many Rotary Clubs in Rotary District 7610 in Northern Virginia.  PDG Tin Tin Rashid was actually the first person in this district who persued getting her district involved in this project. Past District Governor Sandra Duckworth is the main champion in this district.  Sandra is also a leader for clean water from her work with the Water and Sanitation Rotary Action Group (WASRAG).  She is willing to give a presentation or tell you about our project.  The Rotary Clubs in District 7610 have raised $70,600 for clean water in Ghana.  Sandra Duckworth is shown in the photograph receiving her "Service Above Self" Award in 2011.

Click here to check out their web site.

District 7490 is in New Jersey.  The Kearny, New Jersey Rotary Club helped with our medical grant to ship medical equipment and supplies to the Tamale Teaching Hospital and Eye Clinic.  Carol MacDonald lived in Kearny, New Jersey where she knew Dr. Jim Murphy who was a local Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor.  She is also a Rotarian and a very good friend of Dr. Jim Murphy.  Dr. Jim Murphy retired and moved his practice to the Tamale Teaching Hospital in northern Ghana. Conrad Heede, Grapevine, Texas Rotarian, read in a Holy Cross College newsletter that Dr. Jim Murphy was retiring and dedicating the rest of his life to working at the Tamale Teaching Hospital in Ghana.  Conrad Heede and Dr. Jim Murphy both went to Holy Cross College.

Conrad Heede and Carol MacDonald talked with Dr. Jim Murphy about the need for medical equipment and supplies that would be needed for the hospital.  Carol MacDonald, Conrad Heede, and Walter Hughes formed the team to make the medical grant work.  Dr. Murphy is not a Rotarian, but he continues to work with our team to find ways to make a difference in the health of the people of Ghana.

We hope to have more partners in New Jersey in the future.

District 1980 is located in Switzerland.  We are fortunate to have Kurt Bay from Aarau, Switzerland on our team.  He is a Rotary Cadre who inspected the first competitive Rotary matching grant.  He liked the project and gave his approval.  He has been a major champion from that day forward.  We have several clubs from District 1980 who have contributed to our grant because of Kurt Bay's presentations.  Kurt Bay also worked with Walter Hughes and Samuel Obour from the Sunyani Central Rotary Club to partner with the Georg Fischer Jubilee Clean Water Foundation for $70,000 in 2010.  Kurt Bay (on left) is pictured with Rotarian Yohannes Teshome from Ethiopia where he does a lot of humanitarian work.  Kurt Bay has a tremendous amount of knowledge and expertise that he provides to the team of Rotary Clubs.

District 7570 covers Eastern Tennessee and Western Virginia up the Shenandoah Valley to Winchester, Virginia.   District 7570 is the home of the Clean Water Projects in Ghana.  The first grant was an area projects supported by Past Assistant Governors Bruce Griffith and Ken Tuck.  The primary international Rotary Club is Rocky Mount Rotary Club.  The key contact in Rotary District 7570 is Walter Hughes, Jr.  Walter is the Vice-Chair of the Grant Subcommittee in District 7570.  We've had a lot of clubs in this district support the project over the years.

Southern West Virginia is represented by Rotary District 7550.  District 7550 was the lead district for our first Competitive Rotary Grant 65414.  They have been a great partnering districts.  Past District Governor Tom Greenstreet thought up the idea of a district-wide "water jug" project to raise money for clean water in Ghana at the Salt Lake City International Convention.  Each District Governor in turn has provided tremendous support and encouragement for the clean water project in Ghana. District Governor Mary Keely continued this tradition in 2011.

The photographs of some of the decorated "water jugs" are below.  The clubs placed money in the jugs all year long to raise money for clean water in Ghana.  District 7550 has raised over $123,395 from almost 100% participation from the district Rotary Clubs through 2011.

Rotary District 5170 is in Central California.  We are so fortunate to have the San Leandro, California Rotary Club involved in our projects.  They had a well project in Ghana before we even thought of getting involved.   They are also a Future Vision District.  The San Leandro Rotary Club mentored the Rotarians from Rotary Club of Rocky Mount, Virginia to write their first matching grant.  San Leandro Rotary Club has a passion to make a difference in this world.  Click here to check out their web site.

District 7690 is in the Piedmont area of North Carolina.  We are very fortunate to have District Governor Wes Patterson sponsoring Rotary Global Grant 25176.  He is a member of the Thomasville, North Carolina Rotary Club.  District 5790 is a Future Vision District.  The partnership could not continue without the sponsorship and vision of District Governor Wes Patterson.  We are so thankful that he was willing to help our work to continue!

District 5790 is in Central North Carolina near Charlotte.  The Rotary Club of Boiling Springs, NC is the club in District 5790 that has provided support over the years. The Rotary Club of Boiling Springs Past President Kathryn Hamrick is the biggest supporter for our partnership to provide clean water in Ghana.

District 6780 is in Central Tennessee.  Scot Shanks from Crossville, Tennessee has a passion for wells and Ghana.  He taught Walter Hughes how to write grants and shared what he knew with the team.  District 6780 clubs have worked on one of our grants and continue to be very active in Ghana in the Western Region.

Click here to check out their web site.

We are working with Rotarians in the USA, Canada, Switzerland, and Ghana to provide clean water and better health to communities in West Africa.  Below are some of the stories how so many Rotarians around the world became involved in the same project.  We developed a common vision to make a difference.  It is a real team effort across twelve states in the USA, two Canadian provinces, Switzerland, and Ghana.  Click the bar below to read more about who is involved in a specific part of the world.

District 7040 of Rotary International is made up of sixty-seven active Rotary clubs in Nunavut, Eastern Ontario, Western Québec and Northern New York State. The Rotary Clubs  manage hundreds of community service programs in local communities in the USA and Canada and around the world.  They believe in Rotary's ideal of Service above Self.  This district has a passion to Ghana in West Africa.

Rotary District 7040 has a strong connection to Ghana because of the inspiration of three people:  Glenn Flaten, Past District Governor Bette Miller, and District Governor Katie Burke.  The first drip irrigation project for northeastern Ghana was approved by the Rotary Foundation in May 2002. Glenn Flaten traveled twice in 2003 to train farmers how to install and use the drip irrigation systems.  He was told about the needs in West Africa to his fellow Rotarians in Ontario, Canada and Upstate New York.    The irrigation project is completed in Ghana in June 2005.

Glenn Flaten devoted incredible time and energy to Rotary International, including grassroots agricultural developments projects in Africa, Central and South America. His life was dedicated to helping others in his community, country and the world.   Glenn Flaten had a passion and love for the people of the Upper East Region of Ghana near Bolgatanga.

Glenn Flaten was a member of the Rotary Club of Nepean-Kanata in Ontario, Canada.  Glenn died of cancer in 2007. The work and love of the people inspired the Rotary Clubs of Watertown, New York to continue by digging wells in Ghana.  Past-District Governor Ben Coe and the other leaders of the Watertown Rotary Clubs made the decision to continue Glenn’s work.

Bette Miller and Katie Burke are very active with a 3-H grant with the Kumasi East Rotary Club in the Ashanti Region of Ghana in the central part of the country.  The grant focused on helping to transform four communities around Kumasi. The grant is finishing in 2011.  Now, the partnerships continue to grow to honor the memory of Glenn Flaten and to build on the work done over the last decade in Ghana.  The desire to provide clean water and improve health will be strong.  We are thankful for the leadership of the Rotarians in District 7040 from Canada and the USA.

We partnered with the Rotary Clubs in Watertown, New York for many years.  Past District Governor Ben Coe is our champion for the district. Dr. Margot Remington is heading up the team to learn more about Buruli Ulcer and other neglected tropical diseases.

District 7040 has many leaders with the vision to provide clean water and improved health to communities across West Africa.  The three Rotary Clubs in Watertown, New York are Watertown Sunrise, Watertown Noon, and Watertown Evening.  They have a combined World Community Service Committee.  The three Rotary Clubs are able to accomplish so much more by being able to pool their resources.  The team photograph shows Rotarians  ater a Watertown, New York Rotary Club meeting.  The people from left to right are Past President, Past District Governor Ben Coe, Walter Hughes of Rotary Club of Rocky Mount, VA, Karen Delmonico, and George Mead.

Rotary District 7090 is located in Western New York and Western Ontario.

West Seneca, New York located near Buffalo in District 7090 has been a partner for many years.  Larry Rose and John Nash are the key contacts in the West Seneca, NY Rotary Club. John Nash is the Media Relations Chair for the West Seneca, NY Rotary Club. The District Foundation Chair, Arthur Wing also has helped to support the project.  The West Seneca, New York Rotary Club has funded many grants in West Africa.