RB Sunrise Makes Dreams Real In Nicaragua
Posted by James A Dunny
On Tuesday May 5, RB Sunrise Rotary's speaker Cindy Barbee, daughter of RB Sunrise Rotary's President-Elect Nazrin Barbee related her experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in a remote village in Nicaraqua. Cindy gave a first hand report of the impact of an International Project of RB Sunrise Rotary on the lives of women in the village who received the aid provided by the club.
The project co-ordinated with a Rotary Club in Nicaraqua involved the
purchase of sewing machines for Casa Materna. Casa Materna is a
maternity clinic where women come near the end of their pregnancies to
await the birth of their babies. Before the purchase of the sewing
machines, the women had nothing to do. Now the women learn to sew and
can make clothes and diapers for their babies and sell extra items.
Other groups have now seen these sewing machines and have supplied
additional machines and supplies to further this project. The gift from
Rotary began a cycle of giving that will continue to benefit these
women.
Another project was the contruction of a garden to grow food to diversify and enrich the diet of the women. The garden has been able to not only supply vegatables for Casa Materna, but excess vegetables are sold to assist the clinic.
Cindy spent two years as a health volunteer in the clinic and spent her time not only at Casa Materna, but also in outlying areas giving classes in sanitation and disease prevention including sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. Her efforts are now being carried forward by local nurses she trained.
At the end of the meeting, Cindy was awarded a Paul Harris fellowship by her parents, Ralph and Nazrin Barbee, who are also Paul Harris fellows.
In an interesting note, Cindy was awarded a certificate for her talk which states that a wheelchair will donated in her name to someone in a country like Nicaragua to give the gift of mobility to the recipient. Cindy saw firsthand these wheelchairs, supplied by the Wheelchair Project, and only learned later that RB Sunrise Rotary participates in this project.
The partnership of Rotary clubs makes possible the projects that truly Make Dreams Real around the world.
Another project was the contruction of a garden to grow food to diversify and enrich the diet of the women. The garden has been able to not only supply vegatables for Casa Materna, but excess vegetables are sold to assist the clinic.
Cindy spent two years as a health volunteer in the clinic and spent her time not only at Casa Materna, but also in outlying areas giving classes in sanitation and disease prevention including sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS. Her efforts are now being carried forward by local nurses she trained.
At the end of the meeting, Cindy was awarded a Paul Harris fellowship by her parents, Ralph and Nazrin Barbee, who are also Paul Harris fellows.
In an interesting note, Cindy was awarded a certificate for her talk which states that a wheelchair will donated in her name to someone in a country like Nicaragua to give the gift of mobility to the recipient. Cindy saw firsthand these wheelchairs, supplied by the Wheelchair Project, and only learned later that RB Sunrise Rotary participates in this project.
The partnership of Rotary clubs makes possible the projects that truly Make Dreams Real around the world.