Meeting Minutes - Reverse Osmosis Update
(Photos by Roberta Kayne)
Lou Charobee presented a Rotary and an Interact banner that were presented to him during a recent trip to Brazil.
Betty Isaacs introduced Marisa Saelzler who is the Media Specialist at Daniel J Wright Elementary School. Betty presented Marisa with a $500 check to support our weekly book contribution made on behalf of weekly meeting presenters.
Stephen Osborne introduced three Coffman students who are being supported by Dublin AM Rotary as part of the Rotary Youth Exchange program. Each student presented an overview of their host family and where they will be traveling.
- Jen Spears (Barcelona, Spain)
- Ava Green (Ulm, Germany)
- Gretchen Spears (Weitz, Austria)
Our District Governor and representatives from many district Rotary Clubs came to hear our own Mohan Viddam update us on the social work projects he is leading in India. Dublin AM has financially supported his reverse osmosis (RO) water work projects the past couple of years with a donations totaling $12,800. The first RO water purification plant was installed in June 2015 and Mohan has accumulated funding for 35 more plants, of which 9 have already been installed. Each self-sustaining plant provides water to 2000-3000 people. In addition to the RO plants, water backpacks are also available for transporting this valuable resource back to a village. Dublin AM is inviting other district Rotary Clubs to partner with us in funding more plants and will be applying for a Rotary International Global Grant to acquire funding for another 30-50 plants. In addition to Rotary funding, Mohan also contributes funding from his own company, Halcyon, and from various Indian organizations such as the American Association of Physicians of Indian-Origin (AAPI). I think we can all agree that Mohan’s desire to make a difference and what he has accomplished is significant, especially to those who are receiving water through his RO projects. That said, Mohan informed us that the need is still very great as these projects are focused in only a small geographic area of need in India.
As if this was not enough, Mohan also has collected over 1000 lbs. of used clothes in 2015 and shipped them to India for orphans and homeless people. The cost of shipping was $2000 of which Dublin AM funded $350. In 2016, Mohan has already collected and packed 2100 lbs. of used clothes which will be shipped later this month.
Congratulations to Mohan for all that he has accomplished! Thank you for sharing your success with us, for being an inspiration of service, and for being an example of what an individual can do to impact so many.
Photos illustrating the great work Mohan is leading can be found at the following Flickr album: Mohan's India projects presentation photos
