Wishbone Grpahics

Local Rotarians’ efforts focus on a desperate need people face around the world

When Pat Johns and Kim Holland traveled to Africa with six Rotary colleagues, they weren’t just looking for big game animals in their native habitats. They were on a quest for global safe, clean water. What they found was a disquieting new perspective.

“It hit home for me when I was photographing people on a trail. I spoke with a first-grade teacher. I told him I was 53. He very calmly said, ‘Oh, I won’t live to be that old here.’ There is a startling amount of people that die because of AIDS and bad water. For them, the normal life expectancy is in the mid-40s. They are not emotional about it at all,” Johns said.

Johns is a member of the Dallas Evening Rotary Club, the most international local club with members from Argentina, Nicaragua, Honduras, Peru, Mexico, Bolivia, Columbia, Cuba, and the U.S. An author, Johns is also the Rotary International District 5810 photojournalist. Holland is the 2006-2007 past governor of Rotary International District 5810. The first female governor of the 63-club district, she is currently the coordinator for water for Rotary Zone 26, which covers eight Rotary districts in the middle section of the U.S.

For Johns the journey to Africa began when he worked with his civil rights activist aunt in the late 1960s. His 2000 trip to India deepened his understanding of relief and the needs of people around the world, and his passion for others was rekindled when he traveled to Ethiopia in 2002.

“Meeting Kim and my involvement with Rotary gave me a platform. So many times when we see suffering on TV or in the media, our humanness allows us to think this won’t happen to me or it isn’t about me. But when we go there and see it firsthand, the suffering takes on a real quality about it that touches you. When I was in Livingstonia, a plateau in Malawi, Africa, I saw a child hunched over. He had his face buried in his hands, and he was desperate. It was so real,” Johns said.

Johns’ connection to the nongovernmental organization Water For People directed the Rotarians to Livingstonia. According to Johns, Livingstonia was built in remembrance of David Livingstone, who took a 10-mile winding path from a lower village up to the plateau to escape malaria. Area Rotarians are working on projects in Livingstonia because the government is not corrupt and the water system, built 100 years ago, is in need of updating. Holland says the system, originally designed for 2000 people, supports 15,000 people today. Johns and Holland describe the water system as an open, half-pipe concrete trench that runs down the side of a mountain. Pressure forces the water up a pipe to Livingstonia. After the water travels to Livingstonia, it flows to approximately ten villages. Mud slides and fallen trees keep water from the local residents.

For Holland, the journey to Africa began the day she saw Mia Farrow, speaking for UNICEF, on CNN. She was horrified to learn that young girls spend two to four hours each day bringing water back to their homes and are raped along the way.

“The girls start carrying water on their heads at age 5. The bucket of water weighs close to 50 pounds. It destroys their spines. We walked to a river, and women were washing their clothes. We took pictures, and they smiled. One woman said, ‘No, wait don’t just take pictures. Help us. They told us our water is safe, but our children are dying. Please come back and help us.’ That changed everybody,” Holland said.

According to Holland, the people in the villages literally drink from mud holes. They shoo the animals away, scoop up the water, and wait for the sediment to fall to the bottom of the bucket.

“We wanted to affect a region, not just provide one well. The needs are a half-million dollars. We have already raised $100,000, and we are looking at raising the rest for a three- to four-stage project,” Holland said.

When local fresh water is available, young girls will have time to go to school, and phase two, which includes education and school supplies, will start. The third phase focuses on small business loans ranging from $30-$250 for African women. According to Holland, there is a 99 percent payback rate on these loans that boost the local economy and raise the value of women in the family.

Johns notes that Africa has many nonfunctioning wells with broken parts. He explains that one mistake individuals make in their effort to help is that they do not consult the people who live in the villages.

“It is critical to step out of ourselves and look at it from the standpoint of the people there and what they need. If they get antivirals for AIDS but have bad water, then they get diarrhea and the antivirals don’t stay in the body long enough to affect the AIDS. We need to address the water issue first,” Johns said.

Prior to the African water safari, Holland and Johns instigated a Global Safe Clean Water awareness campaign. To promote water awareness, Johns’ parents purchased 20,000 wristbands. To date 10,000 were sold or donated. A Rotary expo, auction and rummage sale was held at Texas Stadium, and Rotarians worldwide joined together to create matching grants with Rotary International. In addition, the district held a water summit and a “Water is Life” gala featuring Broadway entertainer Marvin Hamlisch, who made a donation to the water project.

Lyle Froese, past president of Sunrise Rotary Club in McKinney, heard about the worldwide need for clean water through Rotary’s national efforts. A former Kansas science teacher, Sherman ISD administrator and current educational consultant, Froese understands the chemical and biological impacts of a lack of fresh water. However, the need actually touched Froese when he heard Johns speak.

Froese shared, “On a personal note, I picture my grandchildren who do not have the same problems. I picture children my grandchildren’s age walking miles with jugs on their heads just to get water. When we were thinking about these dangers, my wife stood up and said, ‘I will donate the funds to build a water well.’ I am proud of my wife for doing that, but she wasn’t the only one who did it. That’s what I like about Rotary; our motto is ‘Service Above Self,’ ” Froese said.

According to Johns, in Livingstonia if you pull gum wrappers out of your pocket, 100 children will grab for them.

“There’s not much pollution because there is not much to waste. The perception of abundance for us might mean a new BMW. They want abundance too, but for them abundance might mean a few hours to spend with family or abundant water. Their perspective is different. They are asking for the basic things, but for them it represents a lot,” Johns said.

For more information about the Global Clean Safe Water project or wristbands, contact pfjohns@aol.com or visit www.pat-johns.com.

In addition to her work with the Collin County Community College District, writer Heather Darrow is a frequent contributor to Plano Profile.