Rotary official discusses district project to provide irrigation to island farms Posted on February 20, 2023 0 Beth Schweitzer, district governor’s chief of staff Beth Schweitzer, Chief of Staff for the District Governor of District 6600, spoke to the Kenton Rotary about a water project the district is undertaking in St. Vincent and the Grenadines which is an island nation in the southern Caribbean comprising a main island, St. Vincent, and a chain of smaller islands. In April 2021 the main island had a volcanic eruption which ruined 80% of the farmable land on the main island. Without these subsistence farms many people would go hungry. While the cleanup is underway it was discovered that a better irrigation system was needed to help clear the ash and increase production in the future. Rotarians on the island reached out to fellow Rotarians they had met from District 6600 and a partnership was formed. A plan was formulated that was sustainable, reasonably prices and functional. 111 ram pumps, in key location in the river will pump water to a holding ponds, to reservoirs, holding tanks and finally to irrigate the land. District 6600 is especially pound of a friend of a Rotarian who heard the presentation and told the local pump company owner about it. The owner of the pump company donated all of the pumps needed for the project, greatly reducing the monetary commitment needed to complete the project. This is just an example of the world wide relationships that are built when becoming a member of Rotary.
