Haiti Water For Life ProgramResponding to the Haiti EarthquakeOur Efforts BeginJanuary 16, 2010 We have been inundated with requests for information, asking us how support can be provided to the people of Haiti through our contacts there. Roy Sheldrick has been on the phone and e-mail constantly since the terrible news started to arrive. We are gearing up to respond. Our efforts will be directed to routing funds to the Hopital Albert Schweitzer which has been dealing with quake victims since the day after. For a direct line to updates from the hospital you can go to Director Ian Rawson's blog update. We are collecting funds which we will be transferring safely through the hospital foundation in Pittsburgh to support the hospital in this urgent time. We will also be working closely with the three Rotary Clubs who are our partners in the area as rebuilding starts to begin once the immediate crisis slows.
Donations received directly to our club by check or cash will receive a receipt through our Charitable Trust....you can mail checks to our club...check our contacts page for the address details. Our efforts will change over time, based upon the feedback we receive from our partners in Haiti. At this point our contact is only through limited e-mail contact...but we will continue to make sure they all know that we and you are behind them....watch these pages as we update our efforts and plans. Thank you for helping to meet the needs of our friends in Haiti.... Rotary Club of Ancaster February 11 Update To date we have been able to forward approximately $70,000 due to the generosity of Rotary Clubs of District 7090, individual donors,organizations and the Haiti Relief Community Dinner held in conjunction with St. John's Church in Ancaster. Our contacts in Haiti tell us that the work continues. Much of their work now centres on dealing with the continuing medical needs of those injured who received temporary care and who now need ongoing support for their rehabilition. Some interesting indication of the impacts that are being felt.. The first delivery of 5000 gallons of diesel fuel for generators for electricity cost $115,000. A container of donated medical supplies cost over $5000 in transportation....and the bills keep on coming as the load for the hospital has grown due to the people who have relocated from Port au Prince and now need more care. The Haiti Water Wells continue to pump each day providing these people with clean healthy water a commodity that is very much in need in the country at this time. Of the 189 wells in place at the time of the earthquake,luckily none were damaged. Update March 10 2010 To date over $115,000 has been routed to Haiti relief efforts through the hospital in the Artibonite Valley. Funds have come from individual donations and from the many Rotary clubs of District 7090. We thank those who have used this venue to support the people of Haiti. We have been informed by our contacts in Haiti that the four wheel drive dump truck which Rotary funded for the Water For Life program was used to move medical supplies from the Dominican Republic to the the hospital. It's extra ground clearance proved invaluable in making the trip. Just one of the side benefits of the project. Update April 18, 2010 A couple of months after the disaster there is still much that is uncertain in Haiti. Our relief efforts have continued to be supported generously and to date over $123,000 has been transferred to Hopital Albert Schweitzer so they can respond to the continued heavy needs of the people. They are currently running at double their normal occupancy with up to 140-50 patients per day. Many still have serious surgical needs and the medicines needed to treat pain and major infections are a heavy financial burden. The hospital staff continues to be able to provide good care however and is grateful for all of the support they have received, Our Relief Fund is still operating and those who wish to continue to make support contributions are encouraged to do so and we will ensure the funds are directed where they can do the most good. Water For Life 200th Well Celebration Held April 18We are pleased to announce that the 200th Well is presently being drilled and should be completed in a few weeks. To celebrate this major achievement and the efforts of so many people over the past 15 years, the Rotary Club of Ancaster held a special dinner on Sunday April 18, 2010 at Michelangelo's Banquet Centre in Hamilton. Over 155 people from a wide variety of supporters of the Haiti Water For Life Program were in attendance. Attendees enjoyed the first hand reports of several persons who had been able to visit Haiti to see the work. Dawn Johnson and Renold Estime of the Hopital Albert Schweitzer staff were on hand to bring the attendees up to date on the current state of the program and some of the future plans for more work. The presented a plaque to program founder Roy Sheldrick to acknowledge his efforts in support of the people of Haiti. Through a video presentation specially preparted for the evening Past Rotary International President Wilfrid Wilkinson addressed the dinner. He outlined his personal thanks for the efforts of so many people and how important the work was. He was specially pleased with the broad base of supporters who are makng the program successful. Commemorative plaques were presented to Dawn and Renold to take home to the three Rotary Clubs who are the partners in Haiti who provide the onsite effort to develop the wells and other activities. Videos from the 200th CelebrationSee video presentations featuring the start of drilling the 200th Well as well as Wilfrid Wilkinson's message to Water For Life Supporters 
The Haiti Water For Life Project was born out a trip that one of our members, Roy Sheldrick and his wife Norma took to The Hopital Albert Schweitzer in 1996. They were on a work team led by a Hamilton doctor, Dr. Everett Sargeant and his wife Arlene. This trip turned out to be a life changing experience for Roy and Norma and is very typical of the International development work which is carried out by Rotarians around the world. For a personal testimonial on how the Water For Life Program developed read Roy's account of the work to date. The story of Water For Life is ongoing and is one of the major charitable projects of the Ancaster Rotary Club. To date, over $1.2 million has been raised and invested in bringing clean, safe and accessible water to the people of The Artibonite. The provision of safe potable water is one of the key objectives defined in the Haiti Action Plan as outlined by the World Health Organization report on the country. The Work ContinuesThe work in the region continues each year as more and more wells are drilled and new sources of clean water are tapped. In fall of 2006 a new 7,000 foot pipeline was built through Water For Life to bring water from a mountain spring to 20,000 people in the valley. Well number 125 was also opened.... 
bringing water to one more village.
Donors and Sponsors Provide Core FinancingThe project is financed through a variety of vehicles, but the core financing comes from the fund raising efforts of The Rotary Club of Ancaster and other Rotary Clubs who have joined in the effort. In addition, through Roy Sheldrick's work as a guest presenter the story has been told to many church groups and individuals who have added their support to the project. This core financing is then leveraged through funding from the Rotary International Foundation which is one of the largest privately financed foundations in the world. With the leveraged contributions from the Foundation the money raised through Water For Life is expanded to be able do even more work. This is one of the America's poorest countries which has suffered even more because of the political unrest which has plagued the country in the past few decades. The 300,000 people in
the Artibonite Valley and all of Haiti face an extremely difficult future.
Through the medical work of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital and the clean water which the wells and pipeline can provide, some of the basic determinants of better health can finally come to the people of the valley.
December 2007 UpdateIn December 2007, Roy Sheldrick was joined by District 7090 District Governor, Bob Leek and Past District Governor Bob Bruce as well as Past District Governor, Doug Vincent of District 7080 at a World Water Development Conference in Port au Prince Haiti. Roy Sheldrick presented a real world update to the Ancaster Rotary Club PDG, Doug Vincent has provided some of his observations on Haiti and Water Development in the Artibonite Valley. A quick video summary of Haiti Water For Life
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