The POWER of Lions...
Happy Thanksgiving to all. Today as we give thanks wanted to pass on one of the things I give thanks for...Lions. And realizing that we as Lions do not do a good job of tooting our horn, am letting everyone know what the Lions of Multiple District 49 did within a few months.
A little background...the Alaskan village of Newtok will become a casualty of erosion within the next year or two and the population of 209 will have to move to higher ground about 9 miles away to a new village named Mertarvik (literally meaning "a place to get water"). What was interesting is that although millions of dollars had already been spent and budgeted for houses, roads, etc., no funding was forthcoming for a way to provide clean water. A water well for the village was drilled and an electric water pump installed but there was no electricity or filtration system in place.
This is where the Lions stepped in...
The Fairbanks Host Lions sponsored two of their members to go around to small villages in the Philippines to assemble and hand out small hand-operated drinking water plants after a typhoon knocked out the ability to get clean water. After returning the Host Lions wanted to do a similar project closer to home and they talked to Jon Dufendach of CampWater Industries who in turn talked to the Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC). Although there are 35 villages without clean water, the recommendation was Mertarvik and the Host Lions started running.
The Host Lions presented it to the District 49B cabinet for adopting this as a major Lions Centennial project in March 2016. Next, District 49A was asked to help support and then both the District 49A and 49B Foundations (both 501(c)(3) organizations) tackled this as a joint project.
At the Multiple District 49 convention in April 2016 they started raising the $30,000 needed. Jon Dufendach volunteered his time and CCHRC provided two laborers, not charging us for it. Jon installed a hand pump (remember no electricity there yet), the filtration system, and built a wellhouse the last month of June 2016...this is the POWER of Lions.
We Serve!
Submitted by Ski Marcinkowski
#Lions100
Happy Thanksgiving to all. Today as we give thanks wanted to pass on one of the things I give thanks for...Lions. And realizing that we as Lions do not do a good job of tooting our horn, am letting everyone know what the Lions of Multiple District 49 did within a few months.
A little background...the Alaskan village of Newtok will become a casualty of erosion within the next year or two and the population of 209 will have to move to higher ground about 9 miles away to a new village named Mertarvik (literally meaning "a place to get water"). What was interesting is that although millions of dollars had already been spent and budgeted for houses, roads, etc., no funding was forthcoming for a way to provide clean water. A water well for the village was drilled and an electric water pump installed but there was no electricity or filtration system in place.
We Serve!
Submitted by Ski Marcinkowski
#Lions100
