Rotary Club of Logan video of the village we helped along the Amazon

Millcreek Rotarians - This brief video capture the village of Santa Isabel along the Amazon in Peru. Our Wine into Water fundraiser helped finance the water filtration tower you'll see in the video.

The photos represent the village and the people, and many Youthlinc projects over the last few years: the school, bathrooms, bridge, walkways, and medical station.

The end of the video shows Logan Rotarians visiting Cusco, the Sacred Valley, and Machu Picchu.

If this video doesn't get you excited about international service, check your pulse!

Here is also a reflection by Logan Rotarian Marilynne Glatfelter on the trip:

Service to others has always left me with the question, “So, who was really served?  Did I, in my need to do good works, impose on others?  Or did I make a positive difference in someone else’s life?”   I have pondered that question since our return from Peru, especially since I personally, and we as a group, had so much fun.

A second reading of the book La Doctora was helpful to me.  La Doctora is the name given to Dr. Linnea Smith, a Wisconsin physician who left her successful practice in 1990 to provide medical care in the very same part of the Amazon that we visited – where our club has joined with others to build easily usable clean-water systems.  We briefly visited the small, busy clinic where Dr. Smith still works. 

Dr. Smith clearly speaks in her book to the difference that clean water makes to the people living there.  She portrays tragic deaths which she could not prevent because a patient had been drinking contaminated water.  She notes that clean water has significantly reduced the number of fatalities, especially among children.  It has led to a noticeable improvement in overall health among all ages, extending the lifespan of many.  Clean water has literally made the difference between life and death for residents on the Amazon where we visited.

We provided dental care to some who were in pain.  We helped some see better with eyeglasses.  We provided yards of material for seamstresses to use, and we arranged for repair and maintenance of their machines.  We delivered shoes and other clothing.  Hopefully we contributed to their enjoyment with family pictures, soccer balls, and other kinds of kids’ fun.

But, most importantly, we ensured that the clean water systems are in place.  With them, according to the physician who treats the people there, more children will live, and all will have a better chance at a healthy life. 

I know we served our needs.  Dr. Smith assures me that we served theirs.

Marilynne Glatfelter