PARAMUS ROTARY CLUB MYANMAR HUMANITARIAN CLEAN WATER PROJECT 

PARAMUS ROTARY CLUB MYANMAR HUMANITARIAN CLEAN WATER PROJECT 

 

The Paramus Rotary Club has initiated a project in the struggling  country of MYANMAR (formerly known as BURMA) to construct a series of Clean Water Drinking Well Towers to aid in Humanitarian efforts   in various  populated areas where there are  NO CLEAN WATER  sources whatsoever. The results of this lack of a clean water source is a variety of life-threatening diseases including Hepatitis, Typhoid fever,  and Dysentery which can cause death and permanent disabilities,  and many of those most vulnerable are children and impoverished.   Drinking water contaminated with human waste is a known cause of Polio, and the CDC NOW RECOMMENDS THAT ALL VISITORS ENTERING MYANMAR be vaccinated for Polio prior to entry. 

 

While some may say that we should focus on our water here at home before that of other countries, the situation in Myanmar is quite different for the following reasons: 

 

1 -  There are 51 million people that live in Myanmar. Most of them have limited access to clean water, as those water sources  are scarce.  Nearly half of the bottled and purified water sold in Myanmar has been determined to be contaminated with potentially deadly bacteria (including e.coli), and acidic chemicals.   Most of the population of Myanmar cannot afford to buy bottled or purified water anyway,  so this statistic is of relative importance.   Consuming or using tap water for household purposes is also not an option in any part of the country, as it has all been proven to be contaminated. 40% of the population do not have access to clean drinking water, and 60% of the population has no access to sanitation facilities (toilets). Many homes and schools have no water supply systems whatsoever.  

 

2 -  There is very little opportunity for the average citizen to improve their lives, because they spend much of their time with illnesses and consequences from consuming the contaminated water.  Often they do not survive,  and these fatalities are not publicized, as there are no resources for that in the country and journalists like CNN and Agencies like the UN are barred from access and therefore Freedom of the Press is limited. 

 

3 -  The country gained its independence in 1948 in the wake of WWII.  In 1962, a military coup took over the country and that continued until 2011, when a New Constitution was adopted. In 2010, they had  democratic elections which was the first such election in a half a century, which has done little to  to improve conditions in the country. The same military regime that ruled the country for more than 50 Years still maintains enormous control over the internal affairs of Myanmar. As entry into the country and freedom of the press was barred for many years by the regime, these fundamental rights are still greatly suppressed at this time. However, travel to Myanmar from foreign countries is now more open, sanctions have been lifted, and as such this is the first opportunity is almost a half a century for the Western world to improve humanitarian efforts within the borders of Myanmar.   Rotary in its 110th year of existence, is challenged deal with these sorts of problems  throughout the world.  

 

4 -   The President Elect of the Paramus Rotary club is Burmese, and was personally affected with these illnesses as a child and into his adult life , and can speak personally about the devastating effects that he had to live through. These same illnesses and dire consequences continue to exist in many parts of the country today. 

 

 I have attached a number of related articles about the human  crisis in Myanmar : 

 

 

 

 

The Paramus Rotary Club is actively seeking partners from Rotary members, Rotary clubs, Rotary Districts, Rotary International and the Rotary Foundation to raise funds for the construction of new clean water drinking Well Towers throughout the country of Myanmar to improve the lives of the impoverished population that lives there and stop the human tragedy and suffering that occurs there everyday. Please see the attached photo of one such well Tower that now serves as a clean Water source for the village of Majie Gone. There are approximately 200 Households in the village itself, and with the usage by surrounding villages, the Clean Water Well services more than 1000 people. This well was constructed at a cost of $9000. 

 

 

The new Paramus Rotary Club Myanmar Humanitarian Clean Water Project plans to construct 10 wells is various villages which will provide clean water to approximately Ten Thousand (10,000)  people. Development costs are expected to be approximately $1000 per well, which will be used to acquire the land and/or land rights to construct the wells, therefore bringing the Total Cost to $10 per person to provide a renewable clean water source for years to come.  The result is that a donation of $1000 would provide clean water to  100 people or $100 to 10 people FOR LIFE! That's a pretty good return on 

 

Its time for Rotary to deal with this worldwide epidemic, in the same manner that the Rotary Polio Plus Program dealt with the eradication of Polio on an International basis more than 30 Years ago, and continues that mission today. 

 

Please join us to help make this mission a reality.