Doylestown Rotary Club to Host Masai Village Members from Kenya at October 9 Meeting

Meeting to focus on impact of Rotary Initiatives to develop and maintain Masai village well projects

(Doylestown, Pa) – Special guests from a Masai Village in Kenya will visit the Doylestown Rotary Club on Wednesday, October 9, 2013, 5:30 p.m. at Doylestown Country Club, 20 Country Club Lane, Doylestown, Pa.  The special guests will be on hand to discuss the ongoing impact of Rotary initiatives to develop and maintain water wells in the Masai Villages of Kenya.

This meeting will be free and open to the public. Snacks and light refreshments will be provided as well as a cash bar. Business casual attire is required at the country club. For more information or reserve a seat at the meeting please contact Jo-Anne Atwell at 267-614-2293

or by email at jepatwell@msn.com.

The Rift Valley, where the Masai live, has been in the throes of a tremendous drought for years. In 2005, members from the Olosh Oibor Masai Village visited Doylestown Rotary Club and explained their dire need for water resources. Since their visit, Doylestown Rotary Club and six other Rotary clubs from District 7430 along with the Nairobi-Langata Rotary in Kenya have been raising money to install wells and pipelines in seven villages.

Over the past six years the Doylestown Rotary Club has raised over $60,000 from private donations of Bucks County citizens, businesses and Rotary International grants to fund the development of six water wells for Masai villages in Kenya. As a result of Rotary initiatives, nine Masai villages now have ample supplies of potable water. This has changed the lives of the Masai people forever.

Water is a means of life or death for the Masai people and the Rotary Well Project helps ensure the Masai can carry out their day to day activities with clean water for the people and their livestock. The existence of a potable water supply has helped dramatically reduce illnesses that arise from lack of clean water. It is anticipated that five more wells will be installed to help 10,000 more villagers.

About the Doylestown Rotary:

The Doylestown Rotary Club is comprised of business owners and professionals living and/or working in Doylestown, PA and the surrounding communities. Founded on April 28, 1924, the Doylestown Rotary was organized with a chartering membership of 20.

The Rotary Club of Doylestown sponsors business card exchanges, Four-Way Test Awards, Scholarship Awards, as well as events to raise funds for other organizations in need. Over the years, Rotary Club of Doylestown has supported Doylestown Hospital, the Delaware Valley College Horse Show, community athletic fields, highway landscape improvements, and organizations such as the March of Dimes, Twilight Wish Foundation, Village Improvement Association, the SPCA, and the Bucks County Historical Society.

Since 1965, the club has hosted dozens of foreign exchange students and sent as many local students abroad as part of their Student Exchange Program. The Rotary Club of Doylestown continues to host and send abroad exchange students. It also sponsors the Central Bucks East Interact Club, provides college scholarships to graduating senior’s at all three Central Bucks High Schools, sponsors a regional weekend leadership camp for six Central Bucks High School students, and supports an annual essay and speech contest for local high school students.

On an international level, the Rotary Club of Doylestown provides financial support to Rotary International polio prevention programs, the Shelter Box program, and to programs that assist Maasai villages in Kenya, where monies raised have helped fund the drilling of five water wells. The final well project was completed and fully functional in June 2011.

Throughout the years, the Rotary Club of Doylestown and its members have been leaders in the community and have practiced "Service Above Self". For more information about The Rotary Club of Doylestown visit http://doylestownrotary.org. To learn more about Rotary International visit www.rotary.org.