We are continuing to add new videos to our WASH Rotary Action Group YouTube channel, which has almost 1,500 views since July. You can watch videos from the World Water Summit 12 and the recent WinS based webinars.

We are always looking for clearly described WASH project stories with submissions with good quality images. Here is a great example.

Road to Tabuk - Rotary Open Endless Opportunities, submitted by Charter Member Ruth Carlos Martinez, Rotary Club of Melbourne, is a great story about overcoming significant obstacles to bring WASH to the poorest of the poor in the Philippines.

Bringing clean water to a hospital in wartorn Nigeria was a project undertaken by the Rotary Club of Naperville, spearheaded by PDG Pat Merryweather-Arges.

When assessing the initial situation they found that sheets and gowns used in surgery were being washed in a tub where the water was not being changed, even when patients were known to have HIV.

The Rotary Club of Bath, Maine teamed up with Getting Water Right to teach children in Cambodia about personal hygiene. In the video, you will see how they use a glitterball to show how germs spread through a village. The students were also involved in building their own a tippy-tap hand-washing station.

The Rotary Club of Winnipeg - Transcona and District 5550, utilized a Rotary Global Grant to drill a 900-foot borehole to get clean water for two schools in Anambra State, South-East Nigeria. The project which included a 10,000-litre catchment reservoir also included washrooms for the school.

The club's Water Borehole Drilling project webpage includes photographs and videos from the project that will be submitted to the 2021 People of WASH Photograph and Video Competition. The deadline for submitting items is April 30, 2021. For more information on making a submission contact PeopleofWASH@wasrag.org

The statistics on the status of WASH in Health Care Facilities in developing countries is shocking. 50% lack basic water services and 60% have no sanitation services.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF have recently released the Global Progress Report on WASH in Health Care Facilities - Fundamentals First.

In the upcoming years, the WASH Rotary Action Group are encouraging clubs and districts to focus on improving the situation of WASH in Health Care Facilities.

Recently, members of the WASH Rotary Action Group met with the International Fellowship of Rotarian Doctors. Read the report from that meeting.

John Dracup, a member of the Rotary Club of San Monica, recently released his book "Clean Water for Developing Countries"

A reviewer of the book wrote: "Dracup brings his impressive wealth of knowledge to this book, in an approachable easy-to-understand manner. He tackles complex feats and explains them simply."

This five-star book is getting rave reviews for providing practical information on providing clean water.

You can order a book through Amazon

Recently, the WASH Rotary Action Group Ambassador for District 6970, Rosemary Takacs, Rotary Club of Ponte Vedra Beach Rotary Club, gave a presentation on the WASH in Schools (WinS) project in Jocotenango, Guatemala.

Using Zoom they had an excellent presentation that brought together presenters from the Clubs and Districts involved and partners from the Peace Corps and the University of North Florida.

This was an extensive multi-faceted project, but one unique element was the inclusion of a handicap bathroom.