Areas of Focus: Water, sanitation and hygiene, Community economic development, The environment
The rural communities of San Miguel de Allende and surrounding areas, located in the upper sub-basin of the Rio Laja Watershed region in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, are vulnerable to scarcity of priority ecosystem services. There is a lack of safe water for drinking and cooking due to high toxic levels of arsenic and fluoride in the deep community water wells, low water levels in the aquifers, soil erosion, poor soil quality, deforestation,overgrazing of land by cattle and a disproportionate use of land and water to grow crops such as alfalfa.
The objective of the Rotary Club of San Miguel de Allende-Midday's Watershed Education Program is to address the watershed-related issues through environmental education programs, training and implementation of duplicatable nature-based solutions that can increase the communities' resilience and adaptation to the effects of climate change and the other factors negatively impacting the watershed region. The program provides educational workshops and develops and maintains operational demonstration sites with ecosystem services at primary, secondary and preparatory schools and workshops for adults in the rural communities of San Miguel de
Allende and the surrounding areas. The beneficiaries are the students at 21 schools and adults/parents in the respective rural communities of San Miguel de Allende, Dolores Hidalgo, San Felipe, San Franco and San Luis Felipe and La Paz. The Rotary club of San Miguel Allende-Midday will work directly with The 49ers Breakfast club of Nevada City CA to conduct site visits, handle all reporting including invoicing that meets NGO demands of the Federal Government of Mexico. Our NGO partner is Salvemos Al Rio Laja (Save the River Laja). Salvemos has been doing reforresting and water management programs in the State of Guanajuato for over 20 years. The current president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, is a PHD climate Scientist and she has made the restoration of the Lerma-Chapala-Santiago Basin the number one priority for the Federal Govt of Mexico this year. Our partner is one of two Mexican NGOs who will participate. We are writing a grant and hoping to fund as there has been a STOP GAP in funding from Mexican Institutional funders due to the new administrations (Federal and State) and Mexican Elections. In the last 3 years, we have grown our program from 5 to 15 to now 21 schools. We are writing the grant to fund the current academic school year, at which point institutional funding AND additional focus from the GOVT of Mexico will ensure the program not only continues, but expands to additional states here in Mexico. We have an MOU with the Secretary of Education for the State of Guanajuato. Thank you for your consideration and your support!
Need $5,600
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Note: as of July 1, 2015 there is a 5% additional support fee for cash contributions. This fee does not appear in the financials above because it does not apply if the funds are sent directly to the project account (without going through TRF, and therefore without Paul Harris credit). Clubs sending their cash contribution to TRF must be aware they will have to send an additional 5%.
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