Bob Brown, CA, founder and CEO founded “Open to Grow” approximately 10 years ago. As Steve Rickard says, he has a “passion for helping people help themselves”. Open to Grow has been working in Guatemala for seven years and three years in Nicaragua. First loan of $250US was granted November 11, 2011, in Guatemala and to date $2.4 million have been invested to 6000 entrepreneurs, mostly to women who have a high success rate in business. Operations carried out in Nicaragua are through a partnership with ADIM, a small microfinance institution (MFI). Its purpose is to provide microloans to solidarity groups and individuals in Nicaragua. MFIs basically manage the lending process. Loans are for six months @ 36% interest with 92% payback.
The Micro Credit project we have been requested to support is $20,000 with 50% provided by Rotary and 50% provided by Open to Grow. They estimate it will help 320 people and will take over a year to get established. The area is in Quiche, Guatemala, which is well known to our club through our association with the Hearts and Hands Foundation of Canmore.
Poll Result – 74% of membership were in favour of supporting this project - $9,500
Michael Bopp - Michael and Judie Bopp, PhD, have worked for over twenty years in Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and the former Soviet Union, as well as in urban and rural North America. They are co-founders of Four Worlds International, a human and community development organization with roots in indigenous people's development work in North America and well known for its ability to bridge between the cultures of communities and the culture of the agencies and professionals who attempt to serve them. Michael holds a master’s degree in community development and a doctorate in education for development. Michael’s primary focus has always been hands-on capacity building work with grassroots people’s organizations, and with the agencies that serve them. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Cochrane.
He and his wife, Judie, initially established a project in Pakistan with a goal of establishing a training and support centre that would work with indigenous institutions, leaders and communities to build capacity for sustainable human well-being and prosperity. Recently, they have started a similar project in Belize and have requested our assistance to provide a $6,300 seed grant, for this purpose.
Poll Result – 82% of membership were in favour of supporting this project - $6,300
Steve Strang gave us an overview of the two schools which our club, together with Canmore Rotary Club, built. The first school cost $40,000 Cdn and is complete. The second school was much larger and required a RI Global Grant. Cost is approximately $100,000 Cdn and is 95% complete prior to COVID19.
As both schools are closed due to the pandemic, the latter project is placed on hold until training is complete, hopefully within the next three months. The schools are about 20 miles apart and there was no damage done from hurricanes. That’s the good news. All the communities were “locked down” due to COVID19 and the men could not go to work in the sugar cane or coffee fields. The bad news, zero income. About three weeks ago we received a request from Rebecca, our liaison with Hearts and Hands in Guatemala. There are 11 towns in the area all of which are experiencing the same problem, no work, no money, no food. Steve and Rebecca put together a proposal to provide $4,000 to assist with emergency food relief; specifically 60 food packages comprising of 25 lbs corn, 10 lbs black beans, 5 lbs sugar, 5 lbs Peas, cooking oil etc, which will go a long way to help 360 people in need.
Poll Result – 84% of membership were in favour of supporting this project - $4,000
Announcements
President Bill announced on behalf of Marlene Doherty that a discussion of the Strategic Plan will take place on March 3rd at 7:00 pm. Please plan to attend as this will set the direction of the club for the next few years.
Marie Rickard announced the District is now accepting applications for the 2022 Rotary Peace Fellow- ship. Promoting peace is one of Rotary’s main causes. The fully funded Rotary Peace Fellowship, which covers tuition and living expenses, increases the capacity of existing leaders to prevent and resolve con - flict by offering academic training, field experience, and professional networking. For further information refer to www.calgarywestrotaryclub.org.
Bill Tapuska provided the Inspirational moment by stating February was Black History month. Bill had two stories to share:
The JOHN WARE story: cowboy, rancher and Albertan
Born a slave in South Carolina, Ware moved west after the end of the American Civil War. He found work in Texas as a ranch hand and began moving cattle north. In 1882, he was involved in a drive to bring 3,000 cattle to southern Alberta. The cattle were successfully delivered to the Bar U Ranch, located near Longview, and Ware ended up staying in the area. Though he had no horse and no saddle, he asked to join the Bar U cowboy crew. He quickly impressed others as he successfully rode and saddled one of the wildest mustangs at the ranch. Ware saved his Bar U earnings and, in 1890, estab- lished his own ranch using the brand 999 (three nines). His horsemanship skills were renowned through - out the region. He married a woman named Mildred Lewis and they had five children. Tragically, Ware was killed when his horse stepped in a badger hole, tripped and fell on him, killing him instantly. Those who knew him, like Bar U’s George Lane and Fred Ings of the OH and Midway ranches, spoke publicly about the John Ware they knew: a gentleman, an excellent cowboy and a fellow pioneer of the southern Alberta range. His legacy is an important one. It highlights strength (both personal and physical) and the extraordinary experiences of an African-American pioneer in southern Alberta.
MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr - excerpt of speech given to mark Canada’s Centennial
In 1967, Martin Luther King Jr. was invited by the CBC to give a special Massey Lecture to mark Canada’s centennial, where he said, “Canada is not merely a neighbour to Negroes. Deep in our history of struggle for freedom Canada was the North Star. The Negro slave, denied education, de-humanized, imprisoned on cruel plantations, knew that far to the north a land existed where a fugitive slave if he survived the horrors of the journey could find freedom. The legendary Underground Railroad started in the south and ended in Canada. The freedom road links us together.” 'We sang of "heaven"' that awaited us, and the slave masters listened in innocence, not realizing that we were not speaking of the hereafter," he ex- plained. "Heaven was the word for Canada."
President Bill expressed the thanks of the club to our speakers and adjourned the meeting at 1:15 p.m.
