Dr. Widit McLean-Sutton, ON 

I joined my 1st Sweat Equity trip with Rotary in 2008, not quite knowing what I was getting into! It turned out to be so rewarding & so much fun that I’m now planning my 4th trip for Nov. of this year.

We worked with the local people in Tanzania, Malawi & Cambodia, building, refurbishing, teaching & learning.  We met fabulous people from both Canada & abroad, & made lasting friendships.  Along the way, we developed an understanding of how difficult life can be in countries which are poor in money, but rich in motivation.

Thanks, Chris, for allowing me to participate!

 

Tom Sears – Rotary Club of Northumberland Sunrise

The Sweat Equity program has been one of the most significant events in my life.  I have done quite a number of them because they have given me a chance to help others in need.  I have long been aware of how fortunate we are to live in Canada and for me to have the material things and the opportunities that we have and enjoy here.  My first exposure to third world countries astounded me but it was not until the second or third one that I started to get some understanding of how we can share our “wealth” – not so much by material things but by taking to the people a measure of hope and showing them that we care for them.  Of course, the friendships we develop and the experiences we share are an integral part of the sweat equity experience and we all return from every trip with a better understanding of our world and a much larger appreciation for Canada and the communities in which we live.

 

Jim Stewart – Rotary Club of Cobourg

In the mid 1990’s a project was identified to build a small hospital in the interior of the Dominican Republic.  The area was extremely poor and had no medical facilities other than a local eye clinic.  District 7070 recruited a number of Rotarians to go and work hand-in-hand with the local residents to start the construction of this hospital.  After 3 years of return sweat equity work groups, active fundraising and a large 3-H Rotary International grant, the project was completed and turned over to Medical Missions International(MMI) to staff and assume future administration.  The project was successfully completed.

After many years of having projects introduced to our Rotary club and just sending money, not knowing if the projects were ever successful or not, this was very different.  Working hand-in-hand with the local people, understanding their plight first hand and HELPING them with the solution gives them ownership of the project and ensures it will be completed and respected.

Since that first sweat equity project, we have built an orphanage and school in Burkina Faso, West Africa for HIV/AIDS orphans.  An HIV/AIDS medical clinic and school upgrades in Kilema, Tanzania, East Africa.  Drilled and refurbished water wells and assisted with school upgrades plus built Home Based Care Centres for volunteer workers caring for HIV/AIDS patients in the Zomba and Machinga districts of Malawi, South East Africa.  And now in Siem Reap, Cambodia, South East Asia.  We are building a Technical College, assisting with school upgrades, orphanage and local cow bank program.

Being involved with the Sweat Equity projects has become a very important part of my life.  Working hand-in-hand with the local people regardless of the job, laughing and building friendships even when we speak different languages.  It’s not the work we do on these projects, it’s the ability we give the local people to fulfill their dreams and make their lives and future better.  This quote is so true: “To the world, you might be just one person but to one person, you might be the world”.

On a personal side, I have had the opportunity to see places and parts of the world I would have not otherwise seen.  Things the tourists never see.  Experiences you would not experience as a tourist and friendships you would not otherwise have the opportunity to form.

 

Nina Cole – Rotary Club of Toronto Forest Hill

Like many people in the developed world, I am deeply concerned about the difficulties faced by ordinary people in developing countries.  Through Rotary, I am afforded the opportunity to make a small personal contribution to helping those less fortunate improve their lives in some small way by participating in sweat equity trips with other like-minded individuals.  Each sweat equity trip I have participated in has been an incredible experience, both in terms of the “bricks and mortar” building work that we have accomplished, and in terms of the first-hand knowledge and understanding of complex humanitarian issues that I have gained.

Roger Hayward – Rotary Club of Alliston

For the past five winters, I have been to the Kilema area on the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, both as a participant and as a leader.  The sense of satisfaction I have enjoyed is amazing.

The work in Kilema was begun as a result of suggestions by us, Canadian Rotarians, some of which was not successful.  Our involvement has now evolved into the community’s taking control through the implementation of their own projects which are all successful.  The group in the lead in Kilema is the newly-chartered Rotary Club of Moshi Kilema Kati (March 2010).

The most recent projects involve Rotary’s fundamental areas of focus: water and sanitation; health issues; better nutrition and food production; and education.

The continued success in Kilema would not have occurred without the involvement and dedication of District 7070 Rotarians over the last number of years.  It is a true example of understanding that projects must be designed by local people and the fundamentals must include water, health and hunger, and education.

 
Message from our Partners:

Ronnie Yimsut, Founder and Chair, Bakong Technical College, Cambodia

Our volunteers, both local and international, are the back bone of Bakong Technical College (BTC) project in rural Cambodia. These volunteers defined as our core success and accomplishments thus far. The Toronto Rotary Club District 7070 members, in particular, are our key partners and supporters. They are the movers and shakers of BTC Project! Their strong drive, super energy, grand generosity, and their on going massive supports of this project are what made it possible–since 2009! Arkun (Thanks)!



Student Testamonials from visit to Kilema, Tanzania January 2011

Jessica writes:

Laden with many questions and worries, I stepped off the plain in Tanzania.  What was I to learn?  Would I leave with answers or more confusion?

What I learned about the Albino children in Africa was heart-wrenching.  Citizens sometimes even the parents of these children amputate their body parts and sell them to witch doctors in order to be “saved” from evil.  At the Imani School, we met a female Albino student named Maria.  Maria had both her arms removed and sold to a witch doctor.  However, she has received prosthetic arms and is now fully capable of keeping up with other students.  Her story of overcoming a terrible past full of loss was truly inspirational.

There is so much hope in the community of Kilema, and I thank the students there for the hope they have returned to me.

Holly writes:

The biggest surprise for me was how bad the inequality was for women in Tanzania.  I went on a house call with Delpine and met a woman who had very little money and a dead husband.  She was accused of having given AIDS.  Her life was very difficult without her husband and he was the only man she had ever been with.

 Delphie’s work partner, David, came to have lunch with us one day.  While clearing the table, I offered to take his plate.  David said to me “No, women in Tanzania do everything, but I am capable of clearing my own plate”.  This was the first man we met who acknowledged the efforts and hard work of women in the country.

Laura writes:

One of my favourite parts of the trip was when we got to teach the students of Kisuluni Elementary School.  I was given a grade four class that I taught math and English.  Getting to teach in Kilema had a great impact on me.  It showed me the importance of getting an education and how it should never be taken for granted.

You could see that the students of Kilema never took their education for granted.  Most of the kids at this school are living in severe poverty so it is difficult for their parents to even afford to send them to school.  With that being said, they understand the opportunity at hand and they work hard to be successful.  I plan to spread the message of the importance of education here in my community in hopes that the students here will no longer take it for granted.  It was upsetting to see so much poverty everywhere we went within Tanzania.  Yet the people were amongst the happiest people I have ever seen.

This notion made me re-evaluate everything I knew when I came home from the trip.  I can’t describe how thankful I am to have been part of such a life-changing trip.  My experience as a volunteer in Kilema has inspired me to follow my dreams of being a humanitarian.