Guatemalans visit fellow Rotarians in Libby to discuss project

LIBBY — Rotary Club has built a bridge between two cultures to bring better water for a small village in Guatemala

Last Wednesday Mazatenango Rotary Club President Gerardo Diaz and engineer David Ruiz, also of Mazatenango, made their first visit to Montana to offer a glimpse into a way of life in their homeland where water is not as easily accessible.

George Gerard, project manager of the Rotary Club of Kootenai Valley, hosted the pair in his home with wife, Linda, and granddaughter Faith Erickson, 8, after several days of travel and speaking engagements in Butte with Rotary clubs and Engineers without Borders.

Gerard, who has been to Guatemala seven times with Rotary, said the purpose was to raise awareness of community-based projects the club is involved in, and to build resources to be able to continue helping villages like Santo Juan Maza, where the latest project is based.

The Rotary Club of Kootenai Valley has already raised $20,000 to aid this project. Another $20,000 has been raised by the Rotary district and $30,000 from a wider umbrella of international Rotarians has also been added.

San Juan Maza is a village with a small water system that is supporting a growing community. Montana Rotarians have already built a tank to hold water that comes from a spring in the mountains, though a larger spring has been found that could provide the additional water necessary.

“It’s about connections,” Gerard said, describing the visits that he and Linda have made to the village that broadened their own understanding of how people in different countries live.

For Diaz and Ruiz, it is a two-way street. Diaz said he was impressed with the people and the landscape: “It is incredible.”