Holland-area Rotary Club helps construct public facilities in Ethiopia

Rotarian Gary Bogle, right, met with Gebreye Bekele and Yemane Bizrat of the Ethiopian committee. Contributed


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• In the summer of 2010, intrepid Rotarians Gary Bogle of Holland and Gebreye Bekele of Addis Ababa met in an elevator at an international conference in Montreal. This meeting would lead to innumerable discussions, ideas and emails, all leading to the construction of a public toilet and shower system in Gore, Ethiopia.

  The Holland Rotary Club is one branch of Rotary International that performs humanitarian projects across the globe. Funding for the project came from several sources, one of them being Bogle himself.  

  As the traveling Rotarian, Bogle covered travel expenses, gifts, meals and other aspects, while the initial money raised to start the project was matched by both the local Rotary and Rotary International.

  Teams from both Addis Ababa (Ethiopia's capital) and Holland were formed to assist in the construction of the toilet. The Ethiopian team consisted of Gebreye Bekele, Yemane Bizrat and Guenet Guebre-Christos. The Holland team members were John Hoekstra, Gary Bogle and Bill Hubbard. Community education on the use of the public toilets and showers was provided by local Addis Ababa town council members, as per Rotary requirements.

  Construction officially began in November, 2013. More than a dozen local Ethiopian citizens were hired to assist in the process. By April 2014, the project was 90 percent complete, and phase two (the construction of septic and water storage tanks) began shortly thereafter, in May.

  “Progress was encouraging,” said Bogle. Complications arose along the way, but the completed toilet and shower system in Gore is now fully operational, five years in the making, thanks to the combined efforts of both the Addis Ababa and Holland Rotary members.

  “I can say that we are truly Rotarian friends,” said Bogle, stating that he “can never adequately thank those who supported this endeavor.”

  Source:  hollandsentinel.com