Dominican Republic - Bob and Margaret Jarvest Lead the Way
Take a look at the fantastic work being done in the Dominican Republic by our very own Bob Jarvest and his amazing wife Margaret, along with a host of Whitby Sunrise Rotarians. Special Thanks to Rob Morton for providing content to this update. For more, click on the link below.
tAbove: Bob Jarvest inspects typical home for the purpose of installing solar power
Whitby Sunrise Rotarian Bob Jarvest enlightened our members recently with a history and overview of the work he and his amazing wife Margaret have done over many years in the Dominican Republic. It all started with a trip by Brian and Blair. Bob spoke about many of the highlights of having so many club members down over the years.
Bob also highlighted the Brittle Bones children and the work that Linda Raney and Sean Perry had done with the Shriners Hospital. It should be noted that, this is an ongoing project, as Bob has a 4th child in mind. Bob spoke about Bob McAllister’s bike ride to Chicago to help fund the school and then the massive undertaking of biking from Vancouver to Calgary with other Rotarians (Barry, Sean, Blair and Peter) to raise over $100,000 for the La Loma project. It was so cool to see a picture of Salon de Bob McAllister, a classroom in Bobs name. The work didn't stop there either. Since then, there are several ongoing projects including the bio-sand Water Filter Project and the Solar Lights project, providing excellent hands-on experience for those who may wish to go.
Above: Installation of solar lighting
Bobs wife Margaret manages the food drives, with a bag of food for every family she can reach. Each bag contains enough food for a week for a family of 5.
Bob spoke of a few of the challenges in the Dominican, and the quirks of the people. He mentioned what he had learned from mistakes he had made in the past, and plans for the future. Bob said that his greatest joy, was working with Craig Howie down in the Dominican. Thanks Bob.
A fantastic presentation by a fantastic Rotarian. Bob has been down in the Dominican 23 times, often for 6 week stretches. We are lucky to have him as a part of the Rotary Club of Whitby Sunrise. Here are a few highlites;
Above: Distributing Food in a Batey
Above:Bob Jarvest and Blair Buchanan building a swing set.
The Welcoming Committee
How could you not keep going back with those smiles!
School supplies for a teacher who is assisting adults to read and write in the bateys