Club Rotario Puerto Vallarta Sur

[chris_gerrib]

While in Mexico, I attended a meeting of the Rotary Club of Puerto Vallarta South. They meet Thursday morning at the Marriott, so it seemed a good way to get the lay of the land.

It was an interesting meeting. Their president, Dr. Benjamin "Bennie" Vargas, told me that his club had around 30 members. About 15 showed up at the meeting, with an equal number of gringo visitors (Canadian and US). Most of the visitors were down for a long time and were regular attendees. They conducted the business portion in Spanish without translation (most of the regular visitors could keep up) but the program and some relevant reports were translated to English.

While there, I met Sandra Wicks and her husband Bruce Phelps (sp?) from a club in Anchorage, Alaska, and they envited me to the "Becas" awards program. Becas is Spanish for scholarship, which I didn't figure out until I got back to the States. In Mexico, education through high school is free. However, there are book fees, uniforms to buy and certainly no free lunch program. For families living out by the city dump, these were insurmountable costs.

So, the Puerto Vallarta club set up a scholarship program with various US, Canadian and Rotary Foundation partners. Kids in school with a B average got around $300 US (cash) to cover their expenses. The awards were handed out Saturday AM at a community center (build by the Mexican club) near the dump. I attended the awards ceremony.

Sandra picked me up, and we drove out. We quickly left the tourist area and eventually, while still in town, turned off the paved road. Mind you, not to a gravel road, but bare dirt. In the dry season (now) the road is dust, which gets blown into the windowless houses that line the road. In the rainy season, it's a mud farm.

The community center is the nicest building for several blocks. It also doesn't have walls. Picture the picnic shelters one finds in any US park district and you have the mental image of the community center. Despite this, the center gets heavy use, including by the local church (which owns the land) for services.

After a late start (this is Mexico - only gringos are on time) we handed out about 50 scholarships. Each awardee got their picture taken, so a sponsoring club or individual knew who they were supporting. This touch was the brainchild of Dave Hafenbrack, an Ohio Rotarian who made the Foundation and international involvement happen.

It was a rewarding experience. I'll have another post with pictures or edit this one.

Comments

[jetfx.livejournal.com]

That's an excellent charity. In the end, a good education is the only surefire cure against widespread poverty.