good schools, with all the necessary conditions in place to foster effective learning and intellectual development of future leaders, are usually the privilege of the rich and famous in developing countries. On the other hand, public or government operated schools are the usual lot of underprivileged children from very poor homes. Their schools re generally dilapidated, with leaky roofs, non-functioning labs, and horrible or non-existing toilets. To alleviate this inequity, The Rotary Foundation takes action by empowering educators to inspire learning at all ages. Its goal is to "strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education and increase adult literacy".
Rajkot, India to Mount Pleasant, Iowa is some 7,915 miles. Such distances have never been a good reason for Rotarians to not respond to the needs of their fellow human beings. And when the need falls within the mission of TRF, then amazing things are bound to happen. Insufficient learning in basic English and Math in 96 government-run primary schools in the Indian city of Rajkot was what propelled Rotarians in far away southeastern Iowa to collaborate with the Rotary Club of Rajkot Midtown (District 3060) on a Global Grant. The result is 8 E-learning Centers for Excellence 6,675,394 INR (US$87,510). Each Learning Center goal is to increase English and math proficiency of no less than 3,094 students Each of the 8 centers is equipped with 30 laptops, several CCTVs routers, a server, headphones, software, and educational content library.
Calvin Litwiller (PDG, D6000) and member of the Mount Pleasant (Evening) Rotary led the team of four D6000 clubs -, Fairfield, Burlington, Mount Pleasant, and Mount Pleasant (Evening) in coordination and applying for the district DDF. In a phone interview, Litwiller expressed his satisfaction with the overall success of the grant, adding, "when you look at the end result, and the impact we can make as Rotarians, you are bound to feel good for the things we do".
