By Elizabeth Adlung
“I will never tire of seeing children drinking from a Rotary well,” said Walter Hughes, Jr. “It is a joy to see children laughing and playing instead of being sick from disease, all because Rotary funded a well,” says Mr. Hughes, who leads a partnership of 80 Rotary Clubs in Switzerland, Ghana, South Sudan, 18 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces.
“Rotarians speak every language of the world,” says Walter. “Rotarians impact peace and economic prosperity. People of all faiths, cultures, and backgrounds are Rotarians. It means that we have friends all around the world who I partner with to make a difference in people’s lives.”
The Midday Rotary Club of San Miguel welcomes Walter K. Hughes, Jr. who will share stories of his work around the world and how he has been able to change so many lives. Honored as a U.S. White House Champion of Change in 2013, Walter wrote, “By expanding access to clean water, children are less at risk of being crippled by…the Guinea worm disease, which is transmitted by dirty water. The three-foot long parasite grows in the body for one year and feels like a hot iron hit the skin when it emerges. Adults can’t work and children can’t go to school when they are sick.” Since the early 2000s, Hughes has led over 25 missions to Ghana in West Africa digging wells in remote villages bringing fresh water to the people in an effort to eradicate the grisly, parasitic Guinea Worm Disease.
The Rotary Foundation, Rotary International, and local Rotary Clubs undertake massive actions to help and serve others. We invested more than one million dollars here in San Miguel over the last 10 years and other rotary clubs are investing millions. Walter has helped bring 4.75 million dollars of resources to Ghana in 18 years.
Hughes began his career as a programmer analyst for Mobile Oil Co. Later, he was Strategic Category Manager for Technology Products at America Online (AOL). Read more about Walter at http://www.rotarygeek.com/walterhughes/.
Join us this Tuesday, February 22, at 9:30a.m. to welcome Walter Hughes and to learn about his Rotary activities in Ghana. To attend, go to the Midday Rotary Club website at www.rotarysmamidday.org and sign up. You’ll receive an email with instructions on being a part of this week’s meeting. Rotary is where neighbors, friends, and problem-solvers share ideas, join leaders, and take action to create lasting change. For more information, contact President Skip Essick at skipessickmedia@gmail.com.
Rotary Presentation
Tuesday, February 15 at 9:30am
Zoom
Cost: Free
