June 10, 2008

S.A.R.A. - Sharing America's Resources Abroad

Club member John Gilberg gave a presentation to the assembly on mission efforts in El Salvador in which he and his wife participated through S.A.R.A.  He and his wife Joyce who accompanied him to the meeting have had a 10 year involvement in S.A.R.A. which is affiliated with the Ohio Conference of the United Church of Christ.

El Salvador is about the size of the state of Massachusetts and boasts a beautiful landscape.  It is home to the only hospital in Central America that serves the poor.  Their mission efforts included establishing water tanks for the villagers so that they would not need to walk miles every day for water.  Also, health clinics have been established and at times are conducted from an ambulance that was donated from the US.  That ambulance is used to serve about 400,000 people.  Soup kitchens help feed the poor and homeless who often sleep in the streets. Supplies from New Bremen and New Knoxville were also presented to the schools affiliated with the local Lutheran Church.

John observed that there are significant health deficiencies in the mountain areas and housing is often crude.  However, the children are children and enjoy play and laughing as they do in the US.  They provided incentive for trash cleanup by exchanging printed pictures of the children in exchange for a bag of trash.

The group is planning a return trip in January and are open to others who may be interested in helping with their efforts.   For more information on S.A.R.A., follow this link.

Hosting Rotarian: John Gilberg