In the early morning hours of February 23, 2018, Rotarians participating in the District 6440 International Service trip departed O’Hare Airport, heading to Ak’ Tenamit in the jungles of eastern Guatemala.
District 6440 has had a long standing relationship with Ak’ Tenamit, which means "New Village' in the Q'eqchi' language, with both the District and Clubs within the District completing a number of projects at the site over the past several years. The school and health clinic are located in Eastern Guatemala on the Dulce River. The school includes grades 7 through 12 and there are over 500 students enrolled in the program.
The District team consisted of 14 Rotarians, spouses and family members and had two major projects set as a goal. The first project centered on a girls dormitory used by first year students that was in dire need of a new tile file. Representatives from Ak’ Tenamit had indicated that this sought after improvement would have a tremendous positive impact on the first year students. The second equally important project was to provide personal storage space for the students. Currently the student had no specific place to store their personal belongings so the request was to have our team build cubbies for the students to use.
The team members arrived at Ak Tenamit on Saturday February 24 where a tour was given and the worksites inspected. On Sunday February 25, the team, which was split into two project teams, started their work in earnest and at the end of the workday on Thursday, March 1, 2018, the entire first floor of the girls dorm was tiled and grouted and 50 cubbies units consisting of 5 personal cubbies per unit had been completed and ready for distribution in the dorms!
Plans for the 2019 District International Service Trip will be distributed in early fall so if you are interested in participating in a fantastic opportunity to work on an international service project,
monitor this page!
Any questions regarding international service, please contact Jim Wales, International Service Advisor, at jim.wales1120@gmail.com
