Hand Up is an association of Rotary Clubs within District 6330 formed around 30 years ago with the goal of providing international humanitarian aid through the use of Global and District Grants by offering a helping hand to those less fortunate than ourselves.
Initially Hand Up focussed on water, economic and maternal health projects in Cameroon. Unfortunately, due to civil unrest and the unstable political climate Hand Up has temporarily suspended operations in this part of Africa.
More recently Hand Up has been implementing similar projects in Guatemala. (scroll down to see some recent project examples)
You can help by:
- Joining our team. We typically meet every 2 months via Zoom to review project ideas and monitor the status of approved projects.
- Asking your club to donate.
- Making a personal donation to a project. These are eligible for a tax receipt and also count towards Paul Harris points.
- Asking for a speaker from Hand Up to make a presentation to your club on the latest projects and opportunities to help.
To find out more contact us:
Don Moore, Secretary Email: dinty@wrightman.ca Tel: 519 881 7564
To donate:
Mail cheque payable to:
"Rotary Hand Up": Bob Carson, Treasurer 525 9th Street E, Owen Sound, N4K 1P4, Ontario, Canada.
Check out and LIKE our Facebook page for some great photos and updates on our projects. CLICK HERE
Some of our recent projects:
Water Project - $40,500 USD Todos Santos, 2021/22
This small, rural village located in the western highlands of Guatemala lacked sufficient clean water, and in 2021 Hand Up working in collaboration with the Rotary Club of Huehuetenango installed new latrines and a hand wash station at the school, and two new water cisterns, replacing one small cistern and an open-air pit.
Economic Project - $ 40,600 USD Santa Cruz, 2023
Hand Up is partnered with the Rotary E-CLub Lake Atitlan and is working with an NGO, Amigos de Santa Cruz, to provide economic development to 50 women in the villages of Santa Cruz la Laguna. Training, equipment, and supplies are being provided so that the women may establish their own businesses. They include: raising chickens and selling eggs, growing and selling oyster mushrooms, making oyster mushroom burgers and other foods, making honey and honey by-products, and making soaps and shampoos.
Perched on the steep slopes of the volcanic crater forming Lake Atitlán, many of the Santa Cruz communities can only be accessed by boat or, with difficulty, by rudimentary roads. Santa Cruz’s four lower communities of Tzununa, Tzanjomel, Jaibalito, and Santa Cruz Village are close to Lake Atitlán’s shore. The three upper communities of Chuitzanchaj, Pajomel, and Laguna Seca are a two-hour hike straight up the mountainside from the lake or accessed by basic roads on the far side of the ridge. Due to this difficult terrain, Santa Cruz was largely cut off from education and economic opportunities available in larger population centers.
Water Project - $40,170 USD Tuilam, 2023
Southampton Rotary Club working on behalf of Hand Up is currently working with the Rotary Club of Huehuetenango to install 8 rain harvesters in the remote highland village of Tuilam to provide a supplementary source of clean water for 85 families. The grant was formally approved by the Rotary Foundation on June 23rd, 2023 with a provisional onsite start date of Fall 2023.
Further projects in Guatemala are currently under evaluation. If you would like to know about what we are thinking about...just ask us. (see contact details above)
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