Over the last 10 years, our water ministry has enjoyed many different partnerships. Some of these partnerships began with a simple need, but have grown into a long-term relationship. This is one of those “Partnership stories.”
When our Honduras Water Ministry, the founding arm of Texas Water Mission, began its water well drilling activity in Honduras in late 2002, we were able to drill our first few wells without any real complications. Challenges….YES, but Complications….NO. Then, suddenly we were unable to obtain the permits necessary to drill any more wells. What were we to do? We needed a new partner in Honduras to help us. One of our leaders, Jack McGuire, was a member of the San Antonio Downtown Rotary Club (properly identified as Rotary International). Jack found that there was a Rotary Club in Danli, Honduras. The Danli Club was in the middle of the area where we wanted to drill our next wells. As part of one’s obligation to remain a Rotarian, each of us (I am a Rotarian too) commits to attend at least 50% of the weekly meetings of your Rotary Club. If a Rotarian cannot attend the “home” Club, we are encouraged to “make up” the missed meeting by attending the meeting of another Rotary Club. This action is so completely ingrained in the Rotary culture that every Club has a section of their meeting which includes “Introduction of Visiting Rotarians.” Jack saw this “visit” concept as a perfect way to attend the Danli Rotary Club meeting, and meet its members and Jack was welcomed by the Danli Rotary Club. Through that “partnership” we began to get the help we needed with drilling permits we needed approved.
Soon, the Danli Rotary Club became a “partner” in another manner. In Rotary, all members are encouraged to donate money to The Rotary Foundation. These donations are invested by The Foundation and after 3 years, half of the funds are sent back to their donor District to be used as the District seeks to fulfill local “needs.” Here again, in cooperation with the Danli Rotary Club, more funding flowed to Texas Water Mission to drill pure water wells in the Danli area. Yes, the partnership was growing into something more than just obtaining drilling permits. In fact, 15 of TWM’s 58 total wells have been drilled with the Danli Rotary Club as our local partner.
There is even more to be told about this partnership, as it continues to evolve. With the Drill Team trip to Honduras on Oct 4-14, 2012, the accompanying Visit Team actually hosted a luncheon with members of the Danli Rotary Club on October 6. Yes, the Partnership between Texas Water Mission and the Danli Rotary Club continues to grow, all for the benefits coming from more pure water in the Danli area of Honduras. It should be noted that 5 current members of the Texas Water Mission Board are members of Rotary International, including our Executive Director Maria Valdez and myself.