Rotarians in Arizona District 5495 have participated in Global Grants through The Rotary Foundation to supply running water in remote homes on the Navajo Nation.  

 

All this effort is done in partnership with Dig Deep, a non-profit organization based in Los Angeles, CA.  Two officials from Dig Deep were on hand recently for the final installation in the home of Jonas and Ida.  They have been married for 59 years and have lived in their home since 1992.  Their only source of water for the home prior to this project was what was delivered approximately once a month by their son and his pickup truck, weather permitting, and stored in 3 x 50-gallon barrels outside - yes, they do freeze in the winter unless stored inside the home kitchen area.

 

Jonas is 84 and Ida is 79 years old.  When Ida turned on the tap in her new kitchen sink, it was the first time she ever had running water in her home - EVER!  For this family and many others on the Navajo Nation, their normal water usage is 5-7 gallons per day per family (usually 3-5 people in a typical home).  

 

What is your own family's water consumption?  According to the USGS, it is 80-100 gallons per day, per person.  Think about that when you are showering and brushing your teeth.

I recently graduated from Arizona Medical Training Institute.

 

I am now a phlebotomist. I was recently hired with Dominion Diagnostics.

 

Being able to go to school to be a phlebotomist has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.

 

I am grateful that I was able to find a way to make the financial part of going to school less of a burden on my family.