Temporary outdoor classroom in Haiti.

The club announced on Thursday that it has received a grant of $51,000 from the Rotary District 7020 Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund to complete the building of the Good Samaritan School in Haiti. The Fund was created from donations from Rotarians, Clubs and Districts from around the world in aid of Haiti following the earthquake and is guided by the Haiti Task Force.

The grant will provide the necessary funds to complete a new 6-room concrete school/community hurricane shelter for The Good Samaritan Foundation of Haiti, located on the remote island of Ile a Vache. The current classroom capacity of the school is not nearly large enough after the earthquake.

Rotary Club of Tortola member, Stephen Cooper, visited Haiti for the ground breaking ceremony of the school in early June. “Because of the unique position of the construction team being on site at The Good Samaritan School, the grant can be immediately converted into additional school classrooms by October for the start of the school year to triple the number of students able to attend.”

Rotary District 7020 – which encompasses both Haiti and the BVI – established the Haiti Task Force in 2007 to review initiatives intended for Haiti with Rotary involvement.

Caleb Lucien, Haiti Rotarian, Minister and School Ambassador explains: “The Task Force took a significant leadership position both financially and logistically following the earthquake. We determined in early June that our priority was to support projects throughout all of Haiti that could assist the children affected by the earthquake — not only in Port-au-Prince but also in the outlying regions. Many schools were destroyed and those in existence are overwhelmed with the number of children attending.”

Mr. Lucien was recently in the BVI and expressed gratitude on behalf of Haitians for the ongoing support of the BVI community.

The President of the Rotary Club of Tortola, Lorna Smith, extends her gratitude to the BVI community for their generosity in helping those who are less fortunate. She expressed thanks for the leadership shown by Stephen Cooper and Cate Stephenson and to the entire membership of the Rotary Club of Tortola for raising the first $51,000.00 that made this grant possible. The grant matched funds raised in the last several years by the Rotary Club of Tortola through various.

“The Rotary Club of Tortola has been committed to The Good Samaritan Foundation of Haiti for three years now and this initiative has highlighted how Rotarians can work together effectively between different countries,” Smith said.

The Haiti Earthquake Relief Fund is also supporting the great need for prosthetics with the Jaipur Limb Project as well as sustainable housing to help meet the most pressing needs of people in affected areas. To date, 40 projects have been selected for grants.