History of Zacualpan Project

The Zacualpan project history in photos.

February 22, 2011 – Team sends out big thank you:

To our most esteemed Rotary brothers, sisters, and friends,
honour guard

The Zacualpan high school rehabilitation (CEBTA 107) is nearly completed – the painting is completed and tile is being laid in the remaining classrooms (only 2 rooms to go as of today). The electrician will complete his part this coming week and will install the A/C – Francisco will be back to set up the computers.

Sat. Feb. 19, Mariana, Helen and a small work group visited the school to put another coat of varnish on the computer desks and were thrilled to see the Saturday adult program students all there, completing the interior and exterior painting………….they had the biggest smiles on their faces – all of the students and teachers are so proud of their school and are so very grateful to all of you Rotarians and friends for the extraordinary and priceless gift of hope you have given them.

I’ve worked on many projects over the last 20 yrs in Mexico but this one will forever stand out as ‘the best’…………..thru the unflinching help of Rotarians from Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, El Sobriante, Pinole, Richmond, San Pablo, Middletown, Clearlake, Ft. Bragg, St. Helena, Santa Rosa West, Sebastopol Sunrise, So. Ukiah, Shawnee, Johnson County Sunset, Westerly, and Bahia de Jaltemba, this has been the most wonderful experience of my life.

We saw and heard at the Dedication ceremony the outpouring of heartfelt gratitude and emotion from the teachers, students, and leaders of this community of just what this project meant to them. They are grateful that their school is now competitive and their children can stay in Zacualpan for a quality high school education. A federal senator’s representative that assisted the inauguration vowed to continue your work to completion. Anyone attending this ceremony could not help but see the sincerity in their eyes.

Like a pebble thrown into still water, the ripples of what you have started will spread out thru the students, the teachers, the community and the future will be forever changed in the town of Zacualpan, a small, agricultural town that no one had ever heard of until this past year. It is harvest time for the watermelon crop as we saw riding on the school bus from Chacala to Zacualpan………….Rotary cultivated a small seed sown at the Friendship Meeting in Guadalahara into a beautiful ‘verde y crema’ flower …….. those who came to Zacualpan understand and will relate the ‘green & cream’ story to their Clubs.

Rotary has given them freshly painted and refurbished buildings, new computers that will open the world of information and connection to them. But as a very wise Rotarian once told me, a building is just that, it is what goes on inside those classrooms that’s really important. These students’ lives are changed and challenged now to see a brighter future. You have given them the basic tools to move forward in this complicated world but their economic reality is still the same.

I propose that we do not ignore this challenge, I propose we answer this challenge and think about offering scholarship opportunities thru Rotary to attend Zacualpan high school and perhaps beyond. Some wonderful students jump to mind at this moment Irma, Lupita, Mario, Angel, the 2 Christians, Julio & Jeff as I write these words………….they showed up every day and scraped, plastered and painted right along with all of us. Using their bi-lingual skills to help us communicate with the teachers and other students.

I don’t have everyone’s email so if I’ve left anyone off the mailing list, please share with them and again a really big thank you hug all around!

Yours in service, Eddie, Viky & Mariana

Los clubes Rotarios participantes son:
ROTARY CLUB MIDDLETOWN
ROTARY CLUB CLEAR LAKE
ROTARY CLUB FORT BRAGG
ROTARY CLUB ST HELENA
ROTARY CLUB UKIAH
ROTARY CLUB SANTA ROSA WEST
ROTARY CLUB SEBASTOPOL
DISTRICT 5130 – NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

CLUB ROTARIO BAHIA DE JALTEMBA LA PEÑITA
DISTRICT 4150 – MEXICO

ROTARY CLUB BERKELEY ROTARY
ROTARY CLUB ALBANY
ROTARY CLUB EL CERRITO
ROTARY CLUB EL SOBRANTE
ROTARY CLUB PINOLE
ROTARY CLUB RICHMOND
ROTARY CLUB SAN PABLO

DISTRICT 5160 GRANT

ROTARY CLUB SHAWNEE, KANSAS
ROTARY CLUB SUNSET, JOHNSON COUNTY

ROTARY CLUB WESTERLY, RHODE ISLAND

ROTARY CLUB KALISPELL, MONTANA

Feb 17, 2011 – project team celebrates termination of third volunteer week
wall painted