Isis Will Report on Uganda Water Project Report
Posted by Ernest Hauser
on Feb 09, 2016
This $301,000 global grant, which included funds from 21 clubs, 17 districts, and 8 countries around the world, will be a long-term approach to the Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) crisis in 30 primary schools in this region of Uganda. The improvements of the rainwater harvesting system in the schools as well as the water quality and sanitation facilities are a focus of the grant. The largest focus, however, is the capacity development of the main beneficiaries to improve their sanitation and hygiene practices. It is the training and education, which will ensure sustainable results as a long term solution to WaSH issues.
At the invitation of the Rotary Foundation Isis led a team of six Rotarians to Uganda to identify this project and wrote the 115 page report to WASRAG ( Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group) and TRF (The Rotary Foundation) that formed the basis of the application.
Biography: Dr. Isis E. Mejias spent 2 years in Brazil as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, after working as a Chemical Engineer for 6 years. She completed a joint Environmental Engineering PhD from the University of Houston and the University of São Paulo, where she developed new technologies for heavy metal removal from water with bacteria and nanomaterials. Her humanitarian work has taken her to Africa where she led rural water projects in Kenya and Uganda. As an engineer with heart she has discovered a talent for bringing Rotary members together to do good in the world. She is determined to address some of the world’s most challenging WaSH problems. Through a Wasrag (Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group) initiative, she led a needs assessment in Kalisizo, Uganda to develop GG 1525222 named “Water is Life- Sanitation is Health”, which received financial participation from the Humble Rotary Club. Her leadership, knowledge and friendships with Rotarians are already creating change in the world.