Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
A Rotary International project to provide wells in the villages of the Ilocos Norte Province of the Philippines, which received substantial support from the Sweet Home Rotary Club, is as good as finished.
After about 10 months, the project is down to finishing paperwork, Juan Ulep of Sweet Home said.
Ulep, a Rotary member who, as a youth, carried buckets of water from a nearby river on a pole, originated the project idea.
The project has provided 10 wells to villages located mostly in the eastern part of the Province of Ilocos Norte.
For a total cost of about 1.7 million Filipino pesos, approximately $31,000, the project included the cost of drilling a well, the installation of an electric water pump, a pressure tank and one 1,500-liter overhead water storage tank at each location. Each well also includes a hand pump in case of power outages and a public drinking station.
Members of the villages helped construct the wells, building sweat equity as they contributed to the project, Ulep said. The wells were constructed at schools, which serve as a community center.
A pipe leads from the well on school grounds to the school gate where the local community can collect water, he said.
Drilling started on Aug. 22. The wells were expected to be complete by the end of May or June on the outside, he said.
Funding included contributions from the Sweet Home, Lebanon and Corvallis Rotary clubs; their home district, 5110; the Mid-Willamette Valley Friendship Force; individuals; and members of Ulep’s family living on the East Coast. The Sweet Home VFW Post hosted a benefit dinner to raise funds. The Rotary Foundation provided a matching grant of nearly $15,000. The project was executed in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Laoag City.
The Rotary Foundation also provided funding for visits to the project sites by Juan and Donna Ulep in 2005 and members of the Corvallis club, Jim and Janet Swinyard and Lu and Dorie Ratzlaff in February.
“It impacted about 10,000 people,” Ulep said. “The idea here is to slow down or eliminate any intestinal- or water-borne diseases.”
Typically, villages have shallow wells that run dry in the summer and flood during the winter, he said. Unless the water is boiled it is not safe to drink.
“This project is most rewarding for us and the people that supported it,” Ulep said.
The area still needs more water, he said. Twenty-two more schools in the area need wells, approximately $3,000 each, and the project will continue.
“The future project is going to be handled by the greater Corvallis club,” he said. “They are very interested in what they saw there, and they could really make a difference. I will assist in such a manner to provide the experience gained and to coordinate with the host club whenever needed.”
Ilocos Norte also recently received its third shipment of textbooks, medical equipment and computer equipment. The container was shipped on Jan. 19 and arrived in Laoag City for distribution throughout the province on March 1, Ulep said.
The project is a cooperative effort among the Sweet Home, Albany and Laoag City Rotary clubs. The first container shipment, including textbooks and educational materials, was sent in 2003, and the clubs are now working on a fourth shipment in 2009.