Guatemala Humanitarian Trip, Marc Bernard

Posted by Wes Bradford

on Sep 16, 2014

Marc Benard is a member of the Del Amo Torrance Rotary Club, where he is Foundation Chair and Past President. He has been involved in humanitarian projects in Mexico and Central America, where his podiatry group has performed 3000 surgeries on children in the last 37 years.

He reviewed the status of the 6 Global Grants for the pending District trip to Guatemala in February 5-9, totaling about $440,000, assisted by several Rotary Clubs in Guatemala. Some of these grants are not yet fully funded, and the committee is still looking for contributions to allocate as needed.

The Grant projects include:

1. Reduce pollution in Lake Atitlan;

2. Books, computers and supplies to rural schools;

3. Install a community water treatment plant;

4. Distribute 115 pediatric wheelchairs, which makes them more independent and helps free the entire family from caring for a disabled child;

5. Training in conflict resolution, with workshops to train workers throughout the country who can then work with up to 1 million people; and

6. Upgrade needed radiological equipment at the Moore Pediatric Surgery Center, which started in 2011 in Guatemala City; they did 900 surgeries in 2014 and need more capacity now, including mobile equipment for taking bone x-rays in the Operating Room during orthopedic surgery. This clinic is a project of Shalom Foundation, providing care in all surgical specialties for children throughout Guatemala.

Rotarians from our District will have a busy schedule there in Antigua and Guatemala City, staying in the Casa de Santo Domingo, an old monastery converted to a hotel. Participants can choose which projects to work with. There will be many evening activities at local restaurants. Time will be available to see Antigua, a world heritage city with Spanish colonial architecture. Other optional activities include climbing an active volcano, visiting the Tikal ancient Mayan site in the rain forest, and a post-trip extension to the Honduras Caribbean island of Roatan, the world’s second largest coral reef. Average daytime temperatures are in the 80s F. Last-minute sign-up sheets were passed out, and more information is available from the District Office, http://portal.clubrunner.ca/50010/SitePage/guatemala-humanitarian-trip.