FIR member Peter Martin visits Copan Ruinas, Honduras, in August 2019 as part of a previous initiative with the IPA and the Rotary Club of Copan Ruinas.
Fidalgo Island Rotary Club and the International Project Alliance recently received approval for a Global Grant from the Rotary Foundation to support the expansion of the Rapid Development (RD) program to 6 new villages near Copán, Honduras. RD aims to address all of the aspects of poverty by founding village savings institutions, encouraging the planning and formation of new businesses in the villages, supporting the education of the children through high school, training and equipping village health workers, and training villagers on financial management and personal development. IPA has demonstrated the success of RD in 5 villages in the first two phases. The total budget of the project is $95,253, of which $68,038 will come from The Rotary Foundation and District 5050. The project is projected to last for three years and will be administered mainly by IPA's contractors in Copán, Cinthia Santos and Mauricio Alvarado. The Copán Ruinas Rotary club will supply administrative support and transportation for the project.
FIRC has also received approval for a District Grant project to supply electrical power and school furniture to the school in La Moya, one of the Rapid Development villages. The total of the project will be About $3100. This project is part of the IPA effort and will be administered by Mauricio. The villagers will supply the labor, and the government of Honduras will pay for the electricity.