Dear Rotarians,
We wanted to pass this on as it seems to be the best way to source some of these items. Most of you know we have been partnering with the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara, Honduras and Summit in Honduras for many years. Though we have an urgent request for monetary support to reestablish their water supply, we have been working toward addressing some of their other needs and don't want to drop the ball. Summit in Honduras has recently been accepted into the US Air Force's Denton Program. This program works with non-profits to move supplies and vehicles via Space Available military transport. In our case it allows us to collect materials to fill pallets and then, once paperwork is in order and the pallet inspected, we drop it at Petersen AFB outside of Colorado Springs, it is loaded onto a C-5 Galaxy or C-141 Starlifter and delivered to Soto Cano AB, Honduras free of charge.
This past week Summit in Honduras has acquired storage space where we will begin to stage a pallet and supplies. We have also been informed that Red, White and Blue Fire may have another ambulance to donate in January. This program makes moving things like an ambulance very easy compared to the more than a year and many hoops jumped through to get the last one delivered. The down side of the program is that our minimum weight limit to send a pallet is 2000lbs. We already have enough medical supplies and fire fighting gear to fill a pallet, but not enough to reach 2000lbs. We have a solution for that.
Wally and Rob at the storage unit.
Tools. One of the projects I have been very passionate about is our support of Eulogio Galeano Trejo Technical School. The school provides training in catering, hospitality, automotive, welding and machining. They have requested some tools for their shop programs that are expensive or difficult to come by. In the past we have purchased some of this locally and packed it into our suitcases. It has made for interesting times trying to keep our bags within weight limits and not having them taken at customs. Now we have this opportunity to get the tools and get them down to them in a far easier manner.
They are currently in need of:
INDUSTRIAL LATHE (MOST NEEDED)
DRILL PRESS
CORDLESS DRILL (x2)
METAL CHOP SAW
WELDING HELMET (x2)
VISE (x2)
C-CLAMPS
SCREWDRIVER SET
WRENCH SET
It dawned on me that many of these items do not need to be new, and as a matter of fact, some things like wrenches, vises and c-clamps, provided they are not worn out, are of a better quality. A 30 year old Craftsman wrench is worth far more than a brand new one at Walmart (or even a new Craftsman wrench for that matter).
Tools donated in 2018.
Books. Summit in Honduras supports several schools and a library. One of the requests we get regularly is for Spanish language books. Our Interact club has taken on the task of calling local libraries to ask for any extra books they may have. They are asking for donations but Summit in Honduras is also willing to purchase them. In this case we are simply asking that you pass this along to anyone that might be able to help. Do you know a librarian? Book store owner? A book publisher? Please put them in touch.
Now that we have the ability to move these items and a place to stage them we would like to open the door and fill the space. Our hope is to have our first pallet filled, inspected and ready to go in January. Let us know how you can help. Thank you for your past and future support!
Rob