41 Students Participate in 2003 Shadow Day Visits

Forty-one juniors and seniors from local schools participated in the Greensboro Rotary Club’s 2003 Shadow Day activities in March.

Worth Durgin, chairman of the program, explained that the students were guests of 21 business and service enterprises run by club members. The project seeks to help students get insight into occupations run by Rotarians.

They were driven from their schools to the work sites. They were guests at the club luncheon meeting before they were returned to school. Assisting Durgin in the project were Rotarians Susan Andrews, Neil Belenky, Lisa Crawford, Dave Melton and Sandy Neerman.

Rotarian hosts and their student visitors were:

Twenty-one Rotarians chauffeured the students to and from schools: Lacy Baynes, Arthur Blumenthal, Tom Cochran, Jean Dvison, Betsy Farmer, Walter Faison, Tom Glascock, Bernie Gutterman, Charlie Hassell, Martin Hatcher.

And, Horace Kornegay, Bill Moseley, Charlie Phillips, Wade Phillips, Fred Reinecke, Lane Schiffmn, Siggie Smith, John Snider, Gary Taft, Buddy Weill and Dale Whitfield.

Memories linger today of the horrors when flood waters suddenly rushed into thousands of homes last fall in Eastern North Carolina.

But they grow fainter thanks to people who continue to care.

A record rain poured onto the Tar and Neuse rivers as Hurricane Floyd spread billions of gallons of water over county after county. More than 3,300 people were left homeless. Vast areas were left with homes that today remain uninhabitable.

Relief for the victims in the form of money, clothing and housing show up every day. And still the need is huge. Nine hundred homes were destroyed.

Typical of that aid has come from the Rotary Club of Greensboro. Its 325 members dug deep and raised enough money to purchase a new three-bedroom home for Vicki Foreman, an inspector at Glenoit Mills; her eight-year-old daughter Renee and her mother, Patrician Foreman, a retired Southwestern Bell telephone supervisor.

"It's the Rotary way," says President Dr. Steve Cobb. "We were just one of the many organizations that answered the call for help. When they move into their new house this summer, our Rotarians will have donated thousands of dollars and more than 455 hours of on-site work to complete the project." Cobb contacted Bill Thorne, president of the Tarboro Rotary Club, to seek an outlet for the Greensboro club's concern. Thorne coordinated the effort with relief officials.

When the Greensboro Rotary check for $35,000 (including a $15,000 grant from the Bryan Foundation) arrived in Tarboro it was turned over to the Tarboro-Edgecome Habitat for Humanity for action. Its president, Dr. John Brooks located an empty lot given by the city for a dollar. When the paper work was completed Vikki Foreman signed on to purchase the house from the Habitat organization for $40,000.

Construction began March 20 on the foundation of the 1,100-square-foot house. The first 35-man Rotary club crew arrived May 13, a humid day that steamed up to 100 degrees. Just before 6 o'clock, when they settled down for the traditional Eastern North Carolina pig pickin' they had completed the flooring, framing and most of the siding.

Several Rotarians returned the following Saturday with the second crew. The sun broiled them again but they completed the roof including sheeting, tar paper and half the shingles. The also insulated an adjoining Habitat house and completed siding for two storage houses.

Thorne said "It's amazing how much work the Greensboro Rotarians accomplished."

Among other Rotary contributions were $32,000 from the East Gastonia Rotary Club and $17,000 from a Boston club designated for college scholarship for flood victims.

Crew support for the Greensboro club came from the new owner, Vikki and her mother. Habitat requires owners to work 500 hours on Habitat houses. The foreman's are credited already with more than 200 hours.

Rotary volunteers were guided by Lee Hall of Tarboro, retired superintendent of schools, the project's on-site volunteer foreman. They were a "hard-working gang that never let up," Hall said. He's been a Habitat for Humanity volunteer two years, a full-time task since the '99 flood. With volunteer help, Hall said that Habitat completes a house every two months. Five houses are in the works now, he said.

Help still comes into Eastern North Carolina from all parts of the country, Hall said. Following the Greensboro Rotarians, 12 high school and college students were to arrive on Wednesday for five days. Others include 10 college students scheduled for June 23 in Tarboro, Hall said.

Another big boost will be a 30-man crew of Menonites from the Lancaster, Pa., area. "They said they'll work five days from 6 a.m. to dark. That will complete the roof of another house," Hall said. Vikki Foreman said she never will forget her sudden fear last September 15. It was about 2 a.m. when she heard the knock. A policeman with a flash light warned her to evacuate the little house immediately. "The Tar (river) had broken out!"

She gathered some clothes and she, her daughter and mother waded out to head for higher ground. There was no time for more belongings, she said.

Shortly afterwards the sleepy ol' Tar had crested at 46 feet. In addition to lower areas of Tarboro the entire nearby city of Princeville was inundated. Most houses there are have been marked as uninhabitable.

It was eight days before they could return to their rented house. Nothing was salvagable. They later were able to return to live. It remains barely habitable (with the same rent rate). They were sustained by what her mother describes as "a great mountian of faith" until news came on Feb. 13 that Vikki had qualified to purchase a Habitat house, one donated by the Greensboro Rotary Club. The price is $40,000. She'll have up to 20 years to complete the purchase, without interest.

When they move in early this summer they'll find a house complete with carpet, air conditioning, kitchen appliances and wall decor. Whirlpool donates stoves and refrigerators and sells washing machines and dryers at cost, Hall says.

On the living room was will be a picture painted and donated by renowned artist, Rotarian Bill Mangum.

Vikki Foreman says she is "ecstatic" with the blessing of owning her home. Her mother, retired from Southwestern Bell, remains "in awe, so touched by all the love shown."

The Foreman's say they are among the luckier ones. Vikki says that many jobs in the are going begging. At one plant 60 percent of its employes never returned to work after the flood. They are without homes and transportation to get to work.

Randy Ariail, co-chairman with Bobby Bain of the Rotary volunteers whose ages ranged from early 30s into the 70s, said, "It's absolutely amazing to see what people will do to put in sweat for this. It's gratifying to see that people are willing to to work so hard for more than a paycheck."

The May 13 Rotary volunteers to Tarboro were Bobby Bain, Vicki Bain, Haynes Clement, Terry DeLagrange, Joel Funderburk, Kevin Guthrie, Bernie Gutterman, Dan Haley, Ross Harris, Rudy Hinshaw, Shawn Holmes, Ken Keller, John Krege, Trudy Krege, Jim McDermott, Bob Newton, David Parker, Fred Reinecke, Bill Rogers, John Rosser, Charles Saunders, Bob Sawyer, Gary Taft, Bob Wicker, and the following Rotary exchange leaders from England: Peter Wiles, Eshan Magooa, Nicola Watts, Adam Cheeseman and Anna Trevino.

Rotary volunteers for the May 20 trip included Randy Ariail, Bob Rodman, Gray McCaskill, Bob Wicker, Rudy Hinshaw, Bob Mahanes, Charlie Phillips, Tim Burnett, Med Hoffman, Jim Dreisbach, Maurice Coreil, Lewis Ritchie, John McLendon.

And, Haynes Clemment, Tom Cockran, Bill Mangum, Bob Cone, Terry Delagrange, Allen H. Gwyn, Lacy Baines, Charlie Hamilton, Bill Cordes, Worth Durgin, Gerald Austin, Bob Sawyer, Jim Galyon, Randy Ariail and Steve Arthur.

The May 20 Rotary work crew was bolstered by volunteers Mary Beth McLendon, Alex Mangum and Alana Riddick, children of Rotarians John McLendon, William Mangum and Gwyn Riddick.

Club Sends Help to East Africa

The orphaned young girls at an East African rehabilitation center are receiving a much needed boost, thanks to the Rotary Club of Greensboro, NC.

The club’s $7,000 donation to the Saidia Dada Home has helped to enhance the program for its youthful residents to return to a better life, according to Rotarian Glenna Harford, chairman of the club’s East African Project.

Presentation of the $7,000 check from the Rotary Club of Greensboro was a major event at the Rescue Dada Home in Kenya.  Two of the girls are holding the check. At left is Rotarian Gracwe Muniagoro, chairperson of the Rotary Club of Milimani which handled the arrangement. At right is the Rev. Sister, representing the archdioceseof Nairoki, sponors of the Rescue Dada Home.

She said the home serves to rehabilitate girls whose mothers are victims of AIDS in Kenya.

The club project grew out of a meeting between the Greensboro club’s 2000-01 president, John Rosser, and Hatim Karimjee, a past district governor for District 9200, at the 2000 Rotary International meeting in Buenos Aires. Their conversation led to the plan for the Greensboro and Kenya clubs to pair up to fund one of the many projects in that area needing assistance for helping helping children who are in abject poverty, Glenna said.

The East African Rotary district encompasses five countries representing 78 Rotary clubs. The countries (Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Eritrea) are among the poorest areas in the world. Their local Rotary clubs find that fund-raising potential is limited to the economic situation there. Their Rotary Foundation usually funds propjects up to one or two thousand dollars.

At John’s request, Karimjee (who later served as District 9200 world community service chairman) sent a list of needy projects. The club’s East Africa Project Committee reviewed the projects and chose the Saidia Dada Home which was recommended by Karimjee.

Saidia Dada is a rehabilitation center primarily for young girls who have become orphaned or abandoned due to AIDS. That means the parents are dying or have died of AIDS. To survive the children were forced to beg or become prostitutes to survive. Either way they were degraded or abused.

In the home they first are provided with shelter, food and clothing to meet their basic needs. Then they receive love, care and attention, including couseling to help heal the deep psychological scars of their past.

Presentation of The Rotary Club of Greensboro’s contribution to the Rescue Dada Home in East Africa was a gala event. A highlight was this dancing salute from some of the home’s residents.

Next they receive basic education and vocational training to help them return to society. When he was district governor, Karimjee visited the home and was very impressed with the way they were helping the girls.

The committee applied for a $7,000 grant from the Rotary Club of Greensboro’s Rotary Fountation. The project was approved  April 4, 2001. The check was sent to the Rotary Club of Milimani, in Nairobi, Kenya, in care of the director of international service, Don Okpala. He delived the check to the Saidia Dada Home during a presentation program last May.

Fred Reinecke, current president of the Rotary Club of Greensboro, joins with Rotarian Don Okpala, director of international service of the Milimani, Nairobi, Kenya Rotary Club in displaying a salute to Greensboro. The occasion was the Rotary International Convention in San Antonio, Texas.

Other members of the international service committee in 2000-01 were Gloria Scott, Michael Christopher, Jimmy Williams and Harrison Turner.

Glenna said the club recently received photos taken during the presentation program for the Greensboro club’s contribution.

Return To Home Page