Loudonville Rotary challenged to support St. Vincent island rehab after volcano

Jim Brewer, Ashland Times Gazette
·2 min read

LOUDONVILLE ‒ The volcano La Soufriere on the island of St. Vincent erupted in April 2021 for the first time in 40 years, dumping 280 metric tons of ash on the island, which is regarded as a paradise and is a major Caribbean tourist destination.

Andy Bone, a member of the Rotary Club of Marion and international service chairman for Rotary District 6600 in northwest Ohio, made a presentation to the Loudonville Rotary Sept. 15 urging support of the island.

“With the eruption, 40% of the island residents were displaced, and agricultural production, which along with tourism is the primary livelihood on the island, was devastated because of the layer of ash covering the farmlands,” said Bone, who has visited the island many times and owns a home there.

More: Rotary road tripA visit to Sunny Slope

More: Rotary coverageLoudonville members honored

“For many years our district conducted many supportive projects and fundraisers for hurricane and earthquake victims in Guatemala and Honduras,” he said. “I would like to see that sort of relationship for St. Vincent.”

Bone met with members of three Rotary clubs on St. Vincent, seeking to learn about how Rotary can best help the devastated island. His goal is to help rebuild agricultural production by installing water pumps to irrigate farm fields. Total cost to do this is over $100,000, but he made the concept more realistic by asking each Rotary Club in the district to contribute $1,000 to the effort.

“One pump costs $1,000, and they need 111,” Bone said.

Making reference to primitive irrigation methods, Bone called the drive “the Fill the Bucket Campaign. It's a “unique approach to international projects, one much less daunting than seeking funding through a global grant.”

Rotarians took his plea under advisement.

The club is preparing for sales of Swiss cheese and trail bologna at the Malabar Farm Heritage Days Sept. 24-25; the annual Lions-Rotary Steak Dinner Sept. 27; work at the Lions fair food tent Oct. 6; and a Rotary on the Road meeting at the Mohican Haunted Schoolhouse in Perrysville Oct. 20.

This article originally appeared on Ashland Times Gazette: Visiting Rotarian seeks Loudonville support for St. Vincent challenge