Our International Work

International projects over the years

Our international projects are focussed on Women and Children, Health and Education.

Our intent is always to provide a hand-up, not a hand-out.
We do engage in multi-year projects, but more often than not,
we go in, help a community improve their living environment, and set the people up to be self-sustaiining.

We find this is best for the community and allows us to help as many people as possible.

our International fund-raiser activities

Lobsterfest

Lobsterfest has been the Club’s signature international fundraiser since 1972. It was started in our first year and has become known throughout Ontario, raising over $1.6M, which often inspired matching funds from other organizations and individuals, creating a charitable benefit of over $4.5M.

In many places where we support projects, each dollar buys much more than it would here in North Amaerica, with a dollar of funding there being the equivalent of $10 funding here. Using this ratio, the impact of the funding support would amount to about $47M of benefit if in Canada.

Occurring on a Friday evening close to June 1 each year, the Club hosts around 1,000 members of the community, with many corporate sponsors providing tickets to their employees, and partners, to a buffet of lobster and ribs, and a night of live entertainment and dancing. This fundraiser involves all our members, and many past members, and their families, in volunteer work and fellowship.

Our Projects around the world

The Kitchener-Conestoga Rotary Club International Aid Fund helps women and children in remote areas of the world, who demonstrate the need and the ability to use our aid to provide measurable benefit to themselves and their people.

Our Rotary Club was established in 1974 for the purpose of raising awareness and support of the world’s most disenfranchised people. It is from a belief that we can do more and we must do better, that the International Aid Fund has managed to impact the lives of countless global citizens over the years and we will continue to do so as we face the challenges for a new generation.

We welcome you to engage with us so that we can work together to make this a reality.

Mozambique

SANI: Fresh water borehole

Part of CARE Canada’s Southern African Nutrition Initiative (SANI), this project funds the drilling, construction and infrastructure to provide a source of clean drinking water for Nhapupo village in semi-arid northern Mozambique.

Senegal

Together with Mercy Ships Canada we are providing a combination of courses and mentoring for targeted, in-depth teaching of surgical skills and abilities for 48 – 72 surgeons and surgical residents.

Please help support this concentrated effort to provide surgeries in the country of Senegal.

Malawi

Maeve-Ila Academy James Vatistas Memorial Bursary

In conjunction with Warm Hearts of Africa, this project helps to send 50 children to school every year.

Together we can help 25 girls and 25 boys who are orphans or have been affected by poverty and HIV/AIDS in Bangwe, Blantyre. This project supports them through education as well as providing much needed food for their families.

Mexico

Improving Rural Healthcare in Sonora Mexico

Partnering with the Catalina (Tucson) Rotary Club we are supporting Clinica Almas in their task to improve the infrastructure of rural healthcare in Sonora Mexico.

Clinica Almas provides primary and emergency medical services to 7 Guarijío indigenous communities (1600 people) in the remote mountainous area surrounding Alamos in southern Sonora.

BANGLADESH

Kitchener-Conestoga Rotary Women’s School

In partnership with The Amarok Society we fund a special Women’s School in Dhaka.

The Amarok Society teaches mothers who in-turn teach children. Every mother taught is committed to teach everything they have learned to at least 5 children in their community who have no other opportunity to learn.

Guatemala

Centre of Hope School

Along with Short Term International Medical Missions Abroad (STIMMA) we are funding a major expansion of a school located in El Progreso in Jutiapa. This specials needs school is the first in a region that comprises both Mayans and Guatemalans.

Students come from a variety of backgrounds with various special needs ranging from speech therapy to physical disabilities to emotion support.

Strategic Partnerships

As Lobsterfest is limited to raising about $50K per year, the strategy was to use our contacts and reputation to develop strategic partners that would significantly contribute both funds and truly meaningful projects. They would also use their knowledge and contacts to get leverage similar to that enjoyed by the most powerful and influential NGO’s. A few of the partnerships we developed are:

CARE Canada has been the largest and longest partner. KCRC has contributed $196,000 on 14 projects since 1972. Most recently we provided water wells for villages in Mozambique. For decades the Club was the largest service organization donor to CARE Canada.

Children of Hope Uganda was the major recipient from 2010 to 2017. We contributed $192,000 to 6 projects focussed on education for the Aboke Girls and their children born during their captivity by the LRA, and in developing both vocational and early education schools in Barlonyo Village that had been the victim of the worst LRA massacre.

Rotary District 9270: “Soul of Africa” Child Development Care Centres (CDCC): $168,000 2005-11.
- We partnered with RC Kitchener to support this comprehensive series of projects that helped rural villages in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, horribly affected by the HIV/AIDS pandemic to develop strategies to enhance their capacity to care for the thousands of orphans. We were key donors to 10 of the 13 CDCC projects contributing $59,000, including $41,000 from our partner, Art For AIDS. Matching grants from The Rotary Foundation and Govt of Canada paid the balance. Club members visited CDCC communities twice.

St. Joseph’s International Outreach:
- Haiti Earthquake: $48,620 2010. This support got urgent medical help to Pot-au-Prince before any other NGO.
- Uganda: Needy Women’s Purse: $11,400 2011. This project established critical supplies to save the lives of women coming to the hospital dying of birthing complications. It was estimated that it saved 50 lives in the first year.

University Health Network: Childhood Malaria Biomarker: $27,830 2013. This project funded the final field clinical trial in Uganda to prove the simple biomarker that can be administered quickly to children in line at the rural clinics to identify those needing the immediate treatment that will save their lives. This technology could save millions of lives if it was in widespread use.

Many projects involved the Club taking full responsibility for their execution:

Grassy Narrows: Wild Rice Production, Mercury Impact Video: $18,000 1978-80. This project was instrumental in changing Ontario policy about First Nations’ suffering due to mercury poisoning. The video was used by Grassy to obtain a $1.2M damages award.

Stephen Lewis Foundation: Seed Start-up Funding: $58,000 2002. The Club provided critical start-up funding that allowed SLF to get properly established. Since 2003 SLF has provided $114M to programs fighting the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa.

Lwak Girl’s School: Western Kenya: Water & Sanitation: $114,000 2007-8. This school is the oldest and most important school for girls in Kenya. It water and sanitation systems were in desperate condition. We gathered a coalition of Rotary Clubs and individuals to deal with the problems.

Warm Hearts of Africa (WHOA): Maeve-Ila Academy: Blantyre, Malawi
- Built the new school for poor children and orphans: $84,000 2011-14.
- James Vatista Memorial Bursary funding 50 children: $73,000 2014-19
- Funds were raised by WHOA in Vancouver, Toronto and KW.
The Cloverleaf Foundation: Ndlovu Memorial Library, Gwanda, Zimbabwe:
- Expanded the library as it was the critical education resource for the rural Matabele community ostracised by the ruling Mugabe government.
- Extended the education services to the surrounding villages.
- $209,000 raised 2008-15: Club: $29,000, Cloverleaf $164,000, Rotary Foundation $16,000