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A chance vacation encounter transformed into a life-changing initiative for thousands of students in Cozumel, Mexico. When Matt McElroy, President-Elect of Indio Sunrise Rotary, attended a Rotary meeting during his family vacation, he witnessed firsthand the stark reality facing island schoolchildren – no access to clean drinking water. This revelation sparked what would become an extraordinary cross-border Rotary partnership.
The Green Schools Project tackles multiple critical challenges through a brilliantly simple solution: harvesting abundant tropical rainfall from school building domes, filtering it for drinking, and using additional collected water for on-site gardens. The initiative addresses the alarming fact that bottled water costs more than gasoline on the island, pushing many children toward unhealthy sugary alternatives and contributing to Mexico's highest-in-the-world childhood obesity rates.
Isaac Galvez, a 38-year Rotarian from Club Rotario de Cozumel, shares how this project evolved from teaching backyard vegetable growing into a comprehensive sustainability program. During the COVID-19 pandemic, when tourism – the island's economic lifeblood – completely halted, these gardens became crucial to community survival. Rotary-supported community kitchens served over 1.2 million meals during this crisis, underscoring the vital importance of local food production and clean water access.
Beyond providing safe drinking water, the Green Schools initiative incorporates student-managed composting systems, native fruit tree cultivation, and vegetable gardens that serve as living laboratories for science education. Students proudly plant trees with thoughts of future generations who will enjoy their fruits – a powerful lesson in environmental stewardship and long-term thinking.
What began with support from Rotary partners in Texas has expanded through district-to-district partnerships and global grants. The Indio Sunrise Rotary Club is now hosting a fundraiser on November 1st at the Coachella Valley History Museum to support expanding the project to additional schools. Their goal is to eventually reach all 15 schools on Cozumel, transforming thousands of young lives through clean water access and hands-on sustainability education.
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