Past Rotary International Director Ray Klinginsmith calls it "The Magic of Rotary," the network of Rotarians who can quickly and easily bridge huge distances, languages and cultures because of Rotary and our network.

The magic is no better illustrated than through a project designed to improved health by addressing the lack of permanent water supplies and medical waste disposal facilities at 20 of the most highly frequented health clinics in the Fianarantsoa II district of Madagascar.

The district of Fianarantsoa II is located in Madagascar's high plateau region in the south central part of the country. This region is characterized by grass-covered hills with steep slopes descending to patty rice covered valleys.

Wells in the region typically must be over 90 feet deep before reaching a highly fluctuating water table. Similarly, piped water supply systems are expensive because most villages are 2-3 miles from a permanent spring source. In these cases, the cost of piping prohibits the construction of piped community water supply systems. In villages where piped water supplies and wells exist they are often dry for four months of the year August through November.

The Rotary Foundation approved a matching grant of $15,215, with the Rotary Club of Jonesboro contributing $5,200 and the Rotary Club of Jacksonville putting in $500

The Rotary Club of Fianarantsoa contributed $1,000, and our district, 6150, provided SHARE Fund contribution of $6,185.

Jonathan Annis is an American who is a USAID employee and was with the Peace Corps before that. He wrote the grant application and has served as a technical adviser. He was over the entire project of which our piece was one small part. Amanda Barker, daughter of Jonesboro Rotarian the Rev. Joann Barker, is in Madagascar in the Peace Corps and connected 6150 Rotarians with Jonathan and the project.

One other connection that helped was made by Bob Warner while he was in San Diego at his International Assembly last February for his week long District Governor Elect training. Bob and the District Governor Elect for the district that includes Madagascar had a meal together which helped us establish a face-to-face relationship and the rest is history.

Each Rotary Club in District 6150 is invited to submit two panels for the District's "Rotary Shares" Quilt. Each district committee is invited to submit one panel.

The "Rotary Shares" Quilt will be assembled by the members of Loose Threads Quilting Club. The panels may be obtained from Mary Ellen Warner, mwarner@cscnea.com Each panel is 8.5 x 11 inches and is Printed Treasures, a high-quality fabric sheet that can be printed by computer on any inkjet printer.

The panel can have text and/or photos. Please observe the rules regarding the Rotary marks and emblems if they are used.

The panel should depict a club activity that encompasses service or Family of Rotary. The club with the best panel as judged by the DG, DGE, DGN and the AGs will receive recognition at the 2008 District Conference. The quilt will be auctioned to the highest bidder at the 2008 District Conference and the proceeds given to Rotary.

Deadline for submitting the panels is Dec. 31.