our history
Rotary is well known for their Polio Eradication project - but what if an entire Rotary District of 58 clubs and 2,500 members gave their support to to a single village somewhere in the world. What kind of a difference could be made?
In September of 2006, Rotary Governor-Elect Mark Howison witnessed a presentation by Dr. Scott Kellerman about the Batwa Pygmies in Uganda, and the village idea was born.
The current Governor Helene Kalfuss (2006-2007) agreed to the concept and asked Rotarians Steve and Vicky Wallace to find a "village" where we could make a difference.
Steve and Vicky travelled the world, visiting India and Africa looking for this opportunity, and found Oduworo Village in Uganda.
In January of 2008, a group of Rotarians, including now Governor Mark and his wife Barbara visited this village in Uganda.
It was discovered that a pump at the school in Oduworo was broken. Governor Mark immediately approved the funds to fix this pump (see the guy in the white tennis hat in the YouTube video).
On their return from Uganda, Mark and Barbara shared their experience with their daughter Shannon Riggs, who is currently producing the movie BLUE. When Shannon saw the impact we all could have, she shared it with the cast and crew of BLUE and her friends - this and the Virtual Village sites are the result.