Pastor Rigaud (l.), with the reunited members of the Club’s 2012 Haiti Work Team, including (l. to r., from front) Christine Wilson, Melande Antoine, Helen Belisle, Ed Plourde, Gerry Gelinas (kneeling), Stephanie Gelinas, Claire Durgin, Amy Laverdiere, John Belisle, Adam Dow, Phil Nadeau, Don Grant, Kari Grant-Gagnon and Charlene O’Clair. (Not pictured is Shawn Wright).

Widely known as “Pastor Rigaud,” Dr. Jean Rigaud Amilcar Antoine, Past President of his Rotary Club in Port Au Prince Haiti, was the guest speaker at a recent Lewiston-Auburn Rotary Club dinner to celebrate the successful completion of the L-A Club’s Haiti Water Truck Project. With nearly 100 people in attendance, Club President Christine Wilson, International Committee Chair Stephanie Gelinas and Pastor Rigaud discussed the development and results of the effort.

Following a visit to Haiti in the aftermath of its devastating 2010 earthquake, the Lewiston-Auburn Rotary Club decided to raise over $40,000 to purchase a water truck for the orphanage and school Rigaud oversees in Port Au Prince. Since drilled wells could not be employed because of the proximity of the orphanage to sea level, its administrators had been forced to rely upon transported water – at a cost of $45 every three days – to meet the daily bathing, laundry and other needs of their charges. The new truck, which is equipped with a tank and other parts needed to deliver water, now operates as a micro-business to serve the orphanage, school and local community.

Pastor Rigaud presented L-A Rotary Club President Christine Wilson with a rotary club flag and spoke of his hope to raise funds for a similar truck that could supply the area with drinking water. This project would cost around $60,000. For more information about the project, see www.haitiinternationalalliance.org.

The L-A Rotary Club believes in Service Above Self in the community, workplace and throughout the world. The club has committed itself to helping local and international organizations and annually awards $7,000 in scholarships and thousands more to local area non-profits. In addition to the Haiti Water Truck Project, club members have also assisted in the building of a library in the Philippines. The club meets each Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Ramada Inn. For more information, see www.lewistonauburnrotary.org.