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Loren Morschen, Waconia RotarianGlobal Grant for Solar Power in Southern Madagascar Hospital On Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021, Loren Morschen spoke about the Waconia Rotary Club's global grant for solar power for a Southern Madagascar hospital suffering from insufficient and unstable power. Loren began by giving some background about Ejeda Hospital. Ejeda Hospital provides healthcare for over 125,000 people living in extreme poverty, and malnutrition and preventable diseases are common. The hospital struggles with getting the vaccines out to people due to refrigerant requirements. The surgery line never ends, and the hospital can typically run only 2-3 hours a day. The hospital struggles with reliable power and clean water, and the area faces drought conditions for much of the year. The Waconia Rotary Club is working with local contractors and proposing a Solar Panel Plan, fitting for an area with around 160 clear days a year. Installing solar panels on the hospital’s roof will empower physicians and nurses to: store essential vaccines that must be refrigerated at all times, provide urgent surgery and lab work at the needed time, and power the well pump to access clean water at any time.
Ejeda doesn’t receive any government funding and relies on patients to operate, so they have had to lower costs. The solar power project will allow the hospital to increase patient numbers, offer more preventative care, improve quality of care, and sustain affordable healthcare in the region. The total cost of the Solar Panel Project will be $350,000, covering solar panels, batteries, and connections to existing infrastructure. The current funding from Rotary Clubs, the Rotary Foundation, and gifts is $177,500.
Lastly, Loren thanked everyone for their time and highlighted the improvements the solar project will bring. The solar project will improve the capacity of local health care professionals to save lives; limit the spread of diseases; enhance the health infrastructure of local communities; reduce the mortality and morbidity rate for mothers and children under the age of five; provide equitable community access to safe water, improved sanitation and hygiene.
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Announcements:Nathan Nyren announced the April 13th meeting will be canceled and there will be a joint meeting on April 15th with the EP Noon Rotary. We will be hearing from Dr. Michael Osterholm, the Head of Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, who’s also a part of President Biden’s coronavirus task force. Aaron Orwick announced a resume to swallowship on March 18th. He will send out an RSVP. Praf announced 80% of the club enjoyed the breakout rooms last week. The club will continue breakout rooms every week or every other week.
Spotlight on Jeff Jiang: Jeff Jiang and his family have lived in Eden Prairie for 15 years. Jeff is married to his wife Nan, and has two children, Michael, Daniel, and a dog Micah. Jeff came to Minnesota in 1997 and started working as an international business consultant at Lurie, LLP from 2001-2011. In 2011, Jeff opened his own firm and became an independent educational counselor helping international students and families in private schools and universities. Jeff is a volunteer mentor in the community, the founder and vice-chair of the Eden Prairie Chinese Association founded in 2017, and was a member on the board of the Eden Prairie Community Foundation. Jeff ran for State Senate in 2020 and talked fondly of the experience, calling it his “Best American Experience.” In his free time, Jeff enjoys cooking, fishing, and Chinese calligraphy and painting. Happy Fives: |
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Dr. Josh Swanson, EP Schools Superintendent
