In August 2007, Immediate Past President Dorothy Scott and Rotaractor Cathrine Welds of the Rotaract Club of Grand Cayman recently travelled to Guyana to investigate a proposal to build a library in the impoverished Sophia squatter settlement in Georgetown, and returned passionate about promoting literacy in the Caribbean.

Armed with books and school supplies donated by their club, the Rotaractors made donations of supplies in Rockstone, a rural Amerindian community and in the Sophia squatter settlement.

 

The Sophia squatter settlement is an underdeveloped community of up to 60,000 people where there is limited electricity and water supply to homes. There is no proper drainage or roads and during the rainy season, most areas are flooded.

Many children are unable to attend school because their parents cannot afford bus fares, shoes, clothing or even meals.

Many have to stay at home to care for younger siblings while their parents go to work. The harsh result is that many children are unable to identify very simple words and have to be taught the alphabet. For the past nine years, the Georgetown, Guyana club has been providing free literacy and numeracy lessons to 50 five to 11-year- olds each year, some of whom will never attend a regular school.

During their 10-day mission, Ms Scott and Ms Welds also participated in a jungle camping expedition in the Guyanese interior, an international fellowship initiative of the Rotaract Club of Georgetown, Guyana and toured Sophia, a settlement one-sixth the size of the Guyanese capital city to scout various locations for the library.

IPP Dorothy Scott is currently working with the Georgetown, Guyana Club to complete a full project proposal and hopes that it will soon be ready as she is eager to get underway with fundraising.

"We were really taken by Guyana, which is a vibrant country of amazing natural and cultural diversity. The Sophia project is exciting because it represents young people getting together and doing something tangible for their communities. The Rotaract Club of Grand Cayman is proud to be associated with the initiative and will help in any way we can," she said.

In order to solidify the partnership, the clubs officially "twinned" in Georgetown, Guyana during the visit. The twinning represents a significant milestone in Rotary history as the first inter-District twinning of two English-speaking Clubs in the Caribbean and represents the personal commitment from the members of both clubs to partner in service.

Sponsored by Rotary Clubs, Rotaract is a service and fellowship organisation for university students and young professionals between the ages of 18 and 30.

The Rotaract Club of Georgetown is an active member of District 7030 and is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Georgetown. District 7030 spans the eastern Caribbean from St. Kitts to French Guiana.

The Rotaract Club of Grand Cayman was chartered on 15 December 2006 and is sponsored by the Rotary Club of Grand Cayman Sunrise. The Club was named District 7020 Club of the Year and received a Rotary International Presidential Citation during its charter year. District 7020 bridges the northern Caribbean from Grand Cayman in the west to St. Martin/St. Maarten in the east.