Donations from the Weyburn Rotary Club are making a difference in Third World countries, club members heard on Thursday from a provincial Rotary coordinator.

Earle Newton, the Saskatchewan coordinator for Rotary's World Community Service, commended the Weyburn club for its donation of $3,000 this year, which is above the average for most Rotary clubs, and explained how a potable water project in Argentina benefitted from district club donations.

"You're really cooking on the front burners somehow, despite the agricultural problems in this part of the province. You're clearly taking leadership in the district," Newton told the club's luncheon meeting at the Elks Hall.

Showing slides from the water project in south-central Argentina, which he visited recently, he said the project was given an award by the Canadian Rotary Committee for International Development.

Newton described the area as similar to the Okanagan region of B.C.'s interior, and is quite dry. The project had a total cost of about $40,000, of which district Rotary clubs contributed $12,000, and saw a new well dug for a village and area. The local contribution included a donation of land for the pumphouse by a local family there.

Matching grants with aid agencies and with Rotary Clubs in the host country is important to make these kinds of projects go ahead, said Newton, noting that clubs here hook up with Rotarians there to make these projects a reality. A $2,000 grant from a club will grow to $8,000 if the right matching grants are available.

"We've also learned the importance of monitoring, evaluating and reporting on our projects. It must be more than a one-shot deal. We don't ordinarily build buildings unless the people there are involved in it; we've found they tend not to look after it then," Newton told the audience.

Noting the Weyburn club has been particularly supporting water projects, he said a project in Uganda is in need of a club to sponsor it, and if Weyburn wanted it, they would be the lead club for the project.

The total cost of the project is $12,000, with this district (No. 5550) contributing $2,500 towards it with matching grants. Newton said even with the problems the Ugandan residents are having, they managed to raise $500 U.S. towards this project.

The Weyburn club has given $3,000 towards World Community Service this year. The district as a whole, which extends from Saskatchewan east to northern Ontario, has raised a total of over $125,000 this year, said Newton.