Members of Weyburn's Rotary Club received word and photos of a project they helped make a reality for a boys' high school in India, after being connected with a club there via a friendship with a Weyburn Rotarian.

The project was to build two toilet blocks, one with 65 urinals and two toilets and the second with 56 urinals, for the Sourashtra Higher Secondary School in Madurai, India, and it was paid for through a joint effort between the Weyburn Rotary Club, the Rotary Club of Madurai and the Rotary International Foundation.

One of those involved from Weyburn's end, Mal Barber, got to know a student from India by the name of Kobla Sasidharan while he was a high school student. Mal's father was attending a General Motors school in Flint, Michigan, and met Kobla's father, and Mal ended up hosting Kobla here in Weyburn for the summer.

Years later, both men were members of their respective Rotary Clubs, and Kobla got in touch with Mal about helping out with this need at a high school. The girls' side of the school had washrooms, but the boys basically had to go outside to go to the bathroom; this set of urinals and toilets was the first for the boys' side of the school.

In an e-mail to Barber, Sasidharan said, "We are extremely thankful to you for your contribution from your club for construction of two toilet blocks. Our Rotary project has been well appreciated by students of this school. They feel proud and privileged to use clean toilets. This has certain improved the cleanliness of the surrounding with good hygiene."

When the need for this project arose, Sasidharan was in charge of grants for the district of Rotary Clubs in India. Mal noted it wasn't an expensive project, but there were many hurdles that needed to be dealt with, including qualifying under the criteria for grants through Rotary International's Foundation. The Weyburn club raised about $5,000-6,000, which was matched by the club in Madurai and by the Foundation.

"We always like to have a Rotary Club at either end. It was fun for me as I knew the Rotarians at the other end," said Barber.

During the time the Weyburn club raised the funds, Dr. Alain Lenferna took charge of the committee, and he oversaw its work until it was completed and in place in India. He also helped expedite the paperwork through Rotary International, under which the monies disbursed have to be spent in a humanitarian project.

"It doesn't seem like a big thing, but it was quite significant to the people we helped," said Barber.

"Rotary does raise money locally for projects, but we do have a world focus as well," added Barber, noting the ongoing project to eradicate polio. He noted after a setback, in which polio has started to spread again in certain countries in Africa, Rotary International has stepped up efforts in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Africa.