Rotarian John Trimble from the Rotary Club of Enniskillen, made a surprise on the spot donation of £36,000 to Light of Maasai founder, Elaine Bannon after meeting a little girl saved by Rotarians, at last weekend’s conference for Rotary clubs in Ireland.
Elaine has spent the last ten years working and living with the Maasai in Kenya, helping to provide health clinics and schools in the area. Supported by Irish Rotary clubs, the charity has changed the lives of thousands of children and Rotarians were delighted when Elaine brought Ciara Sainapei, a child whom Rotarians played a vital role in saving, along to meet them.
When Elaine first saw Ciara, she was about two years old, had no hair or teeth, did not speak and was within 24 hours of dying. Elaine slowly brought the child back to life with Rotarians supplying medical equipment and food and Elaine supplyng the care. Ciara is just one example of the difference Rotary has made to thousands of children in Kenya.
Matt Porter, International District Chairperson for Rotary in Ireland said: “It was after hearing of Ciara’s rescue and meeting her in person that John made his surprise donation. This is the first time that something like this has happened at one of our conferences and John’s donation on behalf of the Rotary Club of Enniskillen, will enable Elaine to ease the pain of thousands of people. It will make a huge difference to the everyday lives of children in Kenya.”
Some of the things that the money will help with include blindness in children due to washing their eyes in dirty water, providing water for irrigation so that communities can grow food and the avoidance of disease due to the provision of clean water.
Rotary International in Great Britain & Ireland (RIBI) President Nan McCreadie said: “This is a fantastic gesture from the Rotary Club of Enniskillen and a substantial sum of money. Elaine and the Light of Maasai charity do fantastic work and with Elaine’s dedication and total commitment to the children of Kenya, I am sure that she will make very good use of the extra funds.”
Pictured: Rotarian John Trimble
