Rotarians from Fairfield and Nepal Unite for Winning Proposal
Rotarians Andy Bargerstock, Doug Flournoy, and Naya Raj Baral
Fairfield Rotary was instrumental in organizing 16 regional clubs to raise $122,000 for a new well to supply fresh water to serve 10,000 residents of the Jaluke Community in Gaidakot, Nepal.
FAIRFIELD, IA: A community of 10,000 people at the base of the Himalayas in Chitwan province in Nepal will now have a well, thanks to a winning grant proposal submitted to the Rotary International Foundation by Andy Bargerstock, director of the MBA program at Maharishi University of Management, and MBA alumnus Naya Raj Baral.
The grant of $45,700 will cover the costs of a borehole well, pumps, 400,000-liter reservoir tank, and training on the use and maintenance of the water system for the Jaluke Community in Gaidakot, Navalparasi, Lumbini Zone, Nepal.
Dr. Bargerstock is director of the International Service Committee for Fairfield’s Rotary Club, and Mr. Baral, the CFO at Maharishi Ayurveda Products International, is a current member of the Fairfield Rotary Club, and former member of a Rotary Club that meets two miles from the site of this project.
“During a Nepal trip to visit family and friends in Spring 2011, Naya learned about this project that had been presented by a local engineer to the Nepal Rotary Club,” Dr. Bargerstock said. “When he returned to Fairfield, he contacted me. With approval from our local board of directors, we formed a team to develop the application and raise financial support from regional Rotary Clubs. Sixteen regional clubs or members contributed to raising $16,000 as Fairfield’s requirement for co-sponsorship of the grant application.”
Projects that seek funding in excess of $25,000 from the Rotary Foundation are judged on a competitive basis. On an annual basis, only 20-30 such projects receive this degree of funding. With other matching formulas built into the grant application, the total project has generated $122,000.
Dr. Bargerstock says that Rotary is about relationship building. “This project is a good example of the Rotary Club’s focus on relationships since the successful grant application emerged from the collaboration of the clubs in Fairfield and Nepal.”
He emphasized that Rotarian Doug Flournoy from Indian Hills Community College was key in guiding the grant application process, and that Mr. Baral’s relationships with people in Nepal were critical for building credibility.
For more information, visit Jaluke, Nepal Clean Water Project – Page.
Also mentioned in The Buzz about Fairfield: Big Give, and IndiaWest: Grant Provides 10,000 Residents with Water in Nepal.
Also see Maharishi University MBA Students Win National Business Simulation Competition and Maharishi University’s Rao and Bargerstock published in Management Accounting Quarterly.
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