Thousands of Guatemalan schoolkids receive calculators thanks to local Rotarians
Northbrook, IL - More than 20,000 solar-powered calculators are in the hands of Guatemalan schoolchildren, thanks to some quick calculations by local Rotarians.
Students in more than 20 schools in this Central American country now have the calculators to help them with their school work and beyond.
"For many of these students, this is the first electronic tool they hold. If they are to survive in today's world, they have to be familiar with more than just calculators, but these are a start," said Carlos Früm of Northbrook, one of the Rotarians involved in the donation.
The story of how the modern electronic devices reached the home of ancient Mayan ruins is more about simple addition than complex math. It speaks to the power of networking between Rotarians, members of one of the world's largest humanitarian service organization.
During a June 2015 lunch meeting with Rotary leaders, Früm learned that Pedro Cevallos-Candau, the governor nominee of the Chicago area Rotary District 6450, had received a donation of thousands, solar-powered calculators from John Ockenfels, a Rotarian in Iowa. The calculators, valued at less than $1 each, were slated for the scrap pile because they erroneously included a square root function - a feature forbidden for a segment of U.S. test-taking students.
Früm, the past district governor of Rotary District 6440 - which includes Rotary clubs in northeastern Illinois - quickly put two and two together. For one, he knew from his multiple trips to Guatemala on Rotary development programs that schoolchildren in region had a critical need for school supplies. "I have been traveling to work in Guatemala as a volunteer since 2003 and know the country conditions quite well," he said. "About a tenth of the population of 16 million survives on less than two-dollars-a-day."
Second, he knew from his previous work with Ockenfels that the Swisher, Iowa, Rotarian, as the former CEO of a family-owned recycling company, might be able to get his hands on more calculators and would want to put them to good use. In July 2015, Ockenfels confirmed that he had more calculators to donate - thousands more, in fact.
So, Früm and Larry Kanar, past president of the Rotary Club of Northbrook, drove Larry's pickup truck the more than 220 miles to Iowa City to meet Ockenfels. There, Ockenfels - the past district governor of Rotary District 6000 - which covers 64 clubs in Southeastern and Central Iowa - had the donation ready.
So, rather than meeting their destiny in the scrapheap, the 20,000 calculators came to Illinois with Früm and Kanar. Rick Rivkin, governor of District 6440 and a member of the Rotary Club of Northbrook, stored the calculators in his company warehouse and helped make the shipping arrangements. Rotary Club of Northbrook members covered the hundreds of dollars in shipping costs.
The Illinois Rotarians contacted Jorge Aufranc, a director of Rotary International, to place the calculators. Members of the Club Rotario Guatemala Norte - guided by Carlos Ernesto "Pato" Andrade, the past district governor of Guatemala's District 4250 and his wife Luz "Pata" Andrade, president of the Rotary Club of Guatemala Norte - distributed the calculators to local schools.
About Rotary
Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders who unite worldwide to provide humanitarian service and to build goodwill and peace in the world. There are approximately 1.2 million Rotarians, members of more than 34,000 Rotary clubs in more than 200 countries. For more information on the more than 70 Rotary clubs in northeastern Illinois that comprise Rotary District 6440, visit www.rotary6440.org.