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Submission: James Belling
The SAMP Committee was organized a little over ten years ago by Rotary District 6220 as a result of a Group Study exchange program between the district and a district made up of clubs from southern Africa. It was called the Southern Africa Medical Project. Medical supplies were collected from throughout the district and sent to Africa to help improve their medical situation. Recently, the committee decided to broaden the effort and changed the name to Sharing Around the World Medical Project. It is still called SAMP.
The Appleton and Chinandega Rotary clubs had made unsuccessful efforts to establish a relationship in the past.
Last summer, Linda Weber, Appleton, was in Nicaragua under Partners' Farmer to Farmer program and visited Chinandega. She met Marvin Cardenas, a Chinandega Rotarian and the two exchanged addresses. Marvin expressed interest in a collaborative Rotarian effort.
James Belling, Appleton, continued the exchange of information with Marvin via email. It became apparent that Marvin was very involved with a Rotary effort to get medical supplies to Chinandega, and the Chinandega Rotary compiled a long list of needs.
About that time, James found out that SAMP was broadening its possible shipping destinations and passed the Chinandega needs list on to them. James checked with Sherin Bowen, W/NP Executive Director, about the possibility of SAMP making a shipment to the Chinandega Rotary through W/NP. Sherin confirmed that the shipment was indeed possible. After a concerted effort on the part of SAMP, Appleton Rotarian Carol Busey, Marvin Cardenas, James Belling, Linda Weber, and Sherin Bowen, the shipment was in place and on its way for transportation to Chinandega.
SAMP delivered 38 gaylords and two examination tables to the W/NP warehouse in Stevens Point so that a full container could be sent to Chinandega Rotary in the next W/NP shipment. A special thank you is given to Grabel Moving and Storage for the transportation of these goods to the W/NP warehouse.
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