Wilmington Noon Rotary supports lunch program in Haiti

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WILMINGTON — The Wilmington Noon Rotary Club has fully funded a lunch program serving the Piton Community School in rural Haiti for the 2016-17 school year. This is the second year Rotary supported the program.

The program provides a hot lunch and a children’s multivitamin each day of class to approximately 100 students whose ages range from 4 to 16. Clinton Memorial Hospital donated the children’s vitamins.

For many students, this lunch will be the only full meal they receive that day, stated a news release from Aid to Infrastructure (ATI). Aid to Infrastructure is a nonprofit organization formed in 2014 by Clinton Countians Dr. Tom Tigar and Katherine Harrison Tigar.

Dr. Tom Tigar had a medical practice in Clarksville until August 2016, and now is a hospitalist. He was a medical director at the Wilmington Free Clinic while it was operating.

The Piton Community School children are visibly healthier than they were two years ago, the news release reported.

“By providing this service, Wilmington Rotary is directly affecting the lives of each and every student in the Piton Community School, each and every day,” it added.

Aid to Infrastructure primarily serves the mountaintop village of Piton, Haiti, via medical support for the village and surrounding area and support for the community school.

Wilmington A.M. Rotary sponsored the construction of a firebrick stove in conjunction with the lunch program. The stove enables the ladies to be able to cook standing up, plus includes a chimney that guides the smoke up and out the roof.

Katherine Tigar recently visited Wilmington Noon Rotary.

She has experience working in Haiti hosting and managing in-country logistics for U.S. teams, overseeing projects development and construction, and working directly with Haitian leaders and communities.

Through those experiences, Katherine Tigar made the transition into missions work and administration after years of experience in corporate administration and consulting.

She received intensive training in Christian community development and appropriate technology from SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology) in Alabama; training in water issues and purification from CAWST (Centre for Affordable Water Sanitation & Treatment) in Calgary, Canada; and a graduate-level certificate in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from Seattle University in Seattle, Washington.

“Through Aid to Infrastructure, Katherine is thankful to live out her philosophy that it takes a blend of the sacred and the practical to truly be the face of Christ to those in need,” according to the website, www.aidtoinfrastructure.com.

In addition to the school lunch program, among other ATI projects have been Hurricane Matthew recovery, a water collection system, a school roof rebuild, and latrine construction. Prior to his medical career, Dr. Tigar worked as a civil engineer for nine years in Cincinnati, and maintains his license as a Registered Professional Engineer.

From left, Wilmington Noon Rotary President Jack Powell presents a check to Aid To Infrastructure co-founder Katherine Harrison Tigar.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2017/05/web1_rotary_p_f.jpgFrom left, Wilmington Noon Rotary President Jack Powell presents a check to Aid To Infrastructure co-founder Katherine Harrison Tigar. Courtesy photos

Wilmington Noon Rotary Club has fully funded a lunch program serving the Piton Community School in rural Haiti for two years.
http://aimmedianetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/22/2017/05/web1_Haiti_Oct_2015_p_f.jpgWilmington Noon Rotary Club has fully funded a lunch program serving the Piton Community School in rural Haiti for two years. Courtesy photos
Feeds about 100 students at a school in Piton

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