5:01 Meeting October 15: The Guatemala Experience

Join us at the University Club on October 15th as we hear from Josh Sprague.

Josh Sprague is Past President of the Rotary Club of Edina. Since 2017, Josh has traveled every 2 years to the Coban region of Guatemala to work on water service projects. In 2019, he led the first Rotary-sponsored water service trip with 32 participants from 6 different District 5950 clubs. The group assembled and delivered 659 household water purifiers (funded through a District grant) to remote mountainous villages, or aldeas. On this trip, Rotarians also toured Escuintla National Hospital, the largest pediatric and neo-natal center in Guatemala, where they met Drs. Willy Menendez and Sofia Posadas. This personal connection grew into a life-saving partnership between Minnesota Rotary clubs, the hospital, and the Escuintla Rotary Club, in the areas of clean water, sanitation, and maternal/child health that continues to unfold. In 2021 and 2023, Josh returned with Rotarians to complete two more cycles of this project, again delivering 650+ purifier units each time and impacting thousands of households in need. 2025 marks the fourth bi-annual cycle for this project, and will involve assembly and delivery of 654 purifiers to a new cluster of villages. 2025 project funding comes from District 5950 and the Rotary Clubs of Edina, Edina Morningside, St Paul, Lakeville, Maple Grove, and Buffalo, and.. this adventurous and life-changing 7- day trip is open to all Rotarians, family and friends! Josh will take you on a photographic journey to share the trip’s transformational impact and discover what’s possible in just 7 days.