The St. Joseph’s Centre would not be complete and effective without a nearby source for clean water. Who better than to provide funding for a deep well than Rotary, an international service organization with a nearly 100 year presence in Joliet, Illinois. With Rotary’s motto of “Service above self,” and Doug Spesia having been a past president of the Joliet Rotary Club, it seemed a perfect fit.
Shortly before the group departed for Malawi in June of 2011, the Joliet Rotary Club agreed to consider funding a clean water deep well at a location near the Douglas Spesia Centre. Then, while in Malawi in June of 2011, Lori Spesia attended a meeting of the Blantyre Rotary Club and met its president, Mr. Peter Nkata. During the meeting they discussed a partnership between the Joliet Club and the Blantyre Club to complete the deep well project near the Centre. During the visit with Mr. Nkata, Lori learned that the Blantyre Club had been involved in constructing several deep wells to provide clean water to people in rural Malawi.
After a presentation to the Joliet Club by Spesia & Taylor partner John Spesia, the Club’s Board of Directors approved funding for the deep well on July 21, 2011. Construction on the deep well was completed in October of 2011. Since the success of the first clean water project in Malawi, partner John Spesia has continued to lead efforts by the Joliet Rotary Club to construct more wells in the Thyolo region. They have been aided by the Limbe, Malawi Rotary Club and matching grants from the Rotary foundation.
