In 2009, Salvador Rico stood in the waters of the Russian River in Northern California with other members of the Rotary Club of South Ukiah. They were there for a river clean-up, during which they removed toilets, refrigerators, car parts, and garbage.
After participating in the Russian River cleanup, Rico’s thoughts turned to the Ameca River which flows past his father’s farm in western Mexico. That was where his oldest sister contracted polio which killed her in the 1960s. He also thought of another river, the Lerma, which carried trash and toxic waste from Guadalajara.
With the help of Rotary clubs in Mexico and California cleanups were organized and the project eventually expanded to become Cleaning the Rivers of the World which has challenged Rotary clubs across the globe to clean up a river. The initiative has been adopted by the Water and Sanitation Rotarian Action Group as well as the Environmental Sustainability Action Group that have initiated cleanup projects in Colombia, India, Nigeria, Peru, Turkey and Venezuela, Mexico and in the US.
Your contribution to the Rotary Foundation supports this project and helps sustain a better world. Thank you.