Eric presents President Cameron with a banner from the Rotary Club of Swansboro North Carolina.

Rotary Global Grant Scholar Eric Siegel spoke to the club today, introducing himself, his professional background, and his aspirations during his time with us in Fiji.

Eric hails from a small fishing town in North Carolina, USA and although most of the folks there don’t tend to travel very far, Eric is an exception to that rule.

While at University in Florida, Eric had an opportunity to travel with a professor to Ghana and assist in latrine construction and sanitation training. The following year, he helped build a community well in Rajastan, India and following a similar learning experience in Honduras, Eric joined the Peace Corps and served in Honduras as a Water and Sanitation volunteer. After completing an additional year of Peace Corps service as a Youth Outreach Specialist in Colombia last year, Eric is excited to be back in his WATSAN element, working with the Rotary Pacific Water for Life Foundation as an engineer while he pursues a masters in development studies at USP.

Eric looks forward to getting involved in lots of Rotary projects, and also sharing fellowship and food at the Monday meetings. He especially enjoyed his first Eid dinner at Aslam’s home last Thursday- ‘especially that pasta-like dessert.’ He’s very grateful to Suva East for welcoming into the community and helping him to feel at home.