The Trenton Rotary Club’s foreign exchange student from Spain discussed her country during a meeting Thursday.
Carlotta Gonzalvez Ramirez lives with her parents and a brother in Sevilla, Spain. The Trenton club has served as Carlotta’s sponsor this school year. In Trenton, she has lived with the family of Rotarian Melissa King as well as with Josh and Amy Currie. Daughter Sophie Currie is currently in Spain as a Rotary Exchange Student there. Carlotta said her home club has been involved in several projects on the local and international levels. Her father is a Rotarian. She also presented the Trenton club with a flag from her home club in Spain..
Dr. Asregedew Kassa Woldesenbet, associate professor and chairholder of construction management at the Ethiopian Institute of Architecture Building Construction, also spoke with the club about his country and projects in which he has been involved. Dr. Woldesenbet is a former teaching associate of Trenton Rotary member James Goedert,(GOH-dirt) when both were at the University of Nebraska.
Issues people in Ethiopia are facing include a rapid population increase, drought conditions, corruption, high inflation, public debt, a lack of infrastructure, high unemployment and a poor quality of education. He reviewed efforts being made to address those issues through the university he is associated with including improved housing/construction, new farming practices, installation of solar energy, and water recycling. He said changes in current laws and regulations as well as human resource development and training are also key to improvements for Ethiopia.
The club will next meet at noon on Thursday, April 6 at the BTC Bank Community Room. Dr. Kim Baxter, a Rotarian from Nebraska, will present the program regarding his optometry work in Kenya.
