Rotary partners in Honduras: who makes each Copán Ruinas project possible

The Rotary Club of Copán Ruinas is a small club in a small town. Nearly everything you’ll read about on this blog was done together with someone else. Here’s who they are and what each one brings — because naming them is the least we can do.

Partner Rotary clubs

Rotary Club of Fort Mill, South Carolina (District 7750). The longest-standing partner in water and sanitation: since 2008, with more than one and a half million dollars invested in the region by the club’s and district’s count. They also helped coordinate school library installations. → The water partnership with Fort Mill

Rotary Club of Asheville, North Carolina (District 7670). The annual dental and eye brigade, every February for over seventeen years. More than 15,000 patients served. → Seventeen years of brigades

Rotary Club of Gastonia, North Carolina (District 7680). Clean water for 18 communities of Copán, housing with Habitat for Humanity, and school furniture, alongside other Rotary clubs in the department of Copán. → The work in communities of Copán

Space Center Rotary Club, Texas. Eco-stoves for families in communities of Copán. → The stove project

Rotary World Help, British Columbia, Canada. Hospital equipment: the donation of over $350,000 to the Santa Rita Polyclinic. → The donation to the Polyclinic

District 4250 clubs. The network spanning Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize, where the club shares training, conferences, and support for new clubs — including helping with the charter ceremony for the Rotary Club of Gracias, Lempira.

Foundations and organizations

International Project Alliance (IPA). A coalition of more than eleven Rotary clubs from District 5050 (the Pacific Northwest of the United States), of which the club is the Honduran counterpart. Working in 38 communities across six fronts. → What is the IPA

World Vision. Water, sanitation, and hygiene in underserved communities across western Honduras; the documented joint effort reaches about 16,000 people.

Chispa Project. School libraries with Spanish-language books and teacher training. → The Chispa libraries

CAMO Foundation. International medical brigades in western Honduras.

Schools for Children of the World Honduras and ADASBA, with whom the club works on education and health partnerships alongside the Municipality of Copán Ruinas.

Habitat for Humanity, in the housing component of the communities of Copán work.

Local institutions

Municipality of Copán Ruinas, Municipality of Santa Rita, and the Copán Health Region. In practice, no health or infrastructure project holds together without the relevant public institution being involved from the start — they’re the ones operating the service once the project itself is over.

Looking ahead

The club continues to explore new partnerships. Between 2023 and 2025, the club worked with the Rotary Club of Fort Collins, Colorado (District 5440) on a global grant for women’s microfinance in Honduras. The project was registered and initial contributions were made, and while it didn’t reach full funding, the idea remains active — and the club is ready to pursue it again.

How to join this list

If your Rotary club, business, or organization is looking for a counterpart in western Honduras that knows the ground and follows through on what’s agreed, write to us. The club has been doing exactly that since 2004.