Beaufort Rotary Clubs Launch Campaign to Bring Safe Drinking Water to Sister City in Ukraine

Beaufort’s three Rotary clubs have launched a campaign to raise $20,000 to replace a failing water tower that provides clean drinking water to approximately 15,000 residents of Beaufort’s sister city of Ostroh, Ukraine. Through Rotary’s matching grant program, local donations could ultimately generate approximately $72,000 to complete the project.

The effort builds on the sister-city partnership established by the City of Beaufort and Ostroh in March 2022, just weeks after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Since then, Beaufort residents, the City of Beaufort, and the Rotary Club of Beaufort, Sea Island Rotary Club, and the Rotary Club of the Lowcountry have worked together to provide emergency medical supplies, ambulances, generators, heating equipment, and other humanitarian assistance. Together, they have delivered more than $135,000 in aid to Ostroh.

Now, the partnership is shifting from emergency relief to rebuilding critical public infrastructure.

The Rotary project focuses on replacing a deteriorating municipal water tower serving the nearby village of Hremyachy. Unlike many American water towers that simply store water, the Ukrainian facility is an essential part of the community’s water treatment system, incorporating filtration and iron-removal equipment. The aging infrastructure serves not only Ostroh’s permanent population of about 15,000 residents, but also thousands of displaced Ukrainians who have sought refuge there since the war began.

When Beaufort Rotarians met by Zoom with municipal leaders and engineers in Ostroh during the summer of 2025, they asked one simple question:

“What is your greatest need?”

The answer was immediate: replace the failing water tower.

Since then, Beaufort Rotary leaders have worked directly with Ukrainian engineers and municipal officials to develop a practical plan. The project will be supervised in Ukraine by the Rivne Rotary Club. Rotarians Olha Novytska and Borys Bodnar have extensive experience managing international Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) projects in cooperation with the World Health Organization and other humanitarian organizations, providing confidence that the project will be carefully managed and completed successfully.

The three Beaufort Rotary clubs hope to raise $20,000 locally. Rotary District 7770 is expected to provide matching funds, after which the Rotary Foundation may provide an additional global grant match. Ukrainian Rotary partners are also raising funds that may qualify for additional Foundation support, potentially increasing the total resources available for the project.

“When we asked the leaders of our sister city what they needed most, they didn’t ask for something extraordinary,” said Rotary project leader Baxter McLendon. “They asked for something every family deserves—clean, safe drinking water. That’s a need the people of Beaufort can understand, and it’s one we can help meet. Every donation brings us one step closer to giving thousands of Ukrainians a dependable source of safe water.”

Although municipal officials identified several important infrastructure needs—including repairs to leaking sewage collectors and renovations of schools and a kindergarten—the Beaufort Rotary clubs chose the water tower because it offers the opportunity to make an immediate and lasting difference in the lives of thousands of people. If additional funds are raised beyond the amount needed for the water tower, Rotary hopes to assist with repairs to deteriorating sewage collection lines.

How You Can Help

The Beaufort community is invited to become part of this international effort.

Every contribution, regardless of size, will help provide a dependable source of clean drinking water for approximately 15,000 Ukrainians. Through Rotary’s grant process, local donations may be multiplied several times over, dramatically increasing their impact.

Please make checks payable to Rotary District 7770 Foundation and mail them to:

Rotarian Paul WalterRotary District 777083 Club Course Drive
Hilton Head Island, SC 29928

The Rotary District 7770 Foundation is an IRS approved nonprofit and any donations tax-deductible. 

Community members seeking additional information may contact any of Beaufort’s three Rotary clubs.

As the people of Ostroh continue to endure the hardships of war, Beaufort’s sister-city partnership stands as a reminder that friendships between communities can cross oceans and national borders. Together, the people of Beaufort have an opportunity to help provide one of life’s most essential needs—safe, reliable drinking water—and to demonstrate once again that compassion and service know no boundaries.

Your $100 Can Become $360

• $25 donated → up to $90 available for the project
• $100 donated → up to $360
• $500 donated → up to $1,800