Chelsea James – Paul Harris Fellow

In honour of her humanitarian efforts Chelsea James has been awarded a Paul Harris fellowship by the Rotary Foundation UK. Six year old Chelsea, a student at Windsor Elementary School, was recognized for her support of the Roll Out The Barrel Trust which delivers water barrels to families in drought stricken Kenya. The use of a water barrel relieves women and children from the daily hardship of carrying water which may weigh as much as they weigh themselves.

When Chelsea and her dad talked about how much difference a rolling barrel would make to a family, she enlisted her own family to help raise $600, enough money to buy rolling barrels for 10 families in Kenya. With the help of her family Chelsea made a video showing how a little girl with a rolling barrel could transport more water than she could even pick up if she had to carry it in a jug. Her father helped her set up a gofundme page https://www.gofundme.com/rolloutthebarrel which quickly surpassed her goal and continues to grow and provide more and more rolling barrels. You can read more about Roll Out The Barrel at www.rolloutthebarrell.org .

Chelsea's efforts caught the attention of Adrian Brewer, founder and CEO of Roll Out The Barrel Trust which is largely supported by Rotary in UK. Adrian travelled from the Isle of Wight, UK to Windsor to recognize Chelsea's contribution. This is the first time Roll Out The Barrel has awarded a Paul Harris fellowship and Chelsea is the first person to be so honoured.

In the photo L-R: Jason Trider and Les Reid (Rotary Club of Windsor), Luke MacDonald and Alex Handyside (Rotary Club of Halifax Harbourside), Paul Harris Fellow Chelsea James, Debbie Fredericks (Chelsea's teacher), Adrian Brewer (Roll Out The Barrel founder and CEO), Mike Knowles (Principal, Windsor Elementary School), Cindy Bezant-Titus (Rotarian, E-club of Atlantic Canada), and Ed James (Chelsea's Dad).