Colonel Bob Swope

In 2005, the Elizabethtown Rotary Club made the decision to undertake an international water project. At the time, Colonel Bob Swope had no prior experience with such projects but was drawn by the prospect of travel. He volunteered and found himself as the project team leader. As the team began to understand the scope of the project, they realized the club would need significant assistance. They formed a partnership with the Elizabethtown First Presbyterian Church, as several members, including Colonel Swope, belonged to both organizations. The church’s pastor, also a team member, established a connection with Living Waters for the World, a mission component of the Synod of Living Waters, Presbyterian Church USA. This organization provided the essential expertise the team needed.

Living Waters for the World, specializes in training and equipping volunteer teams for international water purification projects. Colonel Swope and a team of six attended their “Clean Water U” training at Camp Hopewell in Oxford, Mississippi. During the training, they learned about the immense suffering caused by the lack of safe drinking water in many developing countries, including high infant mortality rates and deforestation resulting from the need to boil water. They were taught how to install a water purification system and train local operators to manage it. A crucial aspect of the training also involved instructing communities on basic health and hygiene practices to prevent contamination of the purified water and to ensure its proper use. As Living Waters for the World was just beginning to send teams to Guatemala, the team decided to make that their project location.

After two and a half years of extensive planning, preparation, and training, the team, led by Colonel Swope, made its first trip to Guatemala in 2008. They installed water purification systems in two remote mountain villages in the department of Huehuetenango. These systems can take almost any raw water source and purify 300 gallons per hour, serving communities of up to 5,000 families. The process is chemical-free, with water being pumped through three stages of filtration and then disinfected by ozone. The purified water is then distributed in reusable 5-gallon bottles.

The experience of working with indigenous communities, witnessing their profound needs, and being welcomed with such incredible hospitality by people who have so little, was life-changing for the team members. They quickly felt a calling to do more than just the initial two systems. The translators from that first trip connected them with two more communities in need, and the team committed to returning the following year. Seventeen years and over 35 trips later, they continue to travel to the same region of Guatemala, with new communities being identified through word of mouth. To date, they have installed 31 systems and plan to install the 32nd in February 2026. It is estimated that approximately 165,000 people have benefited from these systems. The impact is most significant on children, as one in five without access to clean water may not survive to their fifth birthday.

A key part of the agreement with their Guatemalan operating partners, who are mostly churches, is a commitment to return annually for at least three years. This ensures additional training, system maintenance, and any necessary assistance to guarantee sustainability. The goal for each project is to become fully self-sustainable within three years, a goal that most have achieved. Colonel Swope and his team have developed strong friendships with their partners, maintaining relationships far beyond the initial three-year partnership term.

Colonel Bob Swope was nominated to become a Kentucky Colonel by his father and he received his commission earlier in his career, shortly after he became the youngest Ford dealer in the nation. His father would later tell him and, “I always knew you would do well. I hoped you would do good”. Becoming a Kentucky Colonel gave him another avenue for doing good and making his dad proud. He considers it an honor and privilege to be commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel along with so many distinguished people around the world. He supports the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels because he believes strongly in its values of good will and fellowship and because of the Good Works Program’s great work across the commonwealth.