In 2006, Rocklin resident Carrie Beth Bowin was rushed to an emergency room in intense pain. At first, the doctors thought she might have cancer, but she was finally diagnosed with endometriosis, a chronic gynecological condition. She ended up needing seven major surgeries, and at one point, nearly lost her life. To make matters worse, her husband left her, and Bowin recounts the period as the lowest point in her life to date. “It was a horrible time,” she shares.

Understandably, the experience changed her entire perspective on life. “It made me think of orphan children around the world,” Bowin explains. “I thought, ‘I can bring joy into their lives, and maybe it will help heal me at the same time.’” She began volunteering for relief missions to countries such as Ecuador and Haiti, soon earning her emergency medical technician (EMT) license so she could help out in local clinics. In 2009, she founded For One Another, a non-profit organization that brings water-purifying systems to impoverished areas lacking clean water sources. Thanks to the support of the Loomis Rotary Club, Bowin has already made a difference in the lives of hundreds of people in Uganda and Kenya, and she plans to expand operations to more countries in the coming years. Looking back, Bowin is amazed at how much her life has changed since 2006. “I always tell people not to give up,” she says. “You don’t know what’s around the corner...beautiful things could be on the horizon.”

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For more about Carrie Beth Bowin and other local happenings and information, be sure to pick up this month's copy of Style – Roseville, Granite Bay, Rocklin edition.