Projects

Projects

Making a Difference!

starfishAfter a massive storm thousands of starfish were stranded on a beach and a little girl, seeing them stranded, began to throw them back into the water one by one. As she did so an old man walked by.
"Little girl, little girl, can't you see there are thousands of starfish stranded. You'll never make a difference," he said.
"I can for this one," she replied, throwing another starfish back into the water.

This is the philosophy Ku-ring-gai Rotary. The challenges locally and globally are huge, but by rolling up our sleeves and using the Rotary network which ensures every dollar goes where it's supposed to we can make a whole host of small differences and those small differences add up. For example, we assisted in the first East Timor Rotary Youth Leadership Program. One of our members helped oversee the first course in Dili. We also sent two young Australian volunteers to Uganda where, with the support of the local Rotary Club of M'kono they helped the local people build a much needed school.

"We can for this one."

Select a project category below to view description of each project

Ophthalmic Project

Philippines/Griffith Ophthalmic Project

Philippines

  • In 2016, Turramurra Rotarians agreed to support Professor Geoffrey Painter’s voluntary ophthalmic work in the Philippines.
  • The team was led by Associate Professor Painter and Ms Kerrie Legge and was undertaken in Santiago, 350 km north of Manilla. About 5% of residents in this area are visually impaired, double the national average.
  • By receiving a Rotary Foundation Global Grant, and partnering with the Rotary Club of Midtown Santiago and the Adventist Hospital Santiago, it was possible to acquire diagnostic equipment, train screeners and provide transport for the team. The project budget was AU$100,000.
  • In 2019, 1,022 people received essential eye surgery.
  • Covid caused the Philippines project to be placed on hold.

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Griffith

  • It was decided to investigate the possibility of running a similar project in NSW with an indigenous community.
  • With the help of MP Alister Henskins, NSW Health and the Murrumbidgee Local Health District, the ophthalmic project was launched in the Griffith area in 2021 with the challenge to reduce the waiting times for the indigenous communities who were facing a two year wait for screening.
  • Stakeholders in the project are the Griffith Aboriginal Medical Service (GAMS), the local Health District, local Rotary Clubs, Griffith Base Hospital, St Vincent’s Clinic and local councils.
  • Training of screeners took place over one year at GAMS.

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Achievements

  • Twenty Cert 4 officers have been trained to screen for eye disease.
  • A regular monthly service is provided by three practitioners.
  • Patients do not have to travel to Wagga for treatment.
  • Waiting list for public patients reduced from approximately 18 months to four weeks.
  • The GAMS Clinic in Lake Cargelligo can now undertake eye checks.
  • GAMS arranges transport for Aboriginal patients.
  • Surgical facilities have been established at the St Vincent’s Eye Clinic.
  • Ophthalmic surgery has been reintroduced into Griffith after a 17 year absence.

Future Goals

  • Obtain a portable Retinal Camera - $15,000.
  • Addition of an eye check to the health passport in 2024.
  • Statewide eyesight screening for preschoolers.

 

Bangladeshi Food Bank

Dr Gulam Khandaker, a club member, is originally from Bangladesh. He worked with the club to set up projects in rural Bangladesh with a group of families that all have children with cerebral palsy. An infrastructure program providing ramps for wheelchair access ran for two years followed by a rehabilitation project for another two years.

The Bangladesh cerebral palsy register established that the children and their families live well below the poverty line. The fathers of those children work as daily wage earners - day labourers, rickshaw pullers, van drivers, weavers - or farmers. When the Covid pandemic hit, suddenly the fathers in this group had no work and families were in dire need of food. Due to the outbreak in Bangladesh, the country locked down with strict restrictions on non-essential movements. Without income sources, the families were struggling to provide meals for family members.

The charity, CSF Global, organised a Food Bank Program for these vulnerable people. Each food pack contained food for a family of five for two weeks at a cost of A$30.Members of the Turramurra Rotary Club donated $1500 raised from a "Cakeless Cake Stall", and donated a further $16,000 to the Food Bank.

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Manus Soap Project

The people of Manus Province in Papua New Guinea have a poor health service, minimal communication with the outside world and a low standard of living. The onset of the Covid-19 pandemic put them in an extremely vulnerable position.

Soap is an essential part of Covid safety precautions but soap is a luxury item for the Manus Province people. Turramurra Rotary Club honorary member, Lynne Shori, initiated a project, in conjunction with Wantaim PNG, to provide four tranches of soap, eight months supply, to every household. As culturally relevant messaging was severely lacking, flyers in local language were delivered across Manus Province with the support of government teams.

Turramurra Rotary provided $6,000 of club funds and achieved a matching District Grant of $6,000, and then the club also donated over $18,000 from club reserves. The project has led to recognition of Wantaim PNG by the World Health Organisation, who are now offering assistance to Wantaim PNG for further health projects in the Manus Province.

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Hamamas Meri = "Happy Woman" (Days for Girls)

 

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The aims of this project are:

- To ensure the women and girls of the Admiralty Island group, including Manus Island, don’t have to miss days of school or work every month.  

-To provide pre-prepared, sustainable female health kits, prepared by the Turramurra Rotary team, for the local women to sew together and distribute to their local schools and villages. The sale of these kits locally gives the local women an ongoing source of funds and social standing in their communities for ongoing female health education.

The project pilot, sponsored by the Rotary Club of Turramurra and Wantaim PNG, started in June 2017. Initially, a team of Turramurra members, partners and friends prepared 300 kits, trained by a ‘Days for Girls’ Team Leader. The kits were then transported to PNG by the Australian Air Force.

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In October 2017, a small team of volunteers trained the local women of Manus in female health education and the sewing together of the kits for distribution to local girls and young women via local village networks.manuswomensewing02

After the success of the pilot, monthly workshops, for cutting and sewing of fabric, have been regularly held in Turramurra. The team of volunteers maintains a supply of the pre-prepared kits to send up to the Manus Group for finishing and distributing.

 

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Funding has been sourced from Turramurra Rotary Club fundraisers and grants.

The bonus of this project is the opportunity for local volunteers to work together in a convivial group environment knowing they are making a difference to the health and lives of disadvantaged women and girls in Papua New Guinea - particularly in the Manus Island group.IMG_0588manus3.jpeg

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Turramurra's Hamamas Meri team celebrated on 20/5/2023 as a milestone was reached in the feminine health project. All our workshop materials were packed up and were collected by Wantaim PNG founder Lynne Shori.

The aim nearly 6 years ago was to assist the team in Manus to be able to drive the project themselves, up-skilling women in the Admiralty Islands. It was thrilling to hear that the team in Manus is now ready for the challenge. What a fantastic group of women (and men) and friends of Turramurra Rotary who have delivered a great range of skills and time to help this project get off the ground and progress. We now wish the women of Manus every success.

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Celebrating the end of a successful international project.

Sincere thanks to: Turramurra Rotary Club; Manly Rotary Club; Wantaim PNG; Hamamas Meri Team; Days for Girls; Pymble Ladies College (for providing a local workshop venue); Australian Government (DFAT grant); Steamships Trading Company (grant)

Contact: Pam Pritchard,, Mobile phone: 0411 335 299 email:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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