ROTARY AUSTRALIA WORLD COMMUNITY SERVICE (RAWCS)
The Australian flavour of World Community Service
Contact information-
Chairman : PP Terry Lobban [Lyn] Bellerive [H] 6244 5605 [M] 0419 100 945
Rotary Australia World Community Service Ltd
(RAWCS), a comp
any established by Rotary in Australia to
support the delivery of international projects by
Australian Rotarians. District 9830 is in the Southern region, as shown on the map. RAWCS is a deductible gift recipient (DGR) so is able to offer tax deductible donations to support organisations with worthy projects outside Australia.
Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) program "Rotarians Against Malaria" continues distribution of bed nets and spraying. Latest newsletter.
Southern Region Districts are:
| District 9780 - 61 Clubs |
District 9790 - 60 Clubs |
District 9800 - |
| District 9810 - 52 Clubs |
District 9820 - 51 Clubs |
District 9830 Tasmania - 48 Clubs |
RAWCS four major activities are
Project Volunteers- supporting volunteers working in Australia and overseas
Safe Water, Save Lives - fostering projects providing water supplies
Donations in Kind - providing donated goods to developing countries
Rotarians against Malaria- helping to control malaria in South-East Asia
PROJECT VOLUNTEERS
Fiji Rotahomes Project - Koroipita
The vision for Koroipita is for "A peaceful community where residents break free from the cycle of poverty and create a sustainable future for themselves and their children".
The official opening of Phase 2 of the Model Town Project will be held on 22 October 2011 The ceremony will be held at Koroipita in the Great Hall of the People which was built by local people, Rotary and community volunteers.
District 9830 has been involved with the Project Volunteers, Rotahomes project near Lautoka, Fiji for a number of years. This is an on-going
project following the establishment of the first town Koroipita 1 (K1) of 85 homes. Koroipita 2 [K2] will involve
the construction of 150 simple, timber framed and steel clad 
homes each with a kitchen/shower and toilet block for displaced
families.
Together with two lots of funds already deposited in 2007 and March 2011 into the project bank account by Rotary International as part of the $USD300 000 3H grant, the New Zealand Aid Programmes (NZAP) grant funding agreement applied for in December 2010 by Project Director Peter Drysdale and the project staff, was at last signed on June 22nd 2011.
The NZAP funding will be provided over the next 5 years to completion of Koroipita Stage 2.
Photo shows construction in April 2008.
Tasmanian Rotarians have played a huge part in the past with this project. Pro-rata they have provided a large proportion of the 
volunteers in the past and it's great to see that teams are preparing to go again in 2010 to help with the start up of village K2.
Pictured is engineer John Yalden (left) and PDG Lew Pretorius checking the area for the road to the K2 village.
Find out more about the Fiji RotaHomes Project,
Full update report August 2011
Donations in Kind (DIK)
Books new Lease of Life -Updated May 2011
Rotary has developed a partnership with Tasmanian Public Libra
ries so that thousands of unwanted books are not pulped but sent to RAWCS Donations in Kind Projects. Rotary's Terry Lobban said 25 cubic metres of books are likely to be sent to projects in the South Pacific.
Pictured is State Library's Susan Witek and Terry Lobban, RAWCS Chairman with books bound for Fiji.
Under the agreement Rotary will take the items left over at the conclusion of the current process for unwanted books after suitable items have been repatriated to other libraries, offered to the public through book sales or identified as suitable for reuse in library programs.
Book collections in four locations have been established with the intention of the sorting and repacking. There are storage containers in the North and the South.
A Container to Fiji
Total shipping and land costs for a 40' container to Fiji is now held by RAWCS as project funding.
The container will carry playground equipment, Koroipita School Project items, a dental chair and hospital equipment for the Lautoka Hospital and chairs for the Great hall at K2 Koroipita Village (Rotahomes). There is also an organ for the great hall at Koroipita Village and Rotary Shoeboxes for distribution
The container has been moved to the Bellerive Yacht Club to facilitate final packing of vocational training items, lathes etc. The container will ship mid August 2011.
Pre 2011
Equipment donated during 2008 - 2009 for use overseas was from the Rotary Club of Bellerive. They collected school furniture, computers, books, shelving and storage units and filled a 40 foot shipping container which was sent to their Lautoka schools project in Fiji.
In addition, the container also carried bras for the “Project Uplift ” and X-ray equipment to go to the CWM Hospital in Suva. The X-ray equipment was organized by Peter Koens from the Rotary Club of Nunawading (Vic).
Boxes of babies and children’s clothing were donated by the Margate Second Hand Shop for the Cat’s Home and these were gratefully received at the baby clinic connected to the hospital. Also in the container were forty eight sewing machines donated by Stewart’s Sewing Centre in Devonport.
During 2010 the Rotary Club of Kingston is packing a 40’ container to go to Lautoka containing school items for the Lautoka Schools project. Two Fiji school staff has visited Tasmania as part of a study tour of Tasmanian schools.
Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM)
Malaria Bed Nets
Back in 2007 the Rotary Club of Launceston West , Launceston and District 9830 (DDF) provided $20,000 as seed funds for a 3H Grant of $200,000 to undertake a malaria reduction program in Honiara.
This application was successful but before the project started AusAid offered $20m to provide bed nets for the total populations of the Solomons and Vanuatu.
RAWCS accepted an invitation to build 20 warehouses to hold the nets and accommodation units for the educators and microscopists.
So the 3H Grant became part of a much bigger project to provide a bet net for every person in the Solomon Islands.
A joint venture was formed to undertake this project.
The Rotary Foundation to provide the grant of $200,000.
The Global Fund to pay for the materials to build the warehouses and accommodation units.
AusAid to provide funds for the bed nets.
RAWCS to build the warehouses and units.
The key feature of the project is a strong educational component to ensure that the people understand the reasons for the nets and the removal of the mosquito breeding areas. Without education the funds are probably wasted.
The distribution of the long life insecticide treated bed nets has progressed very well with more than 250,000 nets now in use in villages right across the country. Many villages have formed environmental committees to encourage people to clean up mosquito breeding areas. RAM has supplied tools (shovels, wheelbarrows, picks etc) to many of these committees. Donations from Clubs to the Adopt a Village program are providing the funds so vital to make this essential activity a reality.
Usually there is a spike in the number of detected malaria cases this time of the year. BUT the good news is that it has not happened this year so far.
The use of bed nets, intensive spray programs and the clean up of villages is paying dividends.
The World Health Organisation is monitoring this project closely. Other programs in Africa have had only limited success and this has been blamed on a poor educational component and lack of planning.
RAM is also working on projects in PNG, Timor Leste and Vanuatu.
Donations eligable for Taxation Deductability
Recently the Government has made some modifications to the way tax deductible donations can be used. To benefit from these exciting opportunities, the Board of RAWCS has acted to upgrade the Rotary Australia Overseas Aid Fund (OAF) to full charity status. More details from the RAWCS National website.
Looking for an Overseas Project?
Clubs in Tasmania are supporting a number of RAWCS projects.
One is the Nepal Gift of Sight project (Number 5 - 2008-09 ) “Gift of Sight” which is being considered by 4 Clubs. This requires funding to cover the cost of cataract surgery being performed by Nepalese surgeons.
A note from Janice Reid Rotary Club of Kogarah. "Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world and unemployment is 74% - believe me there is nothing there apart from some wonderful scenery and wonderful people. They are without electricity from 11 to 16 hours a day (depending on the time of year) and the roads are like dirt tracks.
The lenses are supplied by Tilganga Eye Hospital (Fred Hollows Foundation). Rotary International funded the setting up on the intra ocular lens laboratory with $100,000 which enabled the lenses to be produced in Nepal. Dr. Sandkur Ruit came to Sydney and lived with Fred in Randwick for 18 months studying his technique. It is now the most modern lens laboratory in the world. Another Rotarian who accompanied me to Hetauda February says she's never seen a finer example of Service above Self. I call them the unsung heroes of Rotary. They have two camps a year and for the past four years I have been funding one of them each year.
PDG Kevin Shadbolt has more information.
You can choose a project , examine the list of projects available on the RAWCS National website. Some projects listed may qualify for a Rotary Foundation Matching Grant.
Team selection criteria . Skills vary according to the program, however general good health, team participation capacities and cultural sensitivity is required
Some important current issues to
note;
All team members must pass a medical and a national
police check. Insurance issues are a current cause for concern. While
teams are fully covered for normal occurrences, our insurance may
not cover a range of pre-existing injuries/ailments. If team
members do have pre-existing conditions, insurance applications
must be submitted through the District Insurance Officer for
submission to our insurers. If cover is rejected, the team members
will have to arrange suitable insurance privately. If unable to do
so, they cannot be accepted for teams.
Clubs may nominate an approximate time for travel (month and year) and let the project co-ordinator allocate a project. If teams prefer a particular project or country, you may need to be flexible in terms of when you can be sent there.
Teams are usually 5 to 8 persons. Non Rotarians are welcome. Not all projects are suitable for ladies, project details should indicate this. At least one building trade person or close to it is needed in each team. There is usually on the ground supervisors, but some skills are necessary.
Up to date application forms should be downloaded from the RAWCS downloads section.
Once your interest has been narrowed down, you will deal with the RAWCS District 9830 Chair: PP Terry Lobban [Lyn] Bellerive [H] 6244 5605 [M] 0419 100 945
or the Southern Region Project Volunteers Co-ordinator PDG Lew Pretorius
Further Information
Rotarians against Malaria website here ....