At this weeks meeting, our Presenter David Dippie from Rotary Donations in Kind made the valid point that Rotary does not tell its story enough to the outside world. In doing this, much of our efforts remain unrecognised by both individuals and other organisations. That in turn means that forming meaningful relationships that can multiply our project outcomes through forming partnerships and attracting dynamic new members is pretty difficult. At a base level, having 55 like minded Rotarians from three Cluster Clubs at one meeting learning about a project is a great starting point to do more by combining our skills, workforce and money. Kick it out further, the District Conference and the Rotary Convention build on diverse opportunities within Rotary. As we heard at the meeting, Rotary cannot be all things to all people. The Tonga Dental project relied on a diverse field of organisations and relationships to make the project effective and sustainable. Now I am sure I will not get everyone, but lets say Rotary through the work of Dr David Goldsmith, a practicing dentist (54 years) and member of the Rotary Club of Ballarat West broke the ground with over 20 similar projects over many years. Bring a relationship with the Australian Dental Association which can source fit-for-service used equipment from their membership for overseas project. Use Diplomatic and local contacts to research needs, resources, workforce, sites, planning and permits, transport and potential outcomes. Find others already working in the same space, such as St John of God to find local expertise. Utilise a competent organisation to assemble and ship the equipment. (DIK) Build a team of experts from people both in and out of Rotary to deliver, install, train and initially operate the project to ensure its sustainability. Promote the project to the local community, the media, the people in power (Goverenment, Royal Family, High Commisioner and anyone else) to create awareness of the reasons the project exists, the needs that will be met and all that were involved. Rotarians do unbelievable projects and in this case Rotarian Dr David Goldsmith has shown exactly what having a vision, building the contacts, finding the resources and delivering a project is all about. 
The missing piece in the puzzle is publicity! Bringing a focus on what Rotary does, how we do it, who we work with, and the core values we all carry as volunteers in Rotary need to see a bit more light. Publicity is not a magic bullet that suddenly brings new members, partnerships and donations. Publicity is about building a picture, establishing trust and delivering a promise. I hope that everyone who reads this will share a little Rotary story with someone soon. For the record, David Dippie, apart from being dressed by the Tonga King's tailor, was also up for a test drive of the new dental facility. There is always a story to tell from an individual's point of view all the way. Our story, Rotary's story is all about individuals coming together to make the world a better place. We all bring different skills and connections which may eventually turn into a life changing project somewhere in the world. All we need to do is let the world know what Rotary can do. The next goals for the Tonga Dental Project are
•To ship a mobile Dental Clinic
•Another container early next year
•Another Volunteer Visit, probably May
One way to spread the word about what Rotary is doing locally and worldwide is through each club's weekly newsletter. Rotary is a global organisation that works through 46,000 local branches (Rotary Clubs).
The Rotary Club of Berwick has an outward-facing newsletter to showcase all the things that our club is involved with to educate, inform and inspire our members, partners, guests and bulletin subscribers. There is no reason to keep the joy, accomplishments, challenges and learning a secret!
