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Colin Byron from the Rotary Club of Greater Dandenong and District Chairman of Romac - District 9820 - 2016-2017.Colin began his talk by thanking Gus Dominguez and President Ricardo Balancy for inviting him to speak at our meeting.
The Romac programme is so good for our community and Rotary.
Romac has been going since 1988 and part of Colin’s role is raising awareness and also to try to enlist Clubs and Rotarians potentially to play a part with host families to those who are in need of support because of health issues that are very serious and Romac plays a vital role in assisting them.
District 9820 is a very big District and Rotary Clubs are assisting with donations and now donations are coming from private sources which is excellent. We need to raise approximately $800,000 per year to keep this program viable, Colin said. He gave an excellent presentation with various slides and a few are copied into this document for more information.
At the end of Colin’s presentation Rotarian Gary Castricum gave Colin a gift and thanked him for such an informative talk.
ROMAC People
Rotarians volunteer their time and expertise to run this Rotary program that encompasses all the Rotary Districts of Australia and New Zealand. Assisted by many eminent Australian and New Zealand surgeons who generously donate their time for the treatment of our patients, this humanitarian program has provided life giving surgery to over 400 children with urgent medical treatment that was not available to them in their own country.
Our Team
First and foremost, ROMAC is a not-for-profit humanitarian organisation being managed and operated entirely by volunteers. We have no paid staff, no leased offices and minimal fixed costs. Every dollar donated goes to giving life to children, and our basic expenses are recovered from our investments.
Volunteers in island communities of the Southwest Pacific identify and communicate with our potential patients, organise medical checks, help with passport and visa applications and ensure they are on time to board their plane.
We have almost 200 unpaid volunteers in Australia and New Zealand who, together with other Rotarians, medical personnel, and friends of Rotary, support ROMAC patients and their families in many practical ways.
Every day, somewhere in Australia or New Zealand, a Rotarian or a ROMAC supporter performs a voluntary act of kindness and support for one of our patients.
Objectives
- Give hope and restore dignity to transform a child’s life
- Provide the best possible surgical and medical expertise
- Engage Rotary and the community at all levels to fund and support surgery for children
- Maintain and improve the quality of the management process and ensure high quality governance of the ROMAC program.
These three articles are taken from the ROMAC brochure and you can find information on the following website. ROMAC is Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children – www.romac.org.au
