On Saturday 6th August, a small band of Rotarians made a difference.Rotarians from Bunyip-Garfield, Pakenham and Berwick collected desks and chairs from two schools in Tynong for use in overseas schools. The desks and chairs were in excellent condition and will be well received by whichever school in whichever country they are assigned to. The donating schools made a reasonable contribution to cover some of the frieght costs associated with sending the furniture to an overseas school(s) rather than paying more to dump it into a landfill. Nothing comes for free these days, and asking for a financial contribution to redistribute donated goods keeps the service viable and sustainable. It also adds value to the goods by deciding if the goods are fit for reuse in their original form, better off in a landfill or recycled into something else.
The desk and chairs were delivered to Devon Meadows and reloaded onto a truck to take them to Rotary Donations in Kind in Footscray. It was a whole truck by the end of loading!
The load was transported to Rotary Donations in Kind in Footscray and re-stacked onto pallets. For those who have not been to DIK, it is not the pretty drop-and-go destination you might think it is. When we go, we are after NEWS! And news we got. An update on the Tonga Dental project. Information about the complexities of Rotary Club amalgamations, Word about ESRAG and how Rotary can be more effective in the environment. River Keepers, new ideas, the scope for projects, freight and transport costs and all over a great cup of coffee and a biscuit!
On this trip, we had a backload. Who doesn't love a backload when the fuel costs and tolls are so high? This backload consisted of a hospital bed, a patient lifter, a wheelchair and a portable toilet. The backload was delivered to a home used to care for NDIS patients in Beaconsfield. The equipment cost would be over $10,000 if bought new, but it was delivered free not 500 meters from our meeting place in Holm Park.
This was a day of Rotary in Action, making a difference to people in our community and abroad in need using the resources that Rotary has available. The Rotary Club of Berwick is a member of Rotary Donations in Kind Inc and is part of their Board, along with other Rotary Clubs, mostly in District 9800. This day out will make a big difference to many countries but our small backload made a huge difference to Lachie's carers. "The equipment will improve the health and wellbeing of support workers who until now had no choice but to manual handle in meeting Lachie's care needs".
What a difference Rotary can make when Rotarians take action.
I was grateful for the experience. I have never been to an NDIS house and met the carers and patients that need help. Every step a Rotarian takes outside their own world is a step closer to seeing opportunities to help others from the other side of the world or just metres from our Club meeting room. Thank you to District 9820 DIK Chair Roger Thornton for arranging (and lifting), Bill and John from RC Bunyip-Garfield for loading and transport as well as John Boon from RC Pakenham for loading. What a team.