Australian
Rotarians recycle goods to help islanders
For the past 12 years,
Rotarians in northeast Australia have been shipping donated health and
educational supplies to needy South Pacific communities, everything from
medicines and hospital linens to school desks and computers. In December
2002, they reached a milestone when the 300th container left the
1,000-square-meter (approximately 3281 square-foot) building near
Brisbane that serves as the warehouse for the Donations-in-Kind network
(DIK) of Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS).
"It's impossible to
put a value on the goods dispatched but A$30 million [more than US$17
million currently] for the 3,000 tons of goods is not far from
reality," says Bill Waterfield, a past governor of District 9600
who chairs the DIK Committee which runs the operation for the
five-district Northern Region of RAWCS. "The bulk of the activity
falls to Brisbane districts 9600 and 9630, but goods and at times
finance come from clubs in other districts. For example, three road
containers of hospital beds and equipment came to us from Cairns, 1,800
kilometers [1,118 miles] away, which were then loaded into containers
for shipping to the islands."
Waterfield ticks off a
slew of items shipped over the years, among them 3,500 hospital beds,
37,750 boxes of books, and 37,500 boxes of medical supplies. He says
every container carries some wheelchairs, which volunteers equip with
fat wheels suitable for rough ground. A recent shipment included two
boats for use as water ambulances. Vehicles and kit homes have also
found their way into shipments, most of which go to Papua New Guinea and
the Solomon Islands, part of District 9600.
Calling DIK "the
biggest and most effective 'hands-on' project the district has ever
taken on board," Waterfield says that Rotarians and others provided
5,000 hours of volunteer labor in the past six months alone. Key to the
effort are the "gray brigade" of 20 to 30 volunteers, most of
them retirees, who unload, sort, inventory, and pack goods at the
warehouse every Thursday, and another group that helps on Saturdays.
RAWCS counts among its vital volunteers pharmacists, forklift drivers,
and computer repairers.
All the goods shipped are
consigned to Rotary clubs in developing countries, which distribute them
to hospitals, aid posts, village clinics, schools, and public libraries.
Because all the help at the donating and receiving end is voluntary,
"our major problem is funding to pay the shipping costs," says
Waterfield. "We need US$60,000 a year. The Rotary Foundation has
assisted with Matching Grants to participating clubs." A few
corporate sponsors also help.
(as published in the Rotary News Basket 15 January 2003) |
