Internationally, we develop and implement large, impactful projects primarily, but not exclusively, on the needs of communities in South East Asia and the South Pacific Islands. We also provide emergency aid in natural disasters.
Our projects are aligned with one or more of the Seven Areas of Rotary Focus:
Rotary Melbourne strives to partner with local Rotary Clubs to ensure our projects are relevant, sustainable and impactful.
A container of medical equipment and supplies bound for the Children's Surgical Centre in Phnom Penh has arrived in Cambodia and is awaiting customs release, thanks to a District 9800 joint club project spanning eighteen clubs and organisations, including RC Melbourne. Surplus funds have gone to RC Phnom Penh for local logistics and priority purchases, with DIK Inc and project coordinator PP Bronwyn Stevens acknowledged for their work. A final report with photos will follow once the goods reach the hospital. This is a great example of multi-Club cooperation. Rotary Melbourne's contribution was $5,000.
How UNICEF Australia and Rotary are supporting communities in Kiribati to protect girls from cervical cancer. In Kiribati – a Pacific island nation just north of Samoa – a simple vaccine is helping to protect girls from cervical cancer and safeguard their futures.
Growing Futures in Timor-Leste is a Rotary project partnering with Rai Matak’s 50-year plan to plant 10 million trees, generate certified carbon income for farming families and communities, transforming rural livelihoods across Timor-Leste and restoring farmland from deforestation.
Our club's International Service Committee met following last week's lunch, continuing to build on our existing and upcoming projects impacting peace, education, health, water & sanitation, and the environment, focusing especially on our South East Asian and Pacific neighbours.
Rotary Melbourne proudly recognised Charlotte Arndt of Beaconhills College with the 2025 Student Community Service Award. Celebrated for her inspiring and sustainable Play It Forward Vic initiative, Charlotte has transformed a simple idea into a project bringing joy, opportunity, and connection to young athletes in Fiji and now Samoa.
September is Rotary International Education & Literacy Month, and our unstoppable Ruth Carlos-Martinez has just pulled off another inspiring mission. She personally collected 18 boxes of books from Brighton Library to be sent to Dangan, Philippines.
President José Ramos-Horta, Nobel Peace Laureate and President of Timor-Leste, spoke last week at at the Australasian Emission Reduction Summit in Melbourne. His message on courage, youth leadership and reforestation featured Rotary Melbourne’s burgeoning new partnership with Foundation Rai Matak and the Rotary Foundation - upscaling the proven WithOneSeed model to now grow 10 million trees in 10 years - helping 20,000 farming families and their communities plant trees, grow livelihoods through the sale of carbon credits, and shape a hopeful future in Timor-Leste.
Rotary Melbourne’s support is driving impact in PNG, funding Dr Arabella Koliwan’s community awareness campaign and Kate Datson’s clinical training in Central Province. St John’s next goal - supported by Rotary Melbourne - is a dedicated retrieval ambulance to deliver antivenom to remote areas.
Rotary Melbourne has received a carbon social certificate for offsetting our club’s carbon emissions for 2023-24 which were calculated as 14 tonnes of CO2e. This is signed by the President Jose Ramos-Hota. The Certificate, signed by the President Jose Ramos-Hota symbolises “ …. not only your (organisation’s) climate leadership, but also your support for local communities (in Timor Lesté) working to restore their forests and livelihoods.”
A powerful international Rotary collaboration including Rotary Melbourne and the Rotary Passport Club of Melbourne has brought education, menstrual health kits, and solar lights to displaced the indigenous Karen students in the hills of Thailand and Myanmar.
The Rotary Club of Melbourne is supporting life-saving innovation and frontline response through the PNG Snakebite Partnership.This article appeared in the new launch of RDU One.
Discover how a simple act of generosity from Rotary Melbourne and Australian students sparked a transformative education project in Dangan, Philippines - creating a new library, boosting literacy, and empowering young learners. See the impact of Rotary in action.
An uplifting update from the Thailand–Myanmar border, where Rotaractors from Siem Reap delivered health kits, solar lights, and education to Karen students - part of a Rotary Melbourne-supported international project.
Rotary Melbourne in conjunction with corporate member RedR Australia and with support from Australia Assists, Rotary, USAID and The Baker Foundation, helped deliver disaster management and humanitarian traiing t the Government of Tonga, NGOs and disaster response agencies.
Rotary Melbourne’s vital role in the PNG Snakebite Partnership was formally acknowledged in Port Moresby. Discover how your support is helping protect vulnerable children, train health workers, and deliver lifesaving treatment across Papua New Guinea. Plus, don’t miss news of an exciting upcoming speaker!
We packed 12,000 packs in 1.5 hours. At 6 meals per pack that means 72,000 meals are now ready for delivery for emergency or disaster relief to countries including Philippines, Ukraine and Sri Lanka.
Rotary Melbourne, alongside key partners, has enhanced water and sanitation facilities at Tuek Chum Secondary School in Cambodia. This WASH initiative includes a biosand water filtration system, a rubbish incinerator, and educational workshops to promote hygiene and health awareness among students and the local community.
At the end of the 1980s, more than 350,000 children were paralyzed by polio every year. Today, Rotary and its partners have reduced the incidence of polio by 99.9%. We are this close to eradicating it worldwide.
Amid widespread devastation and a dire water crisis in Magsikap Quezon, Rotary Melbourne and Greater Marikina Valley launched a transformative project. We installed a water distribution system for over 2,000 households and key community sites, while also introducing sustainable crop programs, offering immediate relief and long-term hope for the village's future.
In rural, mountainous Isabela, Philippines, Dangan Elementary School faces limited access to water, sanitation, and educational resources. Students fetch water daily, and literacy is hampered by a lack of supplies. Rotary Melbourne together with a Melbourne Primary school is transforming lives by providing clean water, a new library, 380+ books, teaching aids, and sustainable gardens. This project fosters health, education, and resilience, creating a legacy of hope and opportunity for the future.
Since 2011, Professor Jeremy Oats AM led 17 volunteer VTT visits to remote regions of Timor Leste, typically of 6-10 days duration, to deliver up-skill training to 360 midwives/nurses and 162 doctors.
A gamechanging new WASH project at Agkawayan Elementary School in the Philippines, brings vital toilets and wash stations to boost hygiene and health. With strong community support, this initiative of Rotary Melbourne and the Rotary Club of Lubang Island transforms lives and protects children from disease in Agkawayan.
