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.
Papua New Guinea has the highest per capita death rate from snakebite globally, 60% of cases involving children. Rotary Melbourne and the PNG Snakebite Partnership helps reduce snakebite fatalities through provision of ventillators, solar powered refrigeration for anti-venom, and training of healthcare workers.
The Rotary Give Every Child A Future Centenary Project is a joint project between the Rotary Clubs of Melbourne, Sydney, Auckland and Wellington - the first four Rotary Clubs chartered in Australasia in 1921.
In conjunction with UNICEF, the project's goal is to immunise 100,000 children and adolescent girls in 9 Pacific Island Countries. The countries are Cook Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
In 2017, Rotary Melbourne signed an MOU with the Minister for Education in Timor Leste for the publication and shipment of a series of books written by Kirsty Sword Gusmao, Timor’s first lady to enhance the opportunities for school children in Timor to have access to publications in Tetun and Portuguese for reading. Several books were written, published, and sent to Timor via Donations In Kind (DIK).
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 has partnered with our longstanding friends of the Rotary Club of Lubang Island on an important WASH sanitation project in Agkawayan, Philippines.
ROMAC provides surgical treatment for children from our neighbouring Oceanic countries in Australia and NZ, in the form of Life Giving and/or dignity restoring surgery not accessible to them in their home country.
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.
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.
Rotary Donations in Kind Store (DIK) Footscray. This Rotary created warehouse is a hub for collecting goods donated in bulk such as hospital beds and equipment, and school desks for charitable purposes. Rotary volunteers support DiK store by helping to sort and load containers for shipment to local and off-shore projects.
For more information on how to become involved, contact the club office.
The Rotary Clubs of Melbourne, Australia and Osaka, Japan have been sister clubs since 1978. Together we continue to work on a variety of projects to make a difference in the world, as well as friendship and young leader exchanges.
Rotary Melbourne and Ortigas Center Rotary provided two Skyhydrant water filtration units to the rural villages of Baroro and Pandan in northern Philippines.
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.
Rotary awards up to 100 fully funded fellowships for leaders to undertake university study in peace and conflict resolution.
A fire broke out at the Empowering Youth in Cambodia Youth School - and Rotary Melbourne stepped in to help.
Typhoon Mangkhut, known in the Philippines as Typhoon Ompong, was a strong typhoon which struck the Northern Philippines islands on 14 September 2018 with disastrous flooding. Thanks to Bob Glindemann, Ruth Carlos Martinez and Members, a call to action was undertaken successfully.
Rotary Melbourne in conjunction with Stewart Craine's Village Infrastructure organisation, helped provide solar power to remote villages on Tanna in Vanuatu to provide lighting, to mill crops and to recharge mobile phones.
Rotary Melbourne in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Lucena Central in Phillipines helped build a water supply plant and distribution system to provide clean, potable water to the Barra community.
