INTERNATIONAL SERVICE

Brighton has also played a significant role in the wider world of Rotary. Exchange students have been sponsored to many countries and overseas students have been hosted by Brighton Rotary families. The Club has also been involved in Rotary Scholarships, now known as Ambassadorial Scholarships. Ambassadorial Scholar Michelle is pictured with Past President Mark and Counsellor Milton.

Brighton played host to the first all-women Group Study Exchange team to visit District 9520 -- a team from Nigeria, in 1989. More recently the Club shared in hosting a GSE team from Kansas, in the United States. Support has also gone from Brighton to many overseas projects. Individuals have been sponsored to work on FAIM (now known as RAWCS) projects in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Contributions have also been made to community housing in Bangla Desh, a homes project in Fiji, and medical programmes in Africa and Bangla Desh. The Club has also been a strong supporter and regular contributor to The Rotary Foundation, including PolioPlus.

Interplast Australia visits many countries in South East Asia and the South Pacific to perform life changing plastic and reconstructive surgery for local people who don’t share the same medical privileges we take for granted in Australia.  Founded in 1983 by the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Interplast Australia is supported financially by Rotary in Australia. 

During the 1999/2000 Rotary year, the Club supported Interplast Australia by financing one operation whilst a team was in South-East Asia. The small township of Sangatta in East Kalimantan, Indonesia was selected and with the help of the local Doctor and the Interplast team the Clubs donation was able to be stretched to two operations. Both cases were in great need of the work the team performs. Ryan, a burns victim aged twelve, had his chest and chin fused together in an accident, making even eating difficult. Sayfudin, also a burns accident victim, had his left upper and lower leg fused into a bent position. Both operations were successful and as can be seen from the photographs below, the work of the Interplast teams is to be applauded.

Robyn Miller, a volunteer to the Interplast team, with Sayfudin (left) and Ryan before their operations

 ...and much happier after.

 

Brighton Rotarian Ray Jackson was specially selected to join a team of surgical professionals who will visited Tonga to carry out operations under the Interplast Australia program. 

The team Ray joined was made up of two surgeons; an anaesthetist and one nurse and worked in the area for a 2-week period from 23 September 2005.  They conducted operations on patients, delivering the Australian equivalent of $250,000 in medical assistance.  Whilst there, the team also provided the local doctors and nurses intensive training and workshops at two centres in Tonga, Nuku’alofa and Vava’u.  All members of the team give their services free.

Ray’s job was to observe at first-hand, the work of the surgical team.  He helped on the humanitarian side of the group’s activities such as convalescence support, liaison with families and, most important, bring back to Rotary in Australia direct information on the Interplast program in action enabling Rotary to further promote this valuable work.

The team takes all the required medical equipment, supplies and medicines with them to ensure everything is on hand at the time and ensuring no delays are experienced on beginning surgery.  Clinics are conducted immediately the team arrives to assess the number of patients and the required extent of the work.  Typically, 60 to 70 operations are performed during each visit.  The benefits of the operations are huge when you consider that in some societies children with facial deformities are social outcasts in their own communities. 

In the past year Rotary District 9520, which has 57 clubs in the city of Adelaide, country areas of South Australia and Victoria and the city of Broken Hill, has raised sufficient funds to sponsor the Interplast team to Tonga.  The cost of a typical trip is $32,000 and pays towards medical supplies, airfares and accommodation.

Please read further information about Ray's trip by clicking on this text to take you to the Interplast web site.