Past Achievements of Taree Rotary Club

The Kokoda Memorial Hospital

The new facilities at Kokoda were financed by the Australian Government. The PNG Government provides staff and support. Rotary, and others, provided the labour. Both governments agreed the complex, comprising Hospital, Guesthouses, War Museum, Airport facility, roads and water supply, would recognise and be a tribute to those who suffered and died in the Kokoda Campaign in 1942.

Aid Posts have been provided along The Track. The School has been renovated and extended, as has the Hospital, now with 40 beds.

Over 300 Rotarians and others have volunteered and worked on the project. PDG Bob Young, a member of Taree Rotary Club, has played a major role in supervision and construction, making 20 trips to Kokoda. Seven other Taree Rotarians and six other local volunteers have worked at Kokoda.

The Memorial Facilities are making a substantial contribution to the quality of life of the people of the region.

Some other notable achievements of the Taree Club:

CLUB ACTIVITIES

Australian Rotary Health Research
Polio Plus (to rid the world of Polio by 2005)
Bowel Cancer Screening - saving lives
Youth Exchange Programmes
Establish Rotaract Club for 18 to 30 year old men and women
Construct and maintain Rotary Park at Chatham

CLUB PROJECTS

Bi-centennial Gardens in River Street
"Brushmen of the Bush" outback painting exhibition and sale
Support Acquatic Queen Quest
Rotary Food Van services
Financial support for Taree City Festivals, Surf Clubs, Schools and Youth Programmes
Hosted Vocational Excellence Award nights
Group Study Exchange programme
New beds for Bushland Place Retirement Village
Assistance for Wingham Hydrotheraphy Pool and Manning Base Hospital
Hosted a Rotary World President
Assistance to Manning River A & H Show Society

List prepared from material supplied by Peter Dahdah

Taree Club Members pack and despatch Bowelscan Kits to District Clubs

BOWELSCAN - WHAT IS IT?

Bowelscan In District 9650 commenced as a District Project to bring to the community’s attention, the need to have a bowel screening test conducted annually for all people over 40 years of age. Rotary conducts the awareness program and supplies a world standard public screening kit at a nominal cost to the public.
District 9650 commenced the program in 1987 and is the largest distributer of public bowel screening (Bowelscan) kits in Australia. Our District has held this title for the past 19 years, having distributed in excess of 450,000 to its community.

Extract from the NSW Cancer Council:

Bowel Cancer affects 4,000 people in NSW every year, 11,000 in Australia
1 in 19 men and 1 in 27 women will develop Bowel Cancer by the age of 75.
If diagnosed and treated early, it is completely curable.
There are more deaths in Australia from Bowel Cancer than motor vehicle deaths EACH YEAR.

Over the past 19 years

Our Rotary District 9650

has detected over 400 bowel cancers, and
over 1400 polyps in the screening program.

That means it’s possible over 1800 peoples lives have been extended by early detection.

The Rotary Club of TAREE make the Bowelscan Kits available in our area, mostly in Shopping Centres and Pharmacies, during the first full week in March each year. For all people over the age of 40 and at $6 a kit, you may save your own or your partner’s life.

‘Service above self’

Students taking part in a RYDA program

Rotary Youth Driver Awareness (RYDA) is one of our newest programs, instigated by PP Ken Patterson. This program aims to make young drivers aware of the dangers of driving. It commenced in Taree and is now being implemented throughout our District 9650. We are continuously running many other youth programs, such as the Rotary Youth Leadership Award (RYLA), Rotary Youth Program of Enrichment (RYPEN) seminars, all aimed at communicating to young people a series of ideas, problems and social experiences that assist them to form their own values and moral standards. Model United Nations (MUNA), an assembly which simulates the working of the United Nations, Public Speaking Competitions, and the National Youth Summer Science Forum (NYSSF), for science students who wish to pursue a career in science, have also been conducted.