Rotary Club Bali, Nusa Dua - Bali Advertiser

Our sincere thanks to the Bali Advertiser for continuing to provide opportunities to Rotary Clubs in Bali to present an overview of their activities, to a readership that may not be fully aware of the significant contribution Rotary strives to make to disadvantaged groups in our community.

Increased community awareness helps encourage new members to join Rotary and to contribute to the very significant programs of community support that they provide. This translates into increased funding support for the programs, and increased service delivery reaching a wider group of beneficiaries. So thanks, Bali Advertiser, for your support!

Rotary has a long history in Bali, with our own Rotary Club Bali Nusa Dua (RCBND) in its Silver Anniversary year, having been established 25 years ago in 1992, as the first English-language Rotary Club in Bali. There are now some 16 active clubs in Bali with more than 400 members, including 5 English- language clubs. Rotary clubs provide a diverse program of support for disadvantaged groups, generally following Rotary International’s preferred priorities for community support, but also responding to urgent local needs within the communities served by local Clubs.

Rotary International was founded in 1905, and now has more than 35,000 clubs and 1.5 million members in some 200 countries. Rotary’s values of service, fellowship, diversity, integrity and leadership, and the motto of Service above Self, provide a unifying basis for the effective participation of its Clubs in addressing Rotary’s six current priority themes: Promotion of peace; Fight disease; Provide clean water, sanitation, hygiene; Save mothers and children; Support education; Grow local economies.

Obviously, not all these themes are priorities for disadvantaged groups in Bali communities, but Rotary clubs round the Island continue to address a wide range of issues. In recent years the RCBND program has contributed more than US$60,000 per year in support of a number of major projects and long-running health and education programs, including:

Cleft lip and palate operations for children and young adults in Bali, NTB and NTT, in association with an International and local foundation Kolewa, which acts as a service provider, helping to manage the program and its implementation by experienced surgeons in selected local hospitals. Since the program’s inception in 1994/95, around 1600 patients have benefited from support by RCBND, contributing international Rotary clubs, and Rotary International itself. The program is continuing, and over the next 2 years we expect to contribute more than $125,000 for the ongoing program.

Since 1993 RC Bali has been involved with the Yayasan Puspadi Bali(formerly Yayasan YAKUM) to first train and more currently assist people in need of prosthetic limbs and prostheses such as splints and leg braces to economically disadvantaged individuals in Bali. Our current focus is to assist physically handicapped children at YPAC Foundation (foundation for physically and mentally handicapped children) in neighbouring Jimbaran.

For several years, RCBND has worked at the forefront in the fight against a rising HIV/AIDS problem in Bali, with support directed to HIV affected mothers and children. Our broad program of support has included: the training of mid-wives on prevention measures for HIV transmission from mother to child; training of counsellors working in NGOs, clinics and hospitals; provision of breast milk substitute to babies born to HIV mothers; financial support for the extremely effective Clinic Amerta which provides free medical service to patients with HIV and other diseases; provision of scholarships for HIV positive children from challenged socio-economic backgrounds to ensure they have access to schooling. Support is channelled through NGO service providers, such as Kerti Praja, to maximise the long-term effectiveness of the program.

More recently RCBND is joining with Rotary Clubs in Bali and Australia in providing support to the Bali Children Foundationfor their excellent program of scholarship support to the children of disadvantaged families in remote villages in Bali. Since its inception in 2005/6, BCF has provided scholarships for more than 2000 high school students, and is broadening its program to include Internships with Bali employers, and University scholarships.

Major programs are often delivered in the field by professional local and international service providers to maximise the impact and effectiveness of the funds provided. Club members are actively involved in program management and administration, but also in many smaller scale activities that bring immediate benefit, relief and smiles to deserving families in local communities. Examples include an Orphanage Christmas Party, an annual event held in partnership with the Grand Hyatt Bali for around 350 orphan and disabled children of all faiths. We have also equipped a facility used by the Yayasan Kasih Anak Kanker, providing care for children undergoing cancer treatment at Sanglah Hospital, with activities, toys and study materials provided by RCBND.

The Rotary Club Nusa Dua has been very effective for many years in reaching out to its local business and residential communities to raise the funds needed to support its program portfolio, and while this has required a lot of hard work, this has been more than compensated by the many opportunities for fellowship that arise during the annual program.

Our signature event and major fund-raiser has been the Annual Rotary Golf

Tournament held at Bali National Golf Club, of which

there have already been 17 staged and widely attended by the extremely supportive golfing and Rotary communities and friends. But there are many lower-key events throughout the year, and the fellowship within and between Rotary clubs provides a large part of the “glue” that is essential in building a strong, cohesive and effective organisation.

While we are an active Club, we have an important and continuing need for new members to help maintain these community support programs, to help build a better future for the many who remain disadvantaged and in need in Bali, and to add to the energy and diversity of our Rotary Club Nusa Dua.

Our Club meets every Thursday 12:30 – 2:00pm at the Bali National Golf Club in ITDC, Nusa Dua. Our Members are from a variety of countries and backgrounds, and we welcome existing Rotarians, potential new members, and indeed anyone who would like to know more about Rotary and/or the Rotary Club Bali, Nusa Dua. Please direct enquiries to: esecretary@rotarybali.org.

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