By Kath Gannaway
THE Rotary Club of Healesville has been recognised for its role in improving the lives of impoverished families in Uganda and Kenya.
The International Service shield was presented to the club at the District Governor’s changeover dinner in July for the Rotary Club of Healesville Milking Cow project.
Project leader Wilma Best thanked her “cow gang” and all who supported the project, including members of the community who assisted with fundraising to purchase cows for villages in Kampala in Uganda and Meru in Kenya.
Ms Best said Rotary, working with the Rotary Club of Kampala, handed over their first milking cow in 2007 and now had 25 cows providing milk and increasing the livestock in needy villages.
“This District 9810 award is an honour and our Rotary friends in Kampala, who have worked tirelessly to implement the project, will be delighted,” Ms Best said.
District Governor David Forster described the project as a “good, grassroots, self-sustaining project.”
He said the project – which helped widows and orphans in needy villages and improved the lives of poor people at a minimal cost – was a worthy recipient of the award.
The award, which covers Rotary clubs across nine municipalities, is highly valued by Rotarians.
Rotary International’s James Tugume and Kampala International Projects co-ordinator Jimmy Serugo sent their congratulations to their Healesville colleagues.
“There are Ugandans who lived for another day, and more, because of the projects you sponsored with your Rotary Clubs in Australia, and there are more who are depending on the cow project today,’ Mr Tugume said.
Ms Best said the project’s success was a credit to everyone involved.
“Without the support of the local and wider community, and other Rotary clubs, it would not be possible,” she said.
The club is planning a car boot sale or market stall over the next few months and a major raffle for Christmas.
In the meantime, donations, which are tax deductible, can be sent to Wilma Best, PO Box 216, Healesville, 3777, made out to Rotary Club of Healesville and marked ‘Cow Project’. Cash donations can also be left at Healesville Jewellers.
Ms Best and fellow Rotarian Sally Browne are this month travelling, at their own expense, to visit the project sites in Kampala and Meru.
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