Rotary Keilor East members are dedicated to projects that enhance lives and communities locally and in developing countries. You cacn see the range of our work on this page. We are keen to build up these projects and create new ones, but for that we need more volunteers willing to give some of their time, skills and energy. So we're appealing to community members in Keilor and Moonee Valley -- not just to our own members - to lend us a hand. If you'd like to help, and enjoy making new friends - use our blue Contact button at top right-hand of the page. Thanks, David Dippie, President.
Our club is sponsoring a second university student in Cambodia, a poor but diligent girl Sokhey. Here's her letter to us (slightly edited) about her life and studies. Note her excellent English. Sokhey pictured below, tallest in back row.
Hello Rotary Club of Keilor East!First of all, I am delighted at the surprising news that you are my new sponsor. I cannot describe my feelings and emotions now but I will tell you what I can tell. I want to meet you in person and say thank you to you again. I would like to share with you about myself, my family’s situation, my study, as well as my current positions at Cambodia Rural Students Trust (CRST).
I am 19 years old. I have three older sisters and a brother. My family is very poor. I wanted to continue my studies but my family didn’t have enough money. They have no specific jobs. They are just farmers but they don’t know much about growing plants well. My older sister had already married once but she now broke up and is living with my parents. Moreover, my father has health problems so he cannot work hard. My mother works on the farm every year. We do not have enough rice to eat per year; therefore, we need to borrow some from our neighbours and pay them back after we harvest. My mother urges me to study because she believes education can change my life.
Furthermore, I applied for a scholarship from CRST twice before, in 2020 and 2021. I wanted to learn, I wanted to change my life, and I loved to help other people around me. When I joined CRST, I had a lot of opportunities to volunteer. I actually changed my life a lot . I grew up to be an independent girl and walk in the right path.
Additionally, I studied at Future Bright International School when I joined CRST, one of the outstanding private schools in Siem Reap. I was not a good student in the class because I did not have enough time to study. However, I didn’t give up and instead, I worked extremely hard on studying. Finally, I got grade C which was considered a good grade during the national exam of my high school. I was so proud of myself even though it was not the result I preferred, but I had already done my best. It felt fantastic to get it.
Now, I am studying an English program called IEAP at Pannasastra University of Cambodia (PUC). This class is organized to make students ready to be freshmen and this is an English-based university, so we need to understand English well. I started to study there at beginner level and now I am studying level one. I got grade B for the final test of beginner level. 
I was promoted to be a Campus External Team Department member after I graduated from high school. I work with the external (non-NGO) team members on high school students’ meals. I also work on campus with a caretaker and security guard company. And I work with restaurant owners to make food for high school students. One more thing, I was promoted to be a "Project G --Empowering Girls" production team member. I am being trained now and I have more responsibility.
Best regards,
Sokhey
Best regards,
Sokhey
Imagine a primary school with 122 kids trying to study in open shacks, tumbledown buildings, no toilets and not even a tap for washing hands. The desks and seats are in poor shape and there's not nearly enough for the kids. That's the situation at Sulilaren Primary two hours drive west of Dili in Timor Leste.
And Rotary Keilor East is doing something about it, combining with other Rotary and aid groups. The $90,000 project in Bobonaro District involves getting a replacement school built, with four classrooms, a teachers' room, five toilets, tap-water and new desks, chairs, exercise books and pens. Half the funding has been raised already, mainly by the Build It Well charity.
Timor Leste is the poorest country in our region. It knows that better education - especially for girls - is the key to development. It wants more kids to get schooling and stay at school longer, but the budget for education isn't big enough to make that a reality.
The Australian-based groups lending a hand with Sulilaren Primary includes volunteers from Spend It Well, which gets schools built efficiently and cheaply; Donations in Kind (West Footscray) which recycles donated furniture and equipment; Rotary Foundation which helps fund the container shipments; and Keilor East and other Rotary clubs.
"When we work together great things happen," says Keilor East Rotary's president David Dippie.
Pictures: Top - the original school shack. Middle: First renovations
Bottom: Renovations well under way
Phil O'Brien from RC Keilor East and Nola Spicer from Essendon RC
presented three bursaries of $1500 each to hardworking and talented students of the visual arts at St. Bernards College, Essendon on December 12.
Students who excel at school often receive awards and support, particularly if they have sporting process. However, students with artistic flair are often overlooked. We had great support from St Bernards College for our Art Show last year which included displaying artwork from local High Schools. www.monneevalleyartshow.com.au
These students were selected by the Art Coordinator of the College.
They are:
# Evander Tosone (Year 9), completing Art and Visual Communication and Design next year for year 10
# Jacob Menniti (Year 9), also an ongoing art student. He worked backstage for the ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ musical and has been a strong advocate for art/s at St Bernard’s College.
# Joel Hanness (Year 10). Planning for art in Years 11-12. For his bursary application "album cover", created a fully rendered 3D model in a CAD program and designed a webpage to support it.
The presentation was part of the Years 9 to 11 Awards night for students who excelled across all grades and subjects at the College.
This was the second year of bursary funding. Our commitment to funding bursaries reflects our appreciation of having the use of the St Bernard's stadium venue for the Moonee Valley Art Show in 2023 at no charge, and the support of College in venue management.
The bursaries are funded by the Art Show profits. We also received thanks from the College Principal, Michael Davies and parents.
Click HERE for our special page on RCKE Youth Work.
Rotary Keilor East’s tour of the RAAF Museum at Point Cook on November 16 had an unexpected bonus -- Wing Commander Jason Easthope gave us an 800kph flying display of an RAAF Mustang fighter. He was leaving Pt Cook to fly via Temora to take part in the Williamtown Newcastle air display next day. He told us the Temora stop after two hours flying was because the WW11 Mustang lacks a working toilet. Jason, a kiwi, is an RAF veteran of the Falklands war and then an F18 pilot, with 4500 hours flying all-up.Mechanics wheeled out a battery starter to his beautiful Mustang with its shark-tooth nose. The 12-cylinder Packard Merlin engine burst into life with its 1200HP roaring and a puff of blue smoke. Jason sat for a while with canopy open, ensuring engine pressures and temperature were OK. Then he swung the iconic fighter around onto the strip – blowing away a few hats from the prop-wash. The engine blared and the prop howled as the tips neared the sound barrier, then his Mustang was into the air and climbing for its first pass across our small party’s sightline.
He followed with a loop putting 4G stress on his body – as if it weighed more than 300kg. Several more passes and rolls, then a waggle of wings as he waved us ‘goodbye’.
That was the highlight but our tour of the museum itself was also terrific. Behind every plane and exhibit there was a story and our guide Norm was keen to tell it. For example, the roundel in planes used in the Pacific have no red dot in the middle –because four planes including a Catalina were shot up by friendly fire from US gunners mistaking the red dot for Japan’s emblem.
The oldest plane there was a replica 1913 Bristol Boxkite aircraft that was actually flown 100 years later at Point Cook with former Air Force Test Pilot Air Vice Marshal Mark Skidmore (retired) at the controls. “Considering it’s mainly wood wire and cloth, Mark was a brave airman,” said Norm. We attach a video of the flight below, in case you don’t believe Norm.
The oldest plane there was a replica 1913 Bristol Boxkite aircraft that was actually flown 100 years later at Point Cook with former Air Force Test Pilot Air Vice Marshal Mark Skidmore (retired) at the controls. “Considering it’s mainly wood wire and cloth, Mark was a brave airman,” said Norm. We attach a video of the flight below, in case you don’t believe Norm.
Our tour numbers were increased with a group of guests from Tony's Melbourne Bearbrass Probus.
Great RCKE outing to Tahbilk at NagambieA large party of 30 enjoyed a day at picturesque Tahbilk Winery on Sunday November 5, organised by RC Keilor East. The visitors came from a variety of Rotary and Probus Clubs and retirement villas. RCKE’s Gerard Mahoney stepped into the breach when our bus driver came down with Covid on November 4. The 24-seater Bendigo Bank bus which the bank kindly supplied, filled to capacity and others went independently by car.
Our day started with an hour’s boat cruise along Tahbilk’s wetlands waterways, with delightful nature commentary by “Captain Bobbo”. Next we were taken in hand by tour guide Michael, who led us through the grounds of Victoria’s oldest winery, including the lush private garden of the founding Purbrick family and the winery museum. We descended to the Tahbilk cellars to see the massive wine storages and equipment, then emerged for lunch at the restaurant with views across the wetlands.
The size of our party put the restaurant under pressure but they soon provided copious entrees and by 3pm we had our gourmet main courses, along with plentiful bottles of Tahbilk’s famed wines. We had planned to visit Michelton Winery after lunch but enjoyed our setting so much that we stayed there until 4.30pm.
Our bus trip back was non-stop and efficient, delivering us to Centreway close to 6pm. With new friends made and a relaxing time in beautiful surroundings, the Nagambie trip was a day to remember.
Rotary members work hard and selflessly for charities and it's nice to organise them a fun day out to socialise and blow away any cobwebs!
In mid-October Rotary Keilor East helped organise and carry out a major inter-club project to fill and load a 40ft container of dental and health materials for Tonga. The island state is still recovering from the massive Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai under-sea volcano eruption and tsunami two years ago.
The materials shipment was done through Donations In Kind Inc. (DIK) at Footscray West, which we sponsor. We also provided $500 to get materials to the most remote of Tongan islands, called “Tin Can Island” because it originally could be supplied only by ships dropping materials offshore to be rescued by canoes and swimmers.
RC Ballarat West leads the Tonga project. Rotary's consortium is converting a derelict building at Tonga College to a fully-equipped 14-bed medical ward and four-chair complete dental clinic. The chairs were donated by Royal Melbourne Dental Hospital. Our club helped load these chairs shrink-wrapped on their pallets complete with operating manuals.
The project has been approved at high level by the Tongan government and World Bank, which is converting the school take boarders. Ex-students and Tongan citizens have raised an impressive $A8m for this work. Upgrades include sterilising and stock rooms and a nurse’s room. Staffing is via a central Tongan roster. On high ground, the facility will also double as an emergency evacuation centre in the event of future eruptions, cyclones or epidemics.
The container will go to sea in late October and the planned opening of the centre is for mid-December.
Rotary Keilor East has now formally offered to sponsor the visit to Australia of a 12-year-old PNG boy for surgery to his disfigured face and jaw due to abnormality of blood vessels, a condition called Maxillofacial abnormality.
A surgeon has agreed to provide the surgery at St Vincent’s Private under the marvellous Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) program to help improve his quality of life. Our club as such is not involved in issues of immigration permits for the boy and his aunt, cost, day to day management of the visit etc. But our sponsorship means the project gets Rotary insurance indemnity. Medical insurance is via the medicos involved. If all goes well the PNG visit will be about a fortnight late this year.As a general guide, the Sponsor Club can determine their level of involvement (or engage other clubs to participate in sharing) in activities such as:
Patient arrival and departure,
Hosting and/or liaison with carer families.
Visits to Rotary meetings with patient and parent/guardian.
Transport to medical appointments.
Hospital visitation.
Our club members Cherrie Osborn and Minh Nguyen, as individuals, do ROMAC committee work and in that capacity, will take on various roles in the project. They are willing to give a talk to the club about it and are keen to see if other members would like to help smooth the visit.
The picture above shows a baby Christine from Vanuatu getting ROMAC medical treatment in Auckland. Her home was flattened after cyclone Pam and she required urgent surgery for a serious heart condition.
Rotary Keilor East members have put their shoulders to the wheel to help Western Emergency Relief Network (WERN) this month. Pics show members in the warehouse. WERN comprises of Rotary Clubs helping to supply good quality second hand furniture, electronics and whitegoods, to people in need without charge. Donations In Kind Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8.30 - 4.00pm February – Mid December. Shed 39, 400 Somerville Road West Footscray.
This is one of Victoria’s largest recycling and repurposing operations that specialises in surplus re-usable educational and medical equipment for shipment by container to developing countries like Timor Leste or Cambodia. It's run 100% by volunteers, who gather, sort, and pack the goods. No appointment is necessary, just turn up any time during the Tuesdays and Thursdays listed above. For more information www.rotarydik.org
National Tree Day 10.00 -1.00 Sunday 30th July10-54 Rachelle Rd, Keilor East
Join your neighbours and plant trees at this Moonee Valley Council event! Our team will be planting seedlings and running the BBQ. For more information hit the blue Contact button at top right of this web-page.
Bunnings BBQs at Taylors Lakes Store, 430 Melton Highway. Monthly on a Saturday or Sunday – check our "Upcoming Events" listing or Calendar, right-hand side of the page. We dedicate funds raised to our local and overseas charity projects.
There are three shifts 8.30-11.00am / 11.00-1.30pm / 1.30-4.00pm. No experience necessary. Hit the blue Contact button top right of the page or email solatube@bigpond.com.
Camp Getaway is a camp designed for young people with disabilities that everyone can attend. When schools use it everyone in the school can attend. It’s a major project that many Rotary Clubs support. Each year members of our Club spend a weekend there helping with the maintenance and having a lot of fun. For more information https://rotarydistrict9800.org.au/sitepage/community-service/camp-getaway
Western Emergency Relief Network Tuesday – Thursday 10.00 -3.00
2/23 Westwood Drive Ravenhall 3023
This project repurposes home goods for people in genuine need, recommended by welfare agencies. We collect donated items, check goods, and put them on display. For more details contact 8372 4110 or adminisration@wern.org
Thanks! David Dippie, President, RCKE
Rotary Keilor East members have got behind the Water for Education Project in Balibo, Timor Leste. Thank you all for being so generous and supportive. Your kindness will make a huge difference to these young students, their families and communities! The pic at left is of our collection of toothbrushes for Timorese children, as a modest step towards improving their dental outcomes. Other pics: the generator bound for Timor Leste, and loading of the toothbrush pack.
To Everyone in the Keilor -Moonee Valley Districts...
From David Dippie, President, Keilor East Rotary.
You might not be a member of our Keilor East Rotary Club but why not join us for a morning or day helping on a community or environme
ntal project?
ntal project?We're friendly volunteers committed to making the world a better place. We're achieving a lot but could do much more with your help. If you've got some spare time, please lend us a hand! If you'd like to apply to join our club, that would be great but it's your call.
Contact using the blue "Contact" button at top right of our webpage, or just email solatube@bigpond.com.
Nine members took a break on August 31 from charity work to enjoy a guided tour of the Lindsay Fox Car Museum in Docklands. We got there by two-car pooling from Niddrie.The museum is unique in the world for its stunning collection of near-priceless cars, some such as Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes and Rolls Royce "specials" worth multi-millions each. The museum is housed in an equally-historic warehouse off Collins St. Lindsay has put the whole collection into a charitable trust so it will long outlive himself and his family.
We had excellent volunteer guides Noel (ground floor) and Costas (second floor) who could tell us the history of each car and its technology. After this great morning's tour most of us peeled off to lunch at Keilor East RSL. More social trips are under consideration. (More pics - click Read More.
Our club has received formal thanks from Past District Governor Bruce Anderson for our donation of $800 to Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM). We raised the funds through collecting unwanted foreign currency.
The Rotary programs help the malaria control and elimination campaigns in PNG, Solomons, Vanuatu, Timor Leste and West Timor. They attack malaria-mosquito breeding and provide anti-mosquito protections.
While Covid19 has caused setbacks in some areas, Timor Leste achieved zero indigenous malaria in 2021 and is on track to achieve WHO malaria-free status by 2025. The country’s biggest threat is cross border malaria transmission from West Timor into Oecusse in Timor Leste. The two-year Rotary Global Grant to prevent re-establishment of malaria progressed well, and is managed by the RAM Timor Leste country representative from RC Darwin, D9560.
RAM has raised more than $1.6 million to eliminate malaria since 2003. RAM works in conjunction with the Ministry of Health authorities in each country and complements the work of other malaria organisations
Our club is sponsoring student Sokny Nheam 17, this year for her education at Siem Reap’s Future Bright International High School. Her support will include- Annual tuition
- Course books
- Monthly living allowance
- Health and dental care
- Life skill courses
- Daily English classes
- Volunteering activities
- Monthly sport
This is one of the projects we partner with the Cambodian Rural Students Trust (CRST). RC Hornsby NSW helped with finance through their collecting of foreign currency coins and notes.
For more on Sokny ’s story click the International menu top left.
Rotary Keilor East has handed over 240 birthing kits for remote Philippines islands. Roy Carbungco, President of the Pampagueno Club, and Lydia John, received the kits from our member.
An Appreciation Certificate was presented to David Moore, Manager, Keilor Retirement Village, for the use of the Conference Room for the working bee afternoon to make the kits.
Keilor East Community Bank continues to be an outstanding sponsor of our Club Projects. We are very appreciative of their generosity and support and urge Members, family and friends to use the bank which supports its local community. 
We are also very grateful to have the sponsorship of Smart Storage World in Keilor East for the storage of our Club trailer. We appreciate their support for us and urge Club Members and friends to make use of their new local business.
For all your Home or Business Storage, including Boats, Caravans and Cars, call 0408 KEILOR 0408 534 567. http://smartstorageworld.com.au/
We are also very grateful to have the sponsorship of Smart Storage World in Keilor East for the storage of our Club trailer. We appreciate their support for us and urge Club Members and friends to make use of their new local business.For all your Home or Business Storage, including Boats, Caravans and Cars, call 0408 KEILOR 0408 534 567. http://smartstorageworld.com.au/
any reasons...
Service Above Self
Essendon, VIC 3040
Australia