Welcome to the Rotary Club of Keilor East

Are you someone who wants to make positive changes in our northern suburbs and join projects to benefit our overseas neighbours? Our dedicated club members like to help the community.
And becoming a Rotarian connects you with friendly people offering Fellowship and happy times.

What We Do

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 speaker Ros Thomas, Oct 2 meeting

We have a special speaker for our meeting of Monday October 2 -- 2024 Churchill Fellowship winner Ros Thomas from Perth. Ros will join our meeting via Zoom and be interviewed by our member Tony Thomas.

Ros, a successful novelist and policy worker for aged care and dementia services, will talk on the issue of isolation and loneliness -- common to people in Australia and many Western countries.

Why not bring a friend or potential member to this meeting to hear her?

Ros not only won the Fellowship but won the Paul Tys Prize for best submission nationally. Her Fellowship will take her next year to Britain, Holland and Scandinavia to explore programs in these countries to help bring isolated people back into the community. For example, in Holland tertiary students are offered free accommodation on condition they spend 30 hours a month with isolated elderly people. The UK government even has a Minister for Loneliness. Isolation is not merely a social problem, but causes people severely worse health.

Ros will bring these innovations back to Australia and use her communication skills as journalist and author to encourage their adoption here.

District Governor Ron Payne's visit

We welcomed DG Ron Payne at our club meeting on 18th

September. He shared Rotary International goals and District priorities. Our priorities are intentional in promoting rotary and how great being a Rotarian is. We welcome new members to this great organisation, come along and join us for a meeting- Monday’s 7pm@Windy Hill Venue

A happy break at the Fox Car Museum

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.

Sanitation needs met in Siem Reap Cambodia High School

While planning for the installation of a Biosand water filtration system at Techo Hun Sen Angkor Thom High School, Siem Reap, Cambodia, the principal asked if our Rotary team would also provide toilets: an opportunity too good to miss for the Rotary clubs of Keilor East and Passport Melbourne.

The school had just 13 toilets for 1,518 students - 921 females and 597 males.

We were told that female students would choose to not use these toilets as they felt uncomfortable and at times unsafe. They often chose to not drink when at school in case they had to use the toilets.

The site was checked re access to water and positioning of the septic tanks and the design of the new toilet block considered sustainability and long-term use. The eleven new toilets were divided into 2 blocks with ramp access, tiled cubicles, a large water storage system and a door allowing for privacy. Hand-washing stations are located outside the toilets.

The reactions of the students (both boys and girls) on the completion of the project made our year:

“I am so excited after my school got new toilets. These toilets are not only clean, safe, and comfortable for us, but it also contributes to making a friendly environment and making everyone feel comfortable to go to school”.

Go to Read More

Funding to help malaria campaigning

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

Cambodian Secondary Education

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.

The Mystery of the Dutch Colonists at Palm Valley

At our meeting of August 28, speaker Tony Thomas spelt out the historical mystery of Dutch colonists in Australia . Australia's "Bush Tucker Man", Major Les Hiddins, has spent 30 years investigating whether 90 survivors from the wreck of the Dutch 'great ship' Concordia in 1708 landed on the NW coast and trekked 2000km east to approximately Palm Valley, where they settled and lived on fish, yams, maize and game. A British military explorers' party came across the 300 descendants there in 1832 and stayed with them eight days. A detailed report of this surfaced in the Leeds Mercury of 1834.

By the time the first explorers passed through the centre in 1860-70, no physical trace of the Dutch was in evidence. Yet many independent facts corroborate the "Dutch settlers" story. If true it must cause a re-write of the history of white settlement in Australia. Academic historians show no interest so far.

After the talk some members asked for a link to Tony's published story, and link to further details of Les Hiddins research. These links are here and here and here. Click to read.

Our club's 240 birthing kits for remote Philippines

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.

Five club projects you could help

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 30^th July

10-54 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

Thanks to our Sponsors

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/