Rotarians Down Under Partnership supports local empowerment

Jacob Doctor reading at Wugularr School, east of Katherine in the Northern Territory. Photograph: Courtesy, Wayne Quilliam.

Rotarians supporting The Fred Hollows Foundation-Rotarians Down Under Joint Partnership have raised more than $82,000 in Australia and $18,000 in New Zealand since the partnership was formed in 2003.

The support from Rotary enables The Fred Hollows Foundation to continue to work toward its vision of a world where no one is needlessly blind and where Indigenous Australians enjoy the same health outcomes as other Australians.

The Foundation’s Chief Executive, Brian Doolan, has been overwhelmed by the support that friends at Rotary provide. The Fred Hollows Foundation is incredibly grateful to Rotary for wanting to be involved in its programs.

“When we met with our Rotary friends in Perth I was encouraged by the unbelievable enthusiasm,” Brian Doolan said. “Every day, we are being made aware of the fantastic support that is being generated by the Rotary family.”

Earlier this year, The Fred Hollows Foundation’s Community Stores Program won the prestigious Large Business Category of the Prime Minister’s National Awards for Excellence in Community and Business Partnerships.

The award recognises the innovative collaboration between the community of Wugularr, east of Katherine in the Northern Territory, Woolworths Limited and The Fred Hollows Foundation.

The Community Stores Program seeks to address the major contributing factors to poor health in remote Indigenous communities, including lack of access to fresh, healthy and affordable food.
Wes Miller has been appointed
manager of The Fred Hollows Foundation’s Indigenous Program which operates in the Jawoyn region, east of Katherine in the Northern Territory. Wes Miller is an Indigenous man and has extensive knowledge and experience in Indigenous health. He has worked in the Katherine region since 1989, holding various leadership positions in the legal and health sectors.

Theresa Roe, an Indigenous woman with more than 25 years experience in Indigenous affairs, has also been employed this year to lead the roll-out of literacy projects, which are supported in the Indigenous Program.

The literacy projects are community driven and target areas of need identified by the Jawoyn communities. As part of the program, The Fred Hollows Foundation is working with local partners to establish a range of activities, such as the establishment of a computer room in Barunga Community Library, co-ordination of a series of computer and internet courses and the construction of a building in Wugularr to house a library for school students and adults in the community.

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