May 2 was the anniversary of the first meeting of 28 provisional members. On July 19, 1952 the club was chartered.

Since then the club has been working tirelessly to make a difference locally and overseas. This month we reflect on the value of Kiama Rotary Club’s contributions to the community.

Kiama residents and visitors enjoy the benefits of local works projects undertaken by the club such as the Lookouts on Saddleback Mountain, Minnamurra Falls walk, the Robert East Reserve at Bombo headland, Rotary Park at Storm Bay,  the floodlighting of the Kiama Lighthouse and the stunning stone walls that mark the entrances to Kiama, Gerringong, Minnamurra and Jamberoo.

Over the last four years Kiama Rotary together with Gerringong Rotary Club has taken the lead on Melanoma and Skin Cancer Prevention. Sponsoring a Phd student to complete a 4 year research project and more recently developing a free skin screening program in our community, to save lives, through early detection of skin cancers and melanomas.

The development and delivery of a two day Mental Health First Aid course for members of our community is a second local community health initiative that has been in place for some time. Rotary Club of Kiama has also provided ongoing financial support to Kiama High School to provide mental health and anti bullying programs for students in years 8 and 10.

The Kiama Rotary Club has a long history in assisting  younger members of our community through a number of Rotary youth development programs and scholarships.  RYPEN (14-16 yrs), RYLA (19-27 yrs), Science Scholarships and Youth Exchanges are some of the opportunities that many local youth have been able to enjoy with the support of our club. Heather Morton and Mal Bracken have lead the youth programs for the last 4 years.

ROMAC (Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for children) is a Rotary Multi District Project for Australia and New Zealand, which provides life saving and dignity restoring medical procedures for children from the South West Pacific area. Two members, Barry Wilson and Peter Maitland, have been heavily involved with ROMAC since 2012 and each year around forty children are brought to Australia and/or New Zealand who would not able to receive treatment in their home country.

RAWCS (Rotary Australia World Community Service),  co-ordinates the activities of thousands of volunteers working on projects all over the world. The current president, Lloyd Chatfield, is an active member of RAWCS supporting and co-ordinating the volunteer community focusing primarily on clean water, health, education and sustainable economic initiatives.

For 30 years Kiama Rotary has worked closely with the Rotary club of Madang, PNG, to improve health and education outcomes. Assisting with schools, hospitals and the distribution of birthing kits that are proven to reduce infant mortality.

Regular visits between the Rotary Club of Madang and Kiama have developed life long friendships.  The current project is the upgrade of the Modilon Hospital kitchen using a second hand kitchen no longer needed at the old Kiama Hospital.

In 2017, Ian Johnston from the Kiama Club initiated a vocational training project in Vanuatu. Surprisingly, Vanautu has one of the highest risks of natural disasters anywhere in the world and until now has been ill equipped to respond. Tsunamis, cyclones and earthquakes are just some of the natural risks.

Ian led a multi disciplinary team of senior trainers from NSW organizations; SES, Fire and Rescue, Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Volunteer Rescue Association (VRA). They visited and educated over 40 personnel from Vanuatu’s emergency services teams. 

Ending Polio Now a global Rotary project which is well supported by Kiama Rotary. Year to date there have be only eight cases of polio reported in Afghanistan and Pakistan. In 1988, when this program started, there were 350,000 cased per year of this crippling and potentially fatal disease. Victory will be declared when the world has been polio free for three years.

The Rotary Emergency Service Community Awards was initiated in our region and is now being expanded into a national program. These awards recognise and celebrate the outstanding service, sacrifice and spirit of all emergency service personnel, both volunteers and paid, who are at the front line of emergency response.

Kiama Rotary’s major community and fund raising activities are the Car Spectacular in November, the Antique Fair in January, the Festival of Choirs in October, an annual apple drive in May and regular BBQs each month at the Kiama Markets. Community support for these events is greatly valued and makes it possible to support programs like Shelterbox and water treatment in Thailand as well as the programs outlined above. Many other local service groups and community groups have been assisted to reach their goals through volunteer efforts or financial support from the Kiama Rotary Club. 

Kiama Rotary Club is a vibrant club with over 40 members and around 30 per cent women.

New members who are interested in friendship, professional development and service to the community are welcome.

Kiama Rotary Club meets at the Kiama Leagues Club on Monday at 6.30pm for 7pm. Visitors are welcome at any meeting and can contact John Kenny on 0434 989 253 to attend.