Wyndham Rotary president Sue Campbell wants the club to be known for more than sausage sizzles – although these fund-raisers allow the group to help people living in poverty overseas.
Barbecues and other activities raised $6500 to buy cows, pigs, water purifiers, bicycles, school supplies and uniforms for impoverished schools, an orphanage and a village in Cambodia.
Mrs Campbell, four other local Rotarians and 11 supporters took the money on a recent trip to Cambodia, spending the funds there to boost the local economy.
“People are so poor there, we just don’t understand it until we see it,” she said. “In Siem Reap, we visited a blind and deaf school where Rotary had purchased a Braille typing machine and they were so grateful.”
Mrs Campbell said they donated skipping ropes to the Pagoda school in Siem Reap and Rotarians constructed bio-sand-water filters and wells where villagers had no fresh water.
“The children don’t speak much English; but I don’t speak Cambodian. Still, you could tell they appreciated everything.”
