Local News
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ROTARY MATARAM’S HARD WORK REWARDED
The Rotary Club of Mataram in Lombok is a fully-chartered member of Rotary International in Indonesia. It is a voluntary, non-profit Club that raises funds, mainly from overseas, for carrying out community projects in Lombok. In recent years the Club has built and installed “Bio Sand” water filters in villages throughout Lombok, providing free clean water for over 4,000 local families. In addition Rotary Mataram has provided classrooms, equipment and toilets for local schools, and jointly sponsored free dental programmes for school children carried out by Dental Development Foundation Indonesia – a group of caring dentists from The Netherlands who carry out free dental treatment in Lombok every year (www. DDFI.in).
One of the Club’s most significant achievements to date has been in providing new life for over 300 local people with cleft-lip and cleft palate deformities.
June 2012, when Rotary Club Mataram Lombok received an award “For Making a Positive and Significant Change in the Community and the World” from the President of Rotary International, Kalyan Banerjee. The award was presented to past president, Lisa Edelman by District Governor, M Ridlo Eisy in Jakarta.
The patients – mainly children from poor families who are unable to afford the surgery needed to correct their child’s oral defects – come from many diverse villages located throughout Lombok and Sumbawa, and sometimes even as far away as Papua. Working with European surgeons who donate their time and expertise to performing the operations in Lombok, Rotary Mataram is supported by their sister clubs in RC Ghent, Belgium and RC Calgary in Canada, and provides funds and the local assistance necessary to carry out these transforming surgeries every year. The Club’s vital work was recognised in
Past Rotary Mataram President, Lily Heyder, also received an award through the Rotary Foundation District Service for “Outstanding Service in Promoting the Rotary Foundation and Its Goal of World Understanding and Peace”. Lily’s award was presented at the District Conference in Bandung, and was attended by Rotarians Farida Istiarini and Lee Joo Mea. “It is good to look back on what we have accomplished and to measure our progress toward our goals,” Ibu Lily said. “But we can never rest on our laurels, for as much as Rotary Mataram has achieved, we are always aware of how much there still is to do.” Ibu Lisa agreed, saying: “During the year of 2012 – 2013, ‘Peace Through Service’
will be the focus and goal of Rotary. Through service, we become more tolerant of our differences and more grateful for the people in our lives. Our sense of gratitude drives us to understand others better and to see the good in everyone. Through better understanding, we learn to respect others. With mutual respect, we live with others in peace.” Not all Rotary Foundation Donors are Rotarians; thankfully, the Club’s work is also supported by the kindness of strangers. If you would like to support their projects with either your time or donations, please phone Lily Heyder on +62 813 3959 9154 – Ed.