An article from Kevin Walsh, Balwyn Rotary
The Balwyn Centenary Grants project was created as part of the celebration of 100 years of Rotary in Australia. Its original intention was to fund Rotary Club projects up to $1 million over the first five years of operation.At Balwyn Rotary’s Annual General Meeting in November 2024, it was agreed to extend the operation by an additional two years. As part of reporting on the success of the project over the previous five years, some of the highlights of the successful grants can be summarized as follows:
- Thirty-eight project grants were made over the five years to a total value of $996,378
- The split was 25% to Australian projects and 75% to International projects
The highlights of the overall program can be summarized as follows
- There were 157 applications received
- The split being 47% for Australian projects and 53% for International projects
- The country focus included Nepal, Cambodia, PNG, Kenya, Philippines
- Applications from Rotary Clubs in Australia included: Taree, Albert Park, eClub Greater Sydney, MASH (Mont Albert Surrey Hills, North Balwyn, Northlakes-Toukley, Richmond
- 25% of all applications requested the maximum grant amount of $50,000
Just some of the wide-ranging and varied projects included:
- Provision of clean water in Papua New Guinea by Rotary Warrnambool,
- Repair and completion of dilapidated classrooms in Uganda by Rotary Canberra with Assisi Centre for Social Justice & Peace
- Community-based vision care and prevention of blindness in rural Bangladesh by Rowville-Lysterfield,
- A project empowering rural women in Nepal through animal husbandry from Bordertown, and
- Purchase of a second-hand delivery van for RIMERN from Prahran
- Creating aplace for healing for child survivors of trauma in Philippines from Essendon-Leeton
