Donations-in-Kind
Birth of DIK ; A history…..
One person’s discards - another person’s gain
Cyclone Namu struck the Solomon Islands in
May 1986 and as a result many of the islands’
schools were damaged or destroyed. The Australian High Commissioner in Honiara sought Rotary’s help in building eighty new schools (later
extended to ninety three).
Nothing like this project had been attempted
before; many of the volunteers having to hike
kilometres to the project sites carrying food,
cooking equipment and tools. The relationships
established with each village led the Fourth Avenue in Motion FAIM volunteers to want to help
further, particularly with educational materials.
Some sought the advice of the Project Chairman
Dick White and the Project Co-ordinator Ron
Marcus, as to how best to get their donated
goods to ‘their’ village. So many wanted to do
this that Tony Jones, who had spent time at
Auki, Malaita as a local site co-ordinator was
asked to become the National DIK Co-ordinator
and so in 1987 the now arm of Rotary Australia
World Community Service (RAWCS) come into
existence.
RDU gave publicity to the project and books
flooded in. The RAAF and RAN were contacted
and readily agreed to provide transport by patrol
boat and Hercules, when space was available.
The Rice Growers Coop also provided space in
their containers of rice going to the Solomons.
Within the first year, five and a half tonnes of
books, air conditioners plus one typewriter and
a chainsaw had been delivered to the Solomon
Islands and were distributed by Phil Bradford.
Medical needs were addressed next. Australian
hospitals provided surplus dressings and small
items of medical equipment. This went to Port
Moresby thanks to Qantas and the help of Army
Doctor Peter Nasveld.
Above: The first truckload of donated goods to leave the depot at
Prospect
Early storage was first found in the fowl sheds at PDG Gordon
Rowe's poultry farm in Poole Rd (now Samantha Reilly Drive)
Kellyville and then when storage there became a problem the
Salvation Army offered space at their Youth Centre at Prospect, Sydney (formerly another poultry farm) continuing the
"love" affair with old fowl sheds.. This was a project (a story in
itself) initiated by John Smith of the Rotary Club of Blacktown
City and a partnership with the Salvation Army began that
continues to today through the continuing efforts of PDG Ken
(Grumpy) Nicholls.
Tony Jones was succeeded by Bob Bensley as National Coordinator who became involved “early in the piece” and soon
DIK depots were established in all the major cities of Australia. Contact was made with New Zealand and each provided
requested goods, particularly to the Solomons.
DIK has grown to be a major arm of RAWCS. So much has
been donated that each year DIK ships dozens of containers
of materials to areas such as the Philippines, India,, Africa,
South America, Mongolia and most of the Pacific. Australians
can be proud of their DIK as it has delivered materials worth
millions of dollars to developing countries to help lift their
standard of health, education and wellbeing. All this started
from Rotarians seeing first hand the needs of others less well
off than themselves.
What can no longer be used n Australia is highly valued in
other places and makes a difference that not many of us can
comprehend.
Bob Bensley and Ron Boxall were volunteers in 1987 to the
Solomon Islands School Rebuilding Project of which Dick
White was the national Chairman.
Dick White went to the Solomon’s as Vice Chairman of Rotarians Against Malaria (RAM) to help organise the anti-malaria
program financed by $500,000 by 3H and Matching Grants
from The Rotary Foundation in 1998 and in 1999 flew to PNG
in a four-seater plane with PDG Alan Grady, to erect water
tanks at a number of villages and schools.
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