A GENEROUS donation of $2500 was made by the Rotary Club of Hamilton at their meeting last Wednesday to the Ryder-Cheshire Australia (RCA) Foundation.

Combining with other Rotary clubs in the district, the goal is to raise enough funds for the charity to purchase a Land Cruiser to further the work of the RCA Foundation health facility, Klibur Domin, near Dili.

The vehicle is needed to access remote villages in the mountains so people with tuberculosis (TB) can be identified and then transported to Klibur Domin for treatment, which will help eliminate the infectious disease from Timor Leste.

Rotary Club of Hamilton international director, Jennifer Barke, said the RCA Klibur Domin Facility was currently a focus for the group due to Rotarians already being involved with the charity.

“There are some personal connections between individual Rotarians who happen to also support that foundation,” she said.

“Through that, there have been a number of volunteer work parties of Rotarians from our district who have gone to Timor Leste to assist with the charity.

“They have done various things, they have been involved in building and maintenance projects, in assisting with setting up accounting processes, and Rotarians - not from Hamilton - have gone over to establish a dental clinic.

“We have great faith in the fact that Rotary money raised goes to the right places with this charity.”

Klibur Domin is a Timorese non-government organisation based in Tibar, Timor-Leste, around 17 kilometres from the capital Dili.

Klibur Domin has three main programs: the Inpatients Program, providing care for low needs patients; the Community Based Rehabilitation program, which supports children and adults with disability and provides respite care and access to education; and the TB Program, which provides care for patients with both TB and Multi-Drug Resistant TB.

The Rotary Club of Hamilton raises funds through barbeques, particularly at Sheepvention, and the Annual Rotary Art Show which is a major fundraising event.

The majority of the funds raised by the Rotary Club of Hamilton support local efforts, such as recent awards presented at Baimbridge College and the forthcoming New Year’s Eve Street Party.

This year, some funds raised by the group went to Victorian and interstate flood victims, as well as supporting Australia’s nearest neighbours.