Chair – NZ Royal Society Committee on Antarctic Sciences
Trustee – Sir Peter Blake Trust
Editor in Chief – Geological Oceanography - Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, MDPI Basel Switzerland
Councillor – Australian Institute for Nuclear Science and Engineering
Physical Science Lead – NZ Antarctic Science Platform
Director – Otago Southern Ocean Marine Institute
Do you possess the drive and passion to support others?
Have you had to overcome obstacles to achieve your goals?
Are you in year 2 or more of tertiary study?

A DASH ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Paediatric Surgeon Brendon Bowkett spoke to our club about the work he and his colleagues have been achieving in Timor with the Rotary Oceanic Medical Aid for Children program. ROMAC’s aim is to provide specialist treatment for children from developing countries, in the form of life saving and/or dignity restoring surgery not accessible to them in their home country, providing hope and restoring dignity.
While Dr Brendon is based at Wellington Hospital, he has travelled to Timor a number of times, transforming the lives of many families who otherwise would be suffering from the emotional and mental stress of having a child with major medical complications. He described his work and the impacts it has, allowing children to return to or start school. The team perform six to eight weeks worth of surgeries in a week, in conditions and with equipment of a much lower calibre than they are used to in New Zealand.
He was incredibly humble, telling us “we’re just doing our jobs, the miracle is that we get support from Rotary to do this”. He praised and honoured his colleagues for their contribution to the success in Timor.
Nurse Grace supported staff who don’t usually work with children to better understand and work with young patients in an adult ward. Dr Brendon showed us a picture of Grace blowing bubbles in an outpatient clinic, and talked about the importance of play therapy when working with children.
Nurse Fiona supported the surgeons in theatre. Her efforts in ensuring the swab count was correct at the end of surgery was very challenging, but getting this right can be life saving. If the swab count is wrong, the surgery itself is a waste of time. Fiona likely saved a child’s life when she informed surgeons there was a swab missing. She managed this without the usual methods she would be able to employ in NZ. Without X-ray abilities and the streamlining of processes, Fiona had to manually account for all swabs, with the added challenge of them being used by others in theatre, including the anaesthetist!
Not only are the ROMAC team helping the children, they are also passing valuable knowledge and skills on to the Timorese medical staff. With the support of ROMAC, standards of hospital cleanliness and care are improving with every visit, and the Timorese staff are empowered to take charge of patient treatment plans and outcomes.
Dr Brendon told us that the connections between communities is one of the most important outcomes of his work. He shared stories of the Timorese people; their humour, their strength, and their resourcefulness. He repeatedly highlighted the support of Rotary in his being able to contribute to peoples’ lives in Timor. When David thanked Dr Brendon and his team, he said it is an honour and a privilege for our club to be able to support their team in their work. And he’s right. What incredible and life changing work to support!




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Thank you all for braving the cold and the wind and giving of your time so
generously on Friday for the Youthline Street Appeal. Collecting funds in
temperatures of 7 degrees on Lampton Quay is truly "Service above self".
The time you spent collecting funds was greatly appreciated and I know the
money we collected has been very gratefully received by the Youthline group.
I am not sure of the total amount we collected as those calculations have
yet to be done. However rest assured it all helps and has gone to a very
worthy and deserving cause.
I was particularly touched by one young man who approached me and donated,
telling me that Youthline, in many ways, saved his life.
Thank you again
David
David Shackleton
Partner
NEM New Zealand
Mobile: 021 654 738
Email: dshackleton@nemnz.co.nz
Web: www.nemnz.co.nz