Rotary Club of Brisbane & Donations In Kind (DIK)
The Rotary Club began gathering medicines for the charity Donations In Kind (DIK) since 1978 to send to the Pacific Islands including Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.
In 2006 Rotary packed their 500th container for the Pacific Islands sending items which the Islands are in desperate need of, from the simple Baby Birthing Kits to fire trucks.
This 500th Container would never have been made possible with out the many volunteers, the personal of the wholesalers and hospitals and Pharmacies.
There are around 30 volunteers who kindly give their Thursday or Saturday mornings to help the DIK charity, most of whom are retired doctors, nurses, pharmacists and dentists. On behalf of Rotary I would like to thank these volunteers who help us week in and week out at the Wacol Rotary Warehouse who pack and sort unused medicines. I would also like to encourage any one who can volunteer their time on a Thursday or Saturday mornings, you don't need to be a Rotarian nor do you have to be part of the medical profession, any pair of hands would certainly be of use to us!
It is also imperative to thank the 1000 Pharmacies and Doctor Surgeries through out Queensland and Northern New South Wales who send us their "unused” and unwanted medicines. Rotary will accept anything as Director of DIK and Rotarian Ron Barnwell had put it: "We knock back nothing!” From broken wheel chairs that can be repaired, to hotel soaps for baby kits right through to fire engines, anything which they may be in need of we will do our best to send it through to them.
Sending out our 500th container would never have been possible without the support of the major wholesalers API, SIGMA and SYMBION and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia and the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (Queensland Branch). All involved should be thanked from the Managing directors to the workers on the warehouse floor. Helping those on the Pacific Islands with their health would never have been possible without the support from these organisations.
Photo 1
Notice board showing containers dispatched countries which have received the products that the Rotary club have sent out and the number of boxes dispatched. Very impressive nearly 60 000 cartons packed and dispatched.
Photo 2
Left to Right Dawn Ulrich who specialises in packing birthing kits, Joclyn Wilson, Pharmacist, who spread the DIK message to other Rotary Clubs way back in 1978, her husband Ian retired District Governor and a regular attendee and James Delahunty Pharmacist, who started sending drugs to Rotarian Pharmacist Frank Evans in Aitape all are in front of the 500thcontainer.
Photo 3
pointing out to Ian the Wheel Chairs from the Christian Brothers sheltered workshop in WA and the Terry White Chemists Infant Formula.
Photo 4
Without the encouragement and support from the wholesalers (API, SIGMA and SYMBION) who collect unused medicines from Queensland and Northern NSW and the whole hearted support of both the Pharmacy Guild of Australia (Queensland Branch) and the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, lives in our near neighbours would not be saved.
Photo 5
Doctor Peter Ulrich and Pharmacist Tony Prout in front of the rejected medicines that will meet a fiery end via the big yellow RUM dump bin.
Photo 6
Ron Barnwell a director of DIK from the Brisbane Club with the pallets of unused medicine just received from the Wholesalers.
Photo 7
Margaret Barnwell doing the primary sorting of unused medicines into therapeutic categories.
Photo 8
Dr Peter Ulrich double checking secondary sorting stage.
Photo 9
Pharmacist Tony Prout sorting cartons prior to packing and sealing.
Photo 10
Packed Carton with Rotary label sorted in (CNS: Central Nervous System) into therapeutic categories.
Photo 11
Final assembly of sealed boxes getting placed on pallets.
Photo 12
Wheel chairs waiting to be prepared and packed "We knock Back nothing, from fire engines to hotel soaps for the birthing kits ” said Ron Barnwell Director of DIK.
To View a Certificate of Appreciation....Click Here