AIRLINES SUPPORTS AUSTRALIAN ROTARY CLUBS GOODWILL MISSION TO MUNDA

For over 10 years, the Rotary Club of Mackay North in Queensland Australia has continued to raise funds and gather medical and schooling supplies to sent to Western Province under their Solomon Islands Western Province support project.

After a pause due to the covid pandemic, the team has landed back in Munda with Solomon Airlines, this time bringing with them by air and sea, a container load of school desks, chairs, many boxes of books and medical supplies for the Helena Goldie Hospital and to help schools in Munda area.

As part of its corporate social responsibility commitment, Solomon Airlines also allowed some 240 kilos of excess baggage, suitcases of humanitarian supplies to be carried on the Brisbane to Munda flight on Saturday 30 March.

“This is a wonderful international project for us, with members of our Mackay North Rotary Club this year also joined by Walkerston Rotary Club to bring this mission together,” said Rotary Mackay North member Mr Larry Slattery.

“Many of our Rotary members, their wives and families have contributed as we gathered and stockpiled items, including over 100 desks which we disassembled and stacked for shipment.

“One of our team is also a former librarian who carefully selected hundreds of books suitable for school children in the Solomon Islands,” he said.

“Rotary Clubs like ours strive to fulfil needs we see within their our own local communities as well as those beyond our borders,” Mr Slattery said.

“For over ten years, we have been very pleased to support the Solomon Islands Western Province community by providing medical equipment and supplies, reading books and school furniture which have been distributed to about 30 schools in that region,”

Mackay North Rotary Club has 43 dedicated members who meet once weekly.

The City of Mackay, population 75,000 nicknamed ‘the sugar capital’ for its large sugar production industry, is located on the coast of Queensland 970 kilometres north of Brisbane.

The Rotary members who travelled to Munda first flew from Mackay to Brisbane to connect with Solomon Airlines weekly Saturday service direct to Munda International Airport.

Pictured from left to right are: Patricia Dear, Tony Bell, Sharelle Johnson, Peter Johnson, Peter Gibbs, Andrew Verroen and Mr Colin Baldock.