Turning trash into treasure

Pakenham Rotary Club member Andrew Walsh has devoted the past four years of his life to providing for others.
With the support of his fellow Rotarians, Mr Walsh organises for shipments of goods to be sent to aid underprivileged communities in neighbouring countries.
“Rotary has been doing it for a number of years all around Australia,” he said.
“Through Rotary contacts they have seen the amount that we – as Australians – are throwing out but which is still highly valuable to the countries we are sending it to.”
He said the goods come from various sources.
“Government departments and companies offer equipment and so forth to Rotary that they are basically throwing out.
“If organisations like Rotary don’t go and take them then they end up going to the tip,” he said.
Schools, opportunity shops, hospitals and various companies also donate valuable goods ranging from special medical equipment, clothing, bicycles and computers to beds, tables and school books.
The preference is for educational, health and vocational supplies, although they occasionally receive and dispatch other supplies.
Many of the containers go to Lae in Papua New Guinea.
“Some of the schools over there, basically, all they have got is a blackboard and chalk, and that’s all they’ve got to teach the school kids with.
“So we’ve been sending them a lot of school books, tables, desks, chairs, pens and pencils so they can properly set them up.”
After joining Pakenham Rotary Club four years ago, Walsh gradually found out about the projects they were involved in. He says his current work was inspired by a speech.
“We had a member that came from a Rotary Club in Lae and he joined our Pakenham Rotary Club.
“He gave a talk one night, mentioning how bad things were over there and the need for school equipment and so forth,” Mr Walsh said.
“I just happened to be talking to some of the school kids at Pakenham Secondary College and mentioned it to them. They said, ‘We can raise some books’.
“I said, ‘Well if you can raise some books I’ll organise to send them over’.”
They got Beaconhills College and some teachers involved and ended up collecting eight pallet loads of school books.
“We had to organise some containers. Then some other goods got sent to us and I got approached by one of our people in the Rotary Club saying they had a Donation in Kind program that did exactly what we were doing.”
From those humble beginnings, Walsh expanded on the concept to such an extent that he now makes shipments to various countries.
“In August or early September we are having a big working bee here and we will be loading a 20foot container to go to Sri Lanka to the tsunamiaffected area.
“On the same day we are loading a 40foot container for Ghana and a 40foot container for Pakistan.
“Then later in the year – when we have sufficient funds – we will also be sending a 40foot container over to Papua New Guinea.”
Money is the ongoing issue for the project, despite the generous support of Rotary clubs in the district.
“We have a few different companies that we deal with that give us fairly good rates on the containers.
“We don’t actually pay for any of the goods, so our only costs are to send the shipping containers from Melbourne to here and then back again and the ship from Melbourne to whichever country we are sending to,” he said.
“Until now our only source of funding has come from the Rotary clubs throughout the district.
“Hopefully down the track we will be looking at getting AusAID funding but that might be a little while off yet.”
He says Rotary’s financial support will enable the project to continue but extra funding would make the process much smoother.
Mr Walsh is quick to credit support from all members of the project but his involvement has not gone unnoticed.
He was recently named a Paul Harris Fellow, in recognition of the work he has done.
“It is a Rotary award that is fairly prestigious in Australia. The Rotary Club only gives them out to people they deem worthy or who have made a major contribution to Rotary,” he said.
“I get a lot of enjoyment out of doing the work. You don’t do it for the reward but it is nice to know that you’ve contributed and done something to help someone else.”
Not surprisingly, he has also been recognised within the organisation.
“As of June I have actually taken over as chairman for Donations in Kind, so I am the main organiser in deciding where the containers go to.
“I am ably supported by Rotarians in the district and my family,” Mr Walsh said.
Despite all the charity work for the Rotary, he still manages to run a successful farm supply company in Pakenham South.
“I have very understanding staff,” Mr Walsh jokes. “That’s the main thing, because it takes up a lot of time.
“It is also very rewarding to see the results; to see the photos or the letters from the schools.”
He is also a member of Pakenham South Hall Committee, Pakenham South Progress Association and a mentoring program with Windermere called Kids Becoming Champions.
“I spend time with them, be there for them, chat with them.
“We do various things such as play soccer or take them out to a film or go for a ride with them or even just use a computer with them,” he said.
One of the most remarkable aspects of his life is that he does manage to find time for himself.
“I don’t mind going fishing in the warmer months and, as I said, I’ve been overseas with Rotary things.
“It has been an amazing experience to be able to see the other countries.
“That’s probably about it,” Walsh said and laughed.
“I don’t have time for anything else!”