Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children

Bridging the healthcare gap.

In connecting critically ill children with medical treatment, Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children exemplifies the personal impact a Rotary-run program can have on those who need it most. Here, outgoing ROMAC Chair Glenys Parton talks about how lasting, meaningful change comes from a combination of careful planning and simple kindness.

In February this year, a 23-month-old girl named Janewly from Santo Island underwent lifesaving surgery in Sydney. The operation was to correct a Ventricular Septal Defect – literally a hole in her heart. A group of dedicated Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) volunteers were with Janewly and her mother Lien every step of the way.

In the weeks that followed the operation, Maggie Thorn and ROMAC’s Eastern Region team crossed their fingers for a successful recovery, and a month later, it was abundantly clear that all their hard work had paid off. Smiling and bouncing around, Janewly is a whole new toddler.

“She is now strong, happy and full of life,” her mother Lien says. “I cannot believe the difference.” Recently cleared to return home, both mother and child were welcomed joyfully by family and friends. Meanwhile, a previous heart patient, Rikko, has had his graduation pictures with his parents put up on the ROMAC website – a graduation that would never have happened without his own surgery 23 years ago. It’s a fitting, cyclical reminder of the impact of ROMAC’s work.

Entirely driven by volunteers, ROMAC connects children in the South Pacific with life-saving medical care not available in their region, handling funding, transport and accommodation through the use of host families. As a result, 100 per cent of donations go directly towards treatment and transport costs. ROMAC’S 200 volunteers have helped some 570 children receive care, in many cases lifesaving; those interested in supporting the program can do so with a donation, by offering their time to assist with the program’s work, or by becoming a host family. Medical professionals can also refer a child through the ROMAC website.

Outgoing ROMAC Chair Glenys Parton has dedicated her time to the organisation in many ways over the years. She has served as District Chair, Regional Chair, Deputy Board Chair and is only now leaving the role of Board Chair. Her love of these leadership roles stems from the opportunity to see the impact of ROMAC’s work first-hand.

“What has kept me here is the profound impact,” she says. “Supporting children from across the South Pacific who would otherwise have no access to lifesaving or dignity-restoring surgery. It’s work that reminds us that meaningful change doesn’t always happen far away, it can happen right here in our own region.”

When asked about a particular patient story that has stayed with her, she references the story of a girl called Vinna, who came to ROMAC’s attention after sustaining a serious infection as the result of a double fracture in one of her femurs. The necessary treatments spanned more than two years.

“We worked through both complex medical challenges and important cultural considerations alongside her family,” Glenys recalls. “Today, she is back home with her family in her village on Tanna in Vanuatu, living a healthy and active life. She has even taken part in the annual Coast to Volcano run and has trialled for the Paralympics, an outcome that once seemed unimaginable.”

ROMAC excels in forging connections. Patients’ journeys are community efforts: as the saying goes, it takes a village, and this humanitarian networking is a particular strength of Rotary in general. Here, it finds a particular use in coming together to gift vital medical care; connecting hosts, medical providers, patients and volunteers to get the children where they need to be.

Glenys finishes by emphasising the importance of this selfless teamwork.

ROMAC represents the very best of Rotary. People coming together with compassion, skill and determination to change lives. My hope is that we continue to strengthen these connections. There is still so much we can do, and that is what continues to inspire me every day.”

For more information, visit romac.life