To mark the Rotary Centenary in Australasia and the Pacific, Rotary is partnering with UNICEF to deliver three vaccines that will not only saves lives but prevent many diseases that can cause life-long suffering with the ambitious goal to reach 100,000 children over 3 years. The first two vaccines will protect babies and children from life-threatening rotavirus diarrhea and pneumococcal disease. The third will protect girls and women from papillomavirus (HPV), the infection that can cause cervical and other cancers.

Collecting in-kind donations and the repurposing of equipment to areas of need within the Pacific. Examples of in-kind donations include goods like health & medical and educational equipment & stationary, clothing and building materials, as well as carpentry and engineering tools.

In recent years members have given their time with other Rotarians in: Ambrym Island, Vanuatu - rebuilding a school three classroom block destroyed by Cyclone Pam. Taveuni Island, Fiji – Assisting the Rotary Club of Taveuni Island with its major construction project constructing schoolteacher houses at schools on the island.

Each year an ELTO (English Language Tuition for Officials of South East Asian Countries) group comes to Nelson Rotary and present to our club meeting including a meet and greet prior to the meeting. This provides an opportunity to practice both their English and in presenting to an overseas audience.

These are used for response to natural disasters, in particular in the Pacific though this year we have made a special grant to go to humanitarian aid to support the victims and displaced of the Ukraine.

Polio Plus remains a flagship Rotary International programme in conjunction with the WHO (World Health Organisation) and The Gates Foundation. This programme, over 35 years is very close to achieving its objectives with only a handful of cases now being detected each year.