We always knew our Nambucca Heads Rotarians were the bees knees, but now it’s official with the tiny club taking out the illustrious Tub Nardy Trophy for world community service.

In a district that spans from Lightning Ridge to Coonabarabran, Forster to Woolgoolga, and encompasses 52 clubs, this latest coup is no mean feat.

“It just blew us out of the water,” club president and past district governor Garry Johnson OAM said.

“Port Macquarie were upset not to win it again; they’ve won it for the last two years and were hoping for a trifecta,” Garry’s wife, Norma said.

The coveted award is presented to the club whose global impact has been the most extraordinary in the 9650 Rotary District.

And their contribution to one of our regional neighbours has been nothing short of that.

Through the networking talents of Veena and Denys Tilly, the 14-member club has been facilitating new academic pathways and the donation of technological resources in schools in Fiji’s western region.

One school last year, Drasa Secondary, received a complete upgrade of their computer labs.

The used but still functioning older model computers were regifted to other local schools.

Drasa also scored four brand new laptops to use with the school’s projectors, and two powerful new desktop computers to assist graphic and design students.

This was on top of over a decade of collaborative academic development work which has seen the once-struggling school scale heights it never dreamed possible.

“The highlight of the year was receiving news that the school had achieved mathematics results for year 12 students which ranked in the top three in Fiji,” project committee member and instigator Veena Tilly said.

“This is astounding, considering they were near the bottom only a few years ago.”

Another school, Mulomulo Secondary, underwent a library overhaul, ready for the installation of 47 new laptops; a resource many Aussie kids take for granted and which was previously unavailable to many students at the school.

“To be responsible and have access to these laptops is indeed a new concept for the students of Mulomulo Secondary,” Veena said.

“More importantly the relocation allowed the expansion of the library to twice its original size and the books to be shelved on modern steel shelving with greater space for study areas.”

The shelving was donated by the Rotary DIK store in Footscray, Melbourne, and freight paid for by the Rotary Club of Toowong, Brisbane.

But it’s not all charity; the project works with the schools to invest their own in-kind financial contributions to foster a sense of ownership and create a sustainable development platform – a hand up rather than a hand-out.

2017 marked the twelfth year of the project, but for Nawai Secondary School, it was their first taste of Nambucca Rotary’s generosity.

They received 20 PCs, and a further 10 mini laptops were generously donated by the Southport School on the Gold Coast.

The project also assisted Fijian teachers with workshops to enhance professional development and encourage a refocussing on student-centred learning and early childhood education.

And through coordination with Nambucca’s Young Citizen of the Year, Molly Langley, and her teacher Ellie Dennis, five rural Fijian schools were stocked with educational and hygiene supplies and the know-how to foster good physical and mental health.

The Fiji Schools Project has been verbally supported by the Fijian Education Minister, and plans are already underway to expand the project in 2018/19 with an anticipated Rotary Global Grant.

Club president Garry Johnson is brimming with enthusiasm for this next set of challenges.

“We’ll win again next year the way we’re going,” Garry said.

The project has become a multi-faceted tool for international development that has needed the cooperation of numerous parties.

“We acknowledge the support of many people in making The Fiji Schools Project so successful in providing educational advantages for the children of Fiji,” Veena said.

But it is the incredible foresight, liaising finesse, sheer doggedness, and on-the-ground facilitation provided by our local Rotary heroes that turned the head of the current district governor and his ilk.

And for these selfless acts, and too many more to be documented adequately, the Nambucca Heads Rotary Club unquestionably deserve this esteemed accolade.

Congratulations, you are a tribute to our community.