Committee of Management
The Operation Cleft Australia Foundation Trust is managed by a Committee of Management (shown below), comprised of nine individuals, predominantly Rotarians, the majority of whom are from the Rotary Club of Box Hill Central.
Kath Ronan
Committee Chair
Bruce McEwen
Vice Chair
David Routledge
Treasurer
Andy Shaw
Executive Secretary
Louisa Lam
Committee member
Kevin Dobson
Committee member
Rosemary Castle
Committee member
Ashley Coleman-Bock
Committee Member
Moinul Islam
Committee member & Fundraising Officer
Ambassadors
We also have a team of Operation Cleft Australia Ambassadors at various locations throughout Australia and overseas who promote the project in their districts. Our Ambassadors are very important members of the Operation Cleft team. If you would like to hear more about Operation Cleft, our Ambassadors will be happy to have a chat to you or your Rotary club; please email us at info@operationcleft.org.au
These babies need our help and the only way we can help them is if you help us raise awareness of Operation Cleft and the essential funds needed to provide this life-changing surgery. If there is no Ambassador in your area, please consider taking on this role yourself or nominating someone you feel would love to get involved with this unique Rotary project. You can help us make a huge difference to these children.
How do I become an Operation Cleft Ambassador?
You can become an official Ambassador by requesting and completing an application form from info@operationcleft.org.au
Once your application/nomination is approved by the management committee, you will be sent an Ambassador Kit which includes current marketing materials – posters, brochures, newsletters etc.
Surgical Outreach and Training Program
Without the surgical team in Bangladesh who perform the surgery, and the hospitals at which they operate, there would be no project.
Our team of surgeons regularly perform their operations at “mini camps”. They consult at hospitals where there is no resident plastic surgeon and perform cleft repair surgery for 2 – 3 days. This is a unique training opportunity for resident surgeons and trainee plastic surgeons (registrars) to learn. The objectives of the training programme are to build on the strength of trainees and develop high level competencies in plastic and reconstructive surgery, ultimately increasing the number of qualified plastic surgeons in Bangladesh.
To re-inforce a solid training regime, Operation Cleft runs three to four major surgical outreach programs a year. The aim of the surgical outreach program, is to take a team of qualified plastic surgeons to major cities outside Dhaka like Chittagong, Jessore or Sylhet. There we conduct surgical camps at which between 50 and 100 children are operated on. The team take a number of registrars with them for hands on training and the hospital at which the camp is scheduled, roster their registrars to act as surgical assistants. The training opportunity that these mini and major camps provides is invaluable to the medical profession in Bangladesh and ensures the expansion of plastic surgery as a future service available to the wider community.