OUR PEOPLE – Operation Cleft

There are many people who contribute to the success of Operation Cleft Australia.
The Operation Cleft Australia Australia Foundation Trust is managed by a committee of nine Rotarians, the majority of whom are from the Rotary Club of Box Hill Central.

There is one full-time staff member in Bangladesh who takes care of in-country administration and one part-time Fundraising Officer in Australia, who with the support of a team of volunteers, manages the project from our Melbourne office.
We also have a team of Operation Cleft Australia Ambassadors at various locations throughout Australia and overseas who promote the project in their districts.

These are the people who administer and promote the project but without the surgical team in Bangladesh who perform the surgery, and the hospitals at which they operate, there would be no project.
Each of these groups make a valuable contribution towards ensuring the growth and sustainability of Operation Cleft Australia.

Committee of Management

Operation Cleft is a project of the Rotary Club of Box Hill Central (District 9810) and is administered by the Operation Cleft Australia Foundation Trust.
The trust is administered by a management committee.

Bruce McEwen
Committee Chair

Kath Ronan
Vice Chair

Andy Shaw
Executive Secretary

David Routledge
Treasurer

Geoff Limmer
Committee member

Kevin Dobson
Committee member

Ashley Coleman-Bock
Committee Member

Rosemary Castle
Committee member

Ambassadors

Our Ambassadors are very important members of the Operation Cleft team. Ideally, we would like to have at least one Operation Cleft representative in each Rotary District in Australia (in some cases two, depending on the size of the district).
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 completing an application form and submitting your information to the Operation Cleft office either by email to ambassadors@operationcleft.org.au or by mail to PO Box 631, Box Hill Vic. 3128. 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.

If you are interested in becoming an Ambassador, please email to request an application form to complete and email back to us.

If you would like to hear more about Operation Cleft, our Ambassadors will be happy to have a chat to you and some are available to speak to your club/group about the project. Please check the list below to see if you have a local Ambassador in your area.

Name	Suburb	State	Contact	Email	Rotary Club	District
Gail Freeman	Kingston	ACT	02 6295 2844	gail@gailfreeman.com.au	Canberra South	9710
Peter Lee	Wodonga	NSW	0409 956 251	petjam42@gmail.com	Albury-Hume	9790
Bruce deGraaf	Naremburn	NSW	0411 130 000	bdegraaf@optusnet.com.au	Crows Nest	9675
Patti Berrigan	Wauchope	NSW	0409 079 745	patti.mach@bigpond.com	Wauchope	9650
Paul Pollett	Pappinbarra	NSW	0419 424 575	suzanne_pollett@hotmail.com	Wauchope	9650
Cath Lyndon	Cooroy	QLD	07 5472 0114	nhsclinic@bigpond.com	Cooroy	9600
Lawrie Beacham	Hervey Bay	QLD	0419 700 350	ljb@j-p-r.com	Hervey Bay	9570
Jim Wright	Mt Pleasant	QLD	07 4952 4799	jimwrig@bigpond.com	Mackay	9570
Susan Morrison	Gold Coast	QLD	0439 800 185	susan.morrison@scu.edu.au	Rockhampton	9570
Elizabeth Briggs	Lyndoch	SA	08 8524 5691	knhc.pimpala@gmail.com	Gawler	9500
Judy Shipp	Hove	SA	0418 814 080	shipppj@bigpond.net.au	Holdfast Bay	9520
Jeff Cluse	Blair Athol	SA	0417 573 696	jakcs1@bigpond.com	Walkerville	9500
Janne Spiers	Traralgon	VIC	03 5160 9001	janespiers@gmail.com	Traralgon	9820
Dr Lisa So	Happy Valley	HK		DrLisaSo@netvigator.com
Rtn. Faiyaz Khan	Bangladesh			faiyaz@fareastknit.com
Vici Funnel	Geelong	VIC	0418 502 869	v.funnell@bigpond.com	Kardinia	9780
Rosemary Guyatt	Woodend	VIC	0412 641 281	rosemaryguyatt@gmail.com	Woodend	9800
Moinul Islam	Darwin	NT	0444 583 501	link2moinul@gmail.com	Darwin	9550

If there is not an Ambassador located near you, or you would like to Book A Speaker, please contact our Ambassador Co-ordinator by email: ambassadors@operationcleft.org.au

Goodwill Ambassador

Md. Moinul Islam
Goodwill Ambassador

Surgeons

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.

Assistant Professor,
Dr Abhi Kumar Chakraborty
Department of Paediatric Surgery

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Dr. Sayeed Ahmed Siddiky

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Surgical Outreach and Training Program

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.