OUR PEOPLE

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

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

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

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.