Booragoon Rotary

30/08/2026

Got an idea for a community project that you'd like Rotary to support? Interested in perhaps doing something for the community or would like to suggest a project?

If you would like to find out a bit more about Rotary, you’re welcome to join us for a chat over dinner or coffee with snack. We'll be in the Library at Dome Deep Water Point (100 The Esplanade, Mount Pleasant) at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays. Please, just in case we’re doing something else that week, let us know that you’re coming, at [email protected].

15/08/2026

BOORAGOON ROTARY’S KIVA INVESTMENT DELIVERS GROWING RESULTS
A program adopted by Booragoon Rotary five years ago continues to deliver positive results for people in developing countries and regions who are ready to take the initiative to build their own and their families’ future.
Our investment through international not-for-profit micro-financing group has, as promised, turned into a self-sustaining and growing project.
Globally, one of the greatest hurdles for people seeking to improve their lives is the difficulty of obtaining finance that will enable them to get ahead. More than a billion people, most of them in underdeveloped countries, have no access to banks and resources such as credit cards or debit cards that are a regular part of our lives.
Kiva lends small (by our standards) amounts of money to enterprising but poor individuals and small groups who lack the financial means to access bank loans and would otherwise be denied the opportunity to prosper or at risk of becoming victims of loan sharks.
Through local affiliated organisations around the world, the loan applicants are thoroughly assessed for suitability based on their business plans and their energy.
Kiva advertises the applicants’ loan requests on its website, and the investors choose those they wish to support. The amount each investor contributes to a loan is small, usually $25 or $50, and so several lenders finance each loan.
The interest rate on loans is based on local conditions, ensuring default rates on repayments are extremely low - far lower rate than standard bank loans.
The loan repayments go back to the lenders, who are then in a position to support more applicants - it becomes “a virtuous circle” while giving recipients the dignity of not needing charity.
A typical beneficiary of Booragoon Rotary’s support is Phon, a Vietnamese woman who is using her Kiva loan to buy acacia seedlings and organic fertiliser that help her to grow trees on her small property that will generate long-term income for her family while also helping to improve the local environment, increasing reforestation and reducing soil erosion. Phon, who has supported her husband since he was injured in an accident, also looks after the household while running their farm.
Other recipients of Booragoon’s support include shopkeepers and stallholders who have borrowed to purchase more goods for sale, dressmakers to create more clothes and fishers to increase their catch and help meet the demand for food in needy communities.
Because of the capacity to re-lend the funds from repaid loans, Booragoon Rotary’s initial investment in Kiva has effectively generated a six-times increase in the total value of its lending.
For Booragoon Rotary, Kiva microfunding is a largely self-sustaining project that enables our Rotarians to connect with people in need by supporting and encouraging their entrepreneurial spirit.
Individuals can establish their own Kiva accounts, and it’s also possible for groups of account holders to link hands in teams to give greater force to their lending. Our own group is Team Booragoon Rotary - anyone interested in learning more is welcome to contact us at [email protected].

27/06/2026

NURTURE GROUP SUPPORTS BABIES AND MOTHERS THROUGH THEIR FIRST MONTHS
Birth is, of course, a time of great joy and excitement. It’s often also a time of mixed emotions and trepidation for all parties – the baby (after all, this is totally new to the child!) and the mother particularly.
Our speaker at this week’s Booragoon Rotary meeting at Dome Deep Water Point on Tuesday evening will be Sharon Cooke, co-founder and program director of Mother Baby Nurture.
Sharon is a parent-infant therapist specialising in supporting families from pregnancy through to two years who offers professional training, reflective supervision, and facilitates reflective groups and retreats.
Mother Baby Nurture is a 10-week group program designed to support the mother and infant through the early days of parenting (up to the age of six months) as they get to know and respond to each other. It’s a safe, supportive and confidential space for them to share their experiences.
It offers a gentle pace where the mother can simply “be” with her new baby: to listen to the infant, to herself, and to the lived experiences of other mothers. Despite the joys and happiness they have been told will be the birth experience, many new mothers struggle with the transition to parenthood. The early days after birth can be confusing, overwhelming and even scary, when a mother may find it hard to connect with the new baby and find herself feeling isolated, anxious or low.
Our introduction to Sharon comes via Kate Goodman, who has known Sharon since she worked in community midwifery and mental health services. After meeting again last month at an edible gardens festival in Margaret River, they got to talking about a newly established Mother Baby Nurture group that meets at the Murdoch Psychology Clinic at Mudoch University.
Mother Baby Nurture is looking for some moderate financial support to enable more mothers and babies in our area to attend this very important program.

NOTE: Booragoon Rotary welcomes visitors to meetings such as this or other guest speakers. We meet each Tuesday at 6pm in the Library at Dome Deep Water Point, 100 The Esplanade, Mount Pleasant. Please notify us by email to [email protected] at least a day ahead so we can advise the cafe of numbers. (We don’t charge a meeting fee. Members and visitors order and pay for their own meals and drinks from the café menu.)

23/05/2026

ROTARY ACTION GROUP AIMS TO FREE THE WORLD
Slavery is a term that we tend to associate with the distant past, but a special worldwide group of Rotarians is dedicated to fighting the modern form of an age-old evil.
The Global Slavery Index estimates that 40.3 million people are subject to some form of slavery: bonded or forced labour, child slavery, s*x trafficking or forced marriage.
The Rotarian Action Group Against Slavery was established in 2013 and has Rotarian members in over 65 countries. It describes itself as a global, action-driven network dedicated to freedom fighting, justice, seeking, problem-solving and advocating for basic human rights.
It describes modern slavery as a severe exploitation of others for personal or commercial gain, often linked to human and s*x trafficking and to land and labour slavery where the victims are forced to work entrapped and controlled against their free will – either physically, financially or psychologically.
Many fall into this oppressive trap because they are trying to escape poverty or insecurity, improve their lives and support their families.
By the numbers --
+ 49.6 million people are in forced labour, s*xual exploitation, domestic servitude or forced marriages worldwide
+ $US150 billion is made each year from forced labour, translating to over $4,750 per second
+ 71% of women and girls are disproportionately affected by forced labour around the world
In addition, Freedom United, a partner group with RAGAS, highlights the following “five hard facts” on modern child slavery –
+ 1 in 4 victims of slavery are children
+ 10 million children are considered slaves
+ 300,000 child soldiers are forced to fight wars
+ 700 million women alive today were married as children
+ 17.2 million children are working as domestic workers
Through education on awareness and prevention, RAGAS works to activate Rotary clubs and Rotarians to counter vulnerability to human trafficking/modern slavery in their communities. Rotary has proved it can best effect change within communities.
Once identified, RAGAS can share and better help to coordinate successful projects, connect local partners and promote Rotary’s areas of focus. No other organisation matches Rotary’s ability to be focused at the local level while operating at a global level.
RAGAS has developed a Community Awareness and Prevention Education plan that equips and empowers members to execute projects in their communities – and around the world. It will assist members to connect with like-minded Rotarians to take action to end human trafficking/modern slavery.
Through Rotary’s influence and strength, RAGAS will continue to globally network one community at a time for real and lasting impact, change and hope to end human trafficking/modern slavery.

12/05/2026

Another delivery of sleeping bags and underwear to St Pats Community Support Centre

11/05/2026

Dear Friends

You are warmly invited to participate in the 2026 ART FOR PEACE – Inspiring Young Peace Builders Art Project across Australia and around the world.

We sincerely thank the many Rotary districts, clubs, and partner organisations already participating—and those who have sent enquiries to be part of this inspiring initiative.

Register here to receive the official 2026 artwork template:
https://forms.gle/L5gd5aBdMtUuugLK6
(Or scan the QR code on the poster.)

Closing soon!
Learn more and how to participate:
https://www.mega-meeting.com/

Read the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
https://www.mega-meeting.com/about-5

Two Entry Categories
A – Colouring Artwork
Use the official Art for Peace colouring sheet.

B – Original Drawing Artwork
Students create their own original drawing on A4 paper based on one of these themes:

• Peace & Unity — “Everyone Belongs”
• Environment & Sustainability
• Family & Community — Peace Begins at Home
Artwork must be completed in colour (pencils, crayons, markers, or paint).
As People of Action within Rotary International, this project affirms that our work for peace starts now. If our children—the leaders of tomorrow—are to be inspired by our legacy as peace advocates, humanitarians, and changemakers, then we must begin building those leaders today.

We warmly invite you, your club, and your organisation to be part of the 2026 ART FOR PEACE Project.
For more enquiries, please email: [email protected]

Together, let us build a culture where peace is lived, shared, and sustained—from one generation to another. Peace is possible.

Warm regards,

PP. Ozuem O. Esiri (AmbP)
Host & Convener, Peace Begins at Home – Australia International
Host & Convener, International Online Mega Meeting (Rotary Mega Meeting)

The Art for Peace project empowers children to become young peace builders by expressing their understanding of peace, unity, and harmony through creative art.

28/04/2026

DOORS OPEN FOR OUTSTANDING SCIENCE STUDENTS SCHEME
Applications have opened for the 2027 National Youth Science Forum Year 12 program, which brings together outstanding students across Australia and particularly those in regional and rural communities to learn more about science and the opportunities it can offer them.
The program, established by Rotary in partnership with our major universities and science organisations, brings together 235 students from across Australia who have demonstrated their ability and interest for nine days of deep immersion in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The students engage with researchers, scientists and industry professionals, and leave with connections, confidence and a much clearer picture of where STEM can take them. It truly is one of the most formative experiences a young STEM-curious person can have.
The 2027 program will be held across two sessions. Participants are allocated to one session:
• Session A: Australian National University, Canberra on January 6-14, 2027
• Session B: University of Queensland, Brisbane on from January 13-21, 2027
Applicants will be in Year 11 currently, and planning to continue science subjects in Year 12 next year.
Rotary clubs, including Booragoon, regularly help to make NYSF accessible to young Australians regardless of where they live or what resources they have by offering sponsorships to successful applicants.
For more NYSF information, go to 2027 Applications Poster (A4) or email [email protected] headed: NYSF 2027

12/04/2026

WARM HEARTS HELP EASE WINTER CHILLS FOR OUR HOMELESS AND NEEDY
Thanks to the Kardinya Markets community, several bags of new and good condition used warm clothes have been handed over to St Pat's to help homeless and needy people get through the coming winter.
The clothes - including shirts and trousers, jumpers, jackets, scarves, nightwear and socks - have been donated by sellers and buyers at the weekly markets at Kardinya Markets through the last month.
Brooke Peacock, the team leader at St Pat's Community Centre in Fremantle, expressed her thanks to all who contributed.
The Booragoon Rotary volunteers at Kardinya Markets will continue to accept further donations in coming weeks.
And the Kardinya Markets community will come together again in May, when the annual Give a Damn, Give a Can (GADGAC) appeal for donations of packets and cans of non-perishable food will be run by Booragoon Rotary at the weekly markets and by Fremantle Rotary through shopping centres and schools.
Kardinya Markets operates from 6am to 11am each Sunday in the ground floor carpark (undercover!) at the Kardinya Park Shopping Centre, at the corner of South Street and North Lake Road.

04/04/2026

KARDINYA MARKETS BUILD CHARITY FUNDS, COMMUNITY PROGRAMS
Kardinya Markets, the weekly trash and treasure market run by Booragoon Rotary in partnership with Fremantle Rotary each Sunday morning (except this week: we’re closed for Easter), is going from strength to strength since its move undercover three months ago.
The swapmart has been part of the community for nearly 37 years. It was initially established by Booragoon Rotary at the Bull Creek Shopping Centre in July 1989, but after three unprofitable years made the move west along South Street to the Kardinya Park Shopping Centre in January 1993.
There, with the generous and sustained support of the shopping centre’s owners and managers, it has delivered a regular income for the club. The income comes from fixed fees paid by the market sellers plus donations by buyers and casual visitors. (Important note: as with all Booragoon Rotary activities, all funds raised at the market are dedicated to our charity account to support local, national and international projects that are run/backed by Rotary.)
However, being set up outdoors in the shopping centre’s carpark had some drawbacks. In the 2025 calendar year, we lost no fewer than 12 weekly markets due to bad weather – it got so bad for a while, it seemed the weather gods were deliberately saving their worst for Sunday mornings. Even on dry mornings, the intense heat of a typical Perth mid-summer’s day often kept numbers down.
That was why the announcement by the shopping centre management a couple of years ago of a multi-million dollar upgrade, including a three-storey carpark building, was an exciting moment for the club.
Since the switch to the ground floor of the carpark on January 4, the average number of sellers each week has risen significantly and we’re also attracting a wider range of buyers – including, very pleasingly, a greater number of family groups.
In addition to the increased charity income, the change of venue is enabling us to begin expanding our community presence through Kardinya Markets. For instance, we’ve just completed a special Warm Winter appeal for donations of new and good condition used clothing for distribution to the homeless and needy in our community. Four large bags of clothing will be delivered to St Pat’s Community Centre in Fremantle next week.
This will be followed by our annual Give a Damn, Give a Can (GADGAC) appeal for donations of cans and packets of non-perishable food for distribution through St Pat’s and another local homelessness charity, PortCare.
At the same time, we’re working on plans for special events at Kardinya Markets such as a visit from WA Wildlife that will include a few of the entrancing native animals from its Bibra Lake hospital and rehabilitation centre.
We are working through local community radio and social media to build more public awareness of the Kardinya Markets. We’re appealing to all Rotarians and supporters to assist this PR program by clicking on to www.facebook.com/kardinyamarkets and liking or, even better, sharing our positive messages.
Booragoon and Fremantle are among a number of Rotary clubs across Western Australia that draw much/most of their charity funds from similar markets.
An outstanding example of that is the monthly Artisan Market run by Willetton Rotary on the second Sunday of each month at Agincourt Reserve, close to the Willetton Library and Southlands Shopping Centre in Willetton.

6-11am each Sunday, now undercover in Kardinya Park Shopping Centre car park building.