Rotary funds give kids a chance to heal at camp

A donation from the Rotary Club of Rockingham will see a group of local children affected by trauma head to the world-renowned Camp Kulin.

Established in 2013 and located in the Wheatbelt, the camp has quickly gained national and international recognition for its innovative programs. Since 2013 the Rotary Club has given more than $15,000 in scholarships to local families, with the funds coming from the Sunday Markets held at the Village Green carpark.

Peter Philipps from the Rotary Club of Rockingham said a recent $3500 donation would pay the fees for 10 children to attend the camp.

“The program is run so well and the set up at Kulin is very impressive,” he said.

“The town itself has really got behind the camp and there’s a lot of support for it. It’s something that the club is very proud to be involved with.”

The Camp Kulin program list includes activities for children living in the Wheatbelt, general camps open to any child in WA, scholarship camps for children affected by trauma, corporate programming, school excursions and school camps.

Camp Kulin manager and former City of Kwinana councillor Tanya Dupagne said the camp had been effective in engaging young people who had lived through harrowing experiences.

“The kids that are getting these scholarships that Rotary provide have experienced trauma or torture situations and they usually couldn’t afford to come without this opportunity,” she said.

“We know the short-term results of this program but now that we’ve been running for five years, we’re starting to see the long-term results as well. Rockingham and Kwinana is one of our highest catchment zones and our first group of kids we had from there are starting to return as volunteers, which is really great to see.”