Lightning Ridge Rotary Club recently donated money to assist a local child to lead a healthier life.

The local Rotary Club is a proud supporter of charity, Royal Far West (RFW), a group dedicated to improving the health and wellbeing of country children. RFW specialise in supporting children’s developmental, mental and behavioural health so they can reach their full potential.

Rotary Club member, Joan Treweeke, also the Chairperson of Royal Far West board explained to Western Plains App what it means for the family involved.

"Right now, there are 190,000 children across rural and remote Australia who have health and developmental needs that can’t be met because of lack of facilities where they live," Ms Treweeke said. "Eleven year old Teddy (not his real name) was one of these children. Support has not always been accessible for him due to the remoteness of his hometown, significant financial stress, psychosocial difficulties within the family and limited services in the area."

According to information gathered by Royal Far West, Teddy’s school reported that he struggled to sit still in the classroom, was experiencing great difficulty with learning and was behind his peers academically. He was having difficulty with peer interactions and was getting into altercations during his free time or when on the bus.

Thankfully, Teddy was referred to RFW’s Paediatric Developmental Program, a specialist program that provides comprehensive assessment, diagnosis, review and treatment services for children with complex developmental and behavioural issues.

RFW representative, Danielle Chapman said the group helps provide pathways to care.

"At our base in Manly, we run a program for children with complex needs and have specialist clinicians close at hand. Generally children are referred by their GP and can then access experts not generally available in country areas. Wherever possible, we will include their own local services.

"The entire family travels down to Manly. Sometimes it’s the first time that the child has seen the ocean. They will stay for up to three weeks while appointments take place and are accommodated at no cost."

RFW turns 99 in December and over the years the group have helped give a voice to the needs of country children and advocated for equitable access to services and outcomes.

"We have an amazing history dedicated to the health and wellbeing of country kids. While initially only serving NSW, by 2025, we will be operating at a national level," Ms Chapman said. "We are part funded by NSW Health, but there is a big chunk not covered - around $5000 gap for each family."

This is where community groups like the Lightning Ridge Rotary Club come in, generously donating $3,500 to help cover the gap for Teddy's treatment

Because of this, Teddy was able to visit the RFW centre in Manly in early 2022 and was assessed for concerns about his behaviour, his regulation, and challenging experiences in his home life.

During his week at RFW, Teddy and his mum met with a multidisciplinary team of child-focused clinicians, and after in-depth assessments, Teddy was given the following diagnoses: ADHD, moderate specific learning disorder in reading and written expression, and language disorder.

Following this, Teddy worked with a RFW occupational therapist to support his emotional regulation at school and also his engagement with peers and learning. Time was taken to support his school and Teddy in identifying activities and strategies to help him maintain a calm state.

"We are incredibly grateful for groups like Lightning Ridge Rotary," Ms Chapman said. "And they know they are supporting a child within their own region which is fantastic.

" Although identities of the families are never divulged, any group donating money is given a progress report so they know how their donations have helped. I must pay tribute to Joan Treweeke who has been a fantastic board member and now Chair of RFW and very connected to her local community."

Mrs Treweeke is certainly a busy lady, currently a Director of Royal Flying Doctors Service South East Section and has been a Board Member since 1996, served three years as President, and spent three years on the National Board. She also served on the Boards of the Western NSW Local Health District until June 2021, and was the President of Contact Inc. until November 2020.

But when speaking with Western Plains App, her focus was on Teddy who, since commencing therapy, has made great progress in being able to identify activities that help calm him and is able to be supported to access these when needed.

"Teddy will continue to work with RFW as part of the Paediatric Developmental Program to ensure he continues to have access to the therapy, services and support he needs," Ms Treweeke said. "I really encourage other people or community groups to support RFW who are doing a wonderful job to help country children lead better lives".

Head to royalfarwest.org.au for more information.