INTERNATIONAL Women’s Day was celebrated in the Bay by 197 at a lunch held by the Rotary Club of Salamander Bay.

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The event was a celebration of local women and their achievements, and will do much to support women here in Australia and abroad into the future.

Attendees dug deep and purchased 211 vaccinations for young girls in Papua New Guinea to protect them from cervical cancer.

The health of women and babies in Papua New Guinea is a special project lead by Taylors Beach local Wendy Stein who has with the assistance of the Rotary Club of Salamander Bay been saving the lives of women through providing health interventions, assisting with births and providing contraception.

Many babies are abandoned in Papua New Guinea, providing contraception for women and girls allows these women to plan their pregnancies.

According to Humanium another charity working in Papua New Guinea 37% of the population are living beneath the international poverty threshold, that means they are living on less than US $1.25/day.

The charitable work of Wendy Stein is funded by the Rotary Club of Salamander Bay.

The Inspirational Gemma Sisia founder of the School of St Judes spoke of how free education for the needy in Africa became a reality that started with $10 and a dream supported by her local Rotary Club.

The School is internationally renowned for the work it does.

Gemma told News Of The Area, “Salamander Bay Rotary Club has been helping the school since before we opened the doors.

“With the support of Australians there are 1800 students being educated free under scholarships and 250 graduates are studying at university.”

The school is changing communities, for every student that attends the school there is a whole family that is being raised out of poverty.

“The school is a product of when everyone does something together, donations, volunteers and spreading the word,” she said.

St Judes Graduate Godwin Silayo spoke passionately about the opportunity that his scholarship at St Judes had made not only to his future but to the welfare of the very important woman in his life, his mother.

The Rotary event will support Save the Kula Babies, the School of St Judes and other local services in Port Stephens.

By Marian SAMPSON