Community
24 April, 2026
Charity through community teamwork
A LOT of hard work and community generosity has seen a shipping container of essentials sent overseas to assist those in need in Botswana.
Michele Smith of Future Freight has spent many years collecting medical equipment such as beds and wheelchairs and children’s items such as clothing and books to donate overseas, where they are given to a hospital and mothers in need.
It is through the work of the Terang Rotary Club in which the collected donations are packed ready for shipping.
Ms Smith said this donation has seen 27 donated hospital beds sent overseas, which is more than the 19 acute ward beds at Camperdown Hospital.
“Twelve of them were wrong orders from the hospital – they had wrong bed heads, wrong colour and more – so there were 12 brand new beds sent across,” she said,
“One beautiful person through the NDIS (National Disability Insurance Scheme) had one of those really expensive wave beds that are electronic and wave so the person doesn’t get bed sores – he had his for only three months and NDIS sent him another one.
“When he said he already had one, NDIS said he was on the list and had to accept it but could do whatever he wanted with the old one – so he gave us his old wave bed, which is valued at $55,000.
“Through various hospitals, we had gowns, masks and goggles left over from COVID that they weren’t going to use that are pushing to close to out of date, so we sent those across too.
“Slade Shipping back this, so what would have been a $30,000 movement we actually get for a lot less.”
The beds sent over are used to treat patients, who were otherwise simply treated on mattresses or on the floor due to a lack of available beds.
Another significant donation has been hearing aids, with Warrnambool’s Coastal Hearing providing 40 pairs of hearing aids as well as batteries and cleaning kits for children experiencing deafness and hearing difficulties.
“My next aim is 12 mattresses for the 12 beds to send to Uganda, but those will come – I’ll just ask through the hospital,” Ms Smith said.
“I’ve got a whole room of baby clothes to make into mothers’ kits to send across, so that’ll be the next round.
“Rotary Terang sponsor us for this – they help pack the beds and emotionally support me.
“The next round is to Uganda, which will be the mothers’ kits.
“Some women go on cruises and others go do yoga classes – I organise containers of medical equipment for overseas countries.”
The mothers’ kits will assist mothers in poverty to dress their children, with 1500 babies born a month in one of the poorest areas of the world – on par with deliveries in Werribee each year.
In comparison, Camperdown delivers 50 babies a year.
“Because the diamond price has gone down, the poverty in Botswana has risen – they are employed in diamond mines, but the world diamond price has hit the floor and there are so many people not making any money,” Ms Smith said.
“The next container is children’s books – because if they can learn English or French, they can go to high school and if they go to high school, they can go to university.”
Ms Smith extended her gratitude to everyone who supports her in collecting, preparing and shipping the donations, right up to the distribution.
“We get amazing blessings – Kim McKenzie is amazing, and Wayne Reicha (Terang Rotary) collects equipment through Rotary,” she said.
“We store it and, when we have enough, we pack it all up and Slade Shipping send it.
“Rotary Botswana then get it cleared through customs – they get it from the South African port and they take it to Botswana and distribute it.
“That’s a huge network through Rotary.”
Donations of old children’s clothes, books and items such as wheelchairs can be taken to Future Freight at 43 Fergusson Street, Camperdown, or collected by calling Mrs Smith on 5593 3836.