Newly elected ROMAC chair Glenys Parton’s journey from science to service.
Glenys Parton, the technical director of industry systems for New Zealand Avocado, has spent her career helping solve science problems. But in recent years, her focus has shifted from scientific research to something equally important – humanitarian work.
After years in soil analysis, veterinary diagnostics, dairy cattle fertility research and recently horticulture, Glenys found that the principles of scientific investigation translated surprisingly well to the world of service.
In 2015, after moving to the Bay of Plenty and joining the Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise, NZ, Glenys became deeply involved in ROMAC – a Rotary multidistrict project that provides life-saving surgery to children from Pacific countries, care they cannot access in their home nations.
Her first patient, Vinna, arrived from Tanna Island, Vanuatu, in 2017 with a double fracture in her femur. Vinna was referred to ROMAC by then Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) recruiter Kylie DellaBarca Steel. Under the care of orthopaedic specialist Dr Richard Willoughby, Vinna’s journey was long and complex. She spent more than two years in New Zealand, as Glenys and her team worked through both cultural and medical challenges. But in the end, Vinna returned to her village fully healed, carrying with her the gratitude of a life restored.
Vinna’s story is one of many. ROMAC, supported by Rotary and private donations, regularly brings children from the Pacific Islands of Oceania to New Zealand and Australia for surgeries, from orthopaedic procedures to life-saving heart operations. These children typically stay for a few months, receiving the care they need before returning home to their families.
PICTURED: Glenys’ first ROMAC patient was Vinna, who arrived from Tanna Island, Vanuatu, in 2017 with a double fracture in her femur.
But Glenys’s contributions don’t stop at medical assistance. Recently, she helped spearhead an effort with the Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise, NZ, to collect unused schoolbooks from local schools, initially in response to a devastating cyclone in Santo, Vanuatu. With the help of returning RSE workers – seasonal labourers from Pacific nations – the books began their journey to new homes in Vanuatu classrooms.
However, the pandemic brought its own challenges. As COVID disrupted supply chains, the books collected in December 2023 sat in storage for a number of months, leaving the project in limbo.
Then, a chance meeting with Gill Cameron, wife of Zespri’s former chairman Bruce Cameron, on a flight to Christchurch opened a new door. Gill connected Glenys with their People and Culture Manager Darelle Jones, and in August 2024 a tandem trailer loaded with books finally began the journey of the books to Tanna Island.
For Glenys, these small victories are heartening. As she watches the RSE scheme grow, most recently highlighted at the Horticulture Conference in Tauranga, she sees how interconnected the world is. And it’s these connections – from a conversation on a plane, the commitment of ROMAC volunteers, to a surgeon’s skilled hands – that make all the difference.
Following two years as deputy chair of ROMAC, Glenys was elected as the first female chair of the organisation on November 1, 2024.
To find out more about ROMAC (Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children) in New Zealand and Australia and how you can contribute to the work of this organisation visit www.romac.org.au
MAIN PICTURE: ROMAC chair Glenys Parton helped spearhead an effort with the Rotary Club of Tauranga Sunrise, NZ, to collect unused schoolbooks from local schools and distribute them in Vanuatu.