The Sarnelli House project received the award at the district conference - which brings together 40 clubs covering a third of the state - in Wagga Wagga.

Forbes’ work at Sarnelli House was chosen for the honour by district governor Garry Roberts and was a total surprise to Forbes Rotary Club.

“The Forbes Rotary Club was very pleased to receive this unexpected award which has seen club members participate to raise funds in its support,” Sarnelli House, Rotary Australia World Community Service (RAWCS) project manager Jeff Herdegen said.

“This award was given in recognition of the project being supported at the AIDS orphanage known as the Sarnelli House near Nong-Khai in north-eastern Thailand.”

The Sarnelli House orphanage cares for 150 AIDS orphaned children, half of which are HIV positive. 

The plight of these children has touched Forbes Rotarians, who have partnered with the Sarnelli House orphanage to ensure these children have access to basics such as food, water, education and health care. 

Mr Herdegen and fellow Forbes Rotarian Chris Finkel have visited the project a number of times since bringing it to the attention of Rotary in 2013.

The orphanage operates on a small rural holding of 50 acres which is being developed to be self-sufficient for food. 

When fully developed the property may produce a surplus for selling to the surrounding community and will provide work for the orphans who may find it difficult to fit into normal life in the Thai communities.

At the end of last year, Rotary provided a working team of five, including four Forbes Rotarians - Mr Herdegen, Graham Falconer, Peter Norris and Ross Williams - who spent a week painting school rooms, repairing windows and offering agronomy advice to improve food crops.

They also took a dentist to educate the children on dental hygiene, assess their teeth and provide urgent care.

“The project will provide ongoing assistance by providing a dental chair and autoclave to assist with developing and equipping a dental surgery which will be essential for therapeutic treatments including fillings, root canal therapy, orthodontics, etc,” Mr Herdegen said. 

“We are endeavouring to communicate with dental facilities at universities in Thailand to encourage them to use the surgery that we establish as an outreach program for training senior dental students. 

“Unfortunately this is meeting with some resistance because of the unknown and concerns of dealing with AIDS affected people. Education will play an important role in achieving this objective.”

Forbes Rotary Club will also be funding and assisting in building a new solar-powered boys home on a residential block that is remote from electricity supplies.

The club’s commitment to provide technical and physical support will see another working team visit Thailand again this year, as well as continuing financial support.

“The project is recognised as meeting a lot of criteria of helping people in another country that are far less fortunate than we are,” Mr Herdegen said. 

“The AIDS epidemic in countries like Thailand is growing because of the lack of education, where young people migrate to the major cities such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai and even the larger tourist communities, from poorer rural communities to seek a higher standard of living. 

“Unfortunately they fall prey to the sex industry, which is a haven for contracting sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS.”

Some of the children graduating from Sarnelli House orphanage will live normal lives and hopefully, with education, the problem of AIDS will be minimised in Thailand.

“The problem at the moment is to accommodate the unfortunate young children who are affected through no fault of their own,” Mr Herdegen said.

“Our project is an ongoing one and the club would appreciate any financial donations to assist with our cause.”