Graham Toulmin
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Graham Adrian Toulmin, AM FICD (born 31 March 1948) is a dentist and musician, notable for his fundraising and dental philanthropy for the Democratic Republic of Congo. In 2009.Toulmin was made a member of the Order of Australia.
Life and work in Zaïre: 1987-1991
Toulmin trained as a missionary in 1985, and in 1987 moved with his family to the Democratic Republic of the Congo with the Church Missionary Society where he and his wife established a small dental clinic in Butembo. He travelled to outlying villages offering dental services and commenced training nurses in dental procedures; these nurse eventually took over the work from him.{{cite web|title=Australia Day 2009 Honours List, member (AM) in the general division of the order of Australia|url=http://www.gg.gov.au/sites/default/files/files/honours/ad/ad2009/Media%20notes%20AM%20%28M-Z%29%20%28final%29.pdf|publisher=The Australian Honours Secretariat|accessdate=26 December 2014}}
After being evacuated twice because of instability in the eastern regions of Zaire, Toulmin and his family returned to Australia in 1991.
Toulmin's wrote of his family of six leaving Australia and going to the town of Butembo in the mountainous region of eastern Zaïre in his autobiography Long Road to Zaire.{{cite book | last=Toulmin | first=Graham | title=Long Road to Zaïre | publisher=Ark House | url=https://www.arkhousepress.com/long-road-to-zaire/ |date=2022 |isbn=9780645286090}}
Fundraising and advocacy 1992-present
After returning to Australia in 1991, Toulmin began to raise funds and awareness for the war plagued country of Zaire. A trumpet player, Toulmin founded an organisation with his wife Wendy Toulmin called, ‘Brass for Africa’ (money for Africa) which over the next 14 years built a maternity clinic, established another dental clinic in Aru (some 600 km to the north of the original clinic), provided care and support for 34 Anglican clergy, helped build schools, supported AIDS orphans, and provided food and medical supplies for the increasing number of refugees fleeing the civil war. They accomplished this by making CDs,{{cite news|title=Dental as Anything |url=http://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/news/local/news/general/dental-as-anything/248049.aspx?storypage=0 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120720113818/http://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/news/local/news/general/dental-as-anything/248049.aspx?storypage=0 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-07-20 |accessdate=26 March 2012 |newspaper=Blue Mountains Gazette |date=2004-06-16 }} giving Jazz concerts and sponsoring Congolese nationals to visit Australia to make more widely known the plight of the Congolese people. Over 20,000 CDs were sold, and the entrepreneurial work still continued for many years even though ‘Brass for Africa’ wound down in 2007 and administration was transferred to an arm of [http://springwoodanglican.org.au Anglican Churches Springwood] (NSW).
Toulmin has led teams of dental students on fact finding trips to DRC in 2009, 2010, 2011{{cite news|last=Cleggett |first=Michael |title=Springwood dentist brings a smile to Africa |url=http://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/news/local/news/health/springwood-dentist-brings-a-smile-to-africa/2210610.aspx |accessdate=26 March 2012 |newspaper=Blue Mountains Gazette |date=2011-07-29 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120217215821/http://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/news/local/news/health/springwood-dentist-brings-a-smile-to-africa/2210610.aspx |archivedate=17 February 2012 }} and 2012.{{cite news|last=CLEGGETT|first=MICHAEL|title=Graham gets his teeth into African project|url=http://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/news/local/news/general/graham-gets-his-teeth-into-african-project/2511252.aspx|accessdate=5 April 2012|newspaper=Blue Mountains Gazette|date=4 April 2012}} Toulmin continues to work with Anglican Aid and other agencies, to secure funding and provide support to the DRC{{cite web|title=Mission to save the world|url=http://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/357526/mission-to-change-the-world/|accessdate=2013-12-01|newspaper=Blue Mountains Gazette|date=2012-09-25}}
In 2015 Graham and Wendy Toulmin returned to Aru in the north east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Graham is the Director of Dental Training at the Institut Supérieur des Techniques Médicales (ISTM){{cite web|url=https://www.cms.org.au/missionaries/graham-and-wendy-toulmin/|publisher=Church Missionary Society Australia|title=Graham and Wendy Toulmin|accessdate=2018-06-22|archive-date=21 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180621174043/https://www.cms.org.au/missionaries/graham-and-wendy-toulmin/|url-status=dead}}
Order of Australia
Graham Toulmin and his wife Wendy Toulmin were made members of the Order of Australia in the 2009 Australia Day Honours. {{cite web|url=https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1139777 | title=Award Extract Australian Honours Search Facility | publisher=Australian Government Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet | accessdate=2022-06-02}}{{cite news|last=Matheson|first=Melissa|title=Homegrown Heroes|url=http://penrith-press.whereilive.com.au/news/story/homegrown-heroes/|accessdate=26 March 2012|newspaper=Penrith Press|date=2009-01-27}}
Music
Toulmin has played trumpet for over 50 years. He performs improvised jazz and plays with his local band and orchestra.{{cite web|url=https://sydneyanglicans.net/news/band_turns_brass_into_gold | title=Band turns brass into gold | publisher=Sydney Anglicans | date=2005-02-08 |accessdate=2017-11-14}}
Published works
- [https://www.arkhousepress.com/long-road-to-zaire/ Long road to Zaïre] (2022, Ark House; {{ISBN|9780645286090}} )
References
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Category:Members of the Order of Australia