On October 18, 2014, Sunnyvale Rotarians Flo Stafford, Joe Hamilton and Russ Hobbs will depart to Southeast Asia
This $150,000 Rotary Foundation grant will make a significant difference in the life and health of women and children in Laos. Sunnyvale Rotary was the largest contributor in Rotary District 5170 to help achieve this matching grant. Below are some important details about this humanitarian effort.
- The grant will provide hospital equipment and medical staff training in the Mahosot Hospital in the capital city of Vientiane, Laos which is the first and most important hospital in the country.
- The hospital is dedicated to the diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases and also serves as a medical research and training center.
- Given the low life expectancy in the country which is only 54 years, the center has a highly important task in improving the country’s health.
- It includes hospital equipment to update the hospitals critical care unit and neo-natal center. Renown heart specialists will be training the Laotian doctors on the latest cardiac care.
- After matching from The Rotary Foundation, Sunnyvale Rotary donated $9,508 toward the grant. These funds came from club donations to The Rotary Foundation and the match from the Word Fund of TRF.
- Rotarians traveling to Laos pay their own expenses; they also will be participating with the local Vientiane Rotary club in a hands on separate activity to improve the water, sanitation and school facility project in a country village 3 hours from Vientiane.
- This grant was funded by TRF. $15000 each in Districts 5170 &5220 and $60,000 from R.E.A.P., an American Veterans group, was matched by TRF. The grant totaled $150,000. Doctors doing training are from China and Romania.
- Assist International, a non-profit vendor, will provide equipment, installation and training. Assist International's founder is Bob Pagett, a Scotts Valley Rotarian who has worked with Sunnyvale Rotary with projects in Djibouti, China and Guatemala.
- Sunnyvale Rotarians will spend a week in Vientiane but will also visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia and Hanoi in Vietnam with 7 other Rotarians from clubs in Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz and Modesto.
