Remote Philippines island to receive medical equipment

News Release

Attachments: four photographs (captions below)

Remote Philippines island to receive medical equipment thanks to Rotary

DELTA, BC (September 14, 2016) On Mindoro Island, one of the 2,000 inhabited islands among the 7,000 islands which comprise The Philippines, the mother of Alfredo Goco, a Ladner Rotarian, injured herself badly, but had to travel many painful, agonizing hours to reach medical help. Since then Goco has been working with various health authorities to bring medical assistance closer to the people of that island.

Demonstrating the global as well as local reach and impact of Rotary, a 40-foot shipping container fully packed with used medical equipment is on its way to The Philippines thanks to 25 members of not only the Rotary Club of Ladner, Goco’s home club, but several other Rotary clubs in the Lower Mainland and to the ongoing work of Vancouver-based Rotary World Help Network, a multi-club and multi-district Rotary program.

The Rotary Club of San Jose, in The Philippines, is receiving the container loaded with hospital beds, mattresses, IV poles, wheelchairs and more then distributing the equipment to a clinic on or near the remote island.

The shipping container is loaded with used medical equipment and supplies, worth $200,000 to $300,000 in terms of replacement cost, and of tremendous value to people in that remote Philippines island, according to Rotary Club of Ladner President Walt Hayward.

Hayward says, “Ladner Rotarians Alfredo Goco and Larry Pretty led the project for this shipment, one in The Philippines and one here, to generate funding from our club and The Rotary Foundation and equipment through Rotary World Help. Then five of our members joined 20 other Rotarians on September 10th at the former Riverview Hospital site in Coquitlam to help load the container. We are grateful to our hospitals and health system which provided the equipment to make this project, along with many Rotarians in the chain over many months, yet another international community contribution of Delta, the Lower Mainland and the province.”

Rotary Club of Ladner is one of 35,000 Rotary clubs around the world run by 1.2 million members. Rotary brings together leaders who step forward, exchange ideas and act on tough challenges to create positive change in their communities.

For more information, visit http://www.rotaryworldhelp.com/ or www.rotaryladner.org.

###

CONTACT:

Walt Hayward, President

Rotary Club of Ladner

604-290-5760

hayward@dccnet.com

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PATRICIA SIBLEY AND ROTARY WORLD HELP

CAPTIONS:

Your Title Here

25 Rotarians from Greater Vancouver loaded a shipping container with medical equipment for The Philippines.	Ladner Rotarians Bridget Jacob and Walt Hayward packing box of medical supplies destined for The Philippines island of Mindoro.
Ladner Rotarians among 25 who loaded shipping container with medical equipment and supplies for The Philippines.	Ladner Rotarians Walt Hayward (right) with Guillermo Bustos preparing to load container with medical equipment and supplies for The Philippines.