メヂカル - ホープ の支えに誠に心から感謝を表現します
Medikaru houpu no sasa-e ni makoto ni kocoro kara kansha wo hyougen shimasu !
Sister Esther Carolus of Hout Bay Clinic
At 4.00pm on 25 November 2009, after two years of hard work by both Rotary Club of Tokyo and Rotary Club of Hout Bay, everything came to fruition with the opening of the completely re-furbished and extended Main Road Clinic in Hout Bay. This will enable the small of the clinicto seriously begin the fight back on HIV/Aids and TB in the nearby poverty-ridden shack township of Imizamo Yethu. Over 4,500 patient calls a month are handled by Sister Carolus (above) in what have been difficult conditions.Dr Ivan Bromfield, on the left above, City of Cape Town Director of Health, who officiated and seen here with clinic staff, said it was a "wonderful example of international communities and Rotary working together to save lives". In the centre is Sister Esther Carolus, sister-in-charge of the clinic, who worked with the Rotary team during the whole re-building and re-equipping process. Thank you, Rotary Tokyo.
click to enlarge
Current President of Rotary Hout Bay, Joe Schwach, performed the opening ceremony with Dr Ivan Bromfield and the city's director of HIV/Aids Karen Jennings, plus the regional director of health, Lumke Bakana. Above also is the machine purchased with Rotary Tokyo funds, apart from all the clinical equipment supplied from the same matching grant. The gathering included a hundred people representing various walks of life in the Hout Bay community and there were special dancers and an African choir from Imizamo Yethu to sing the praises of Rotary and thank all those who contributed.
The history of the project started when Rtn, past member of Rotary Club of Tokyo, Rainer Jahn, "adopted" the RHBC project "Operation Medical Hope" with a donation. This was subsequently matched by his previous club in Tokyo. This project has been driven by the need to improve HIV/Aids facilities in the local community and help fight the scourges of TB and HIV/Aids locally.
Government facilities in the small town of Hout Bay outside Cape Town are limited and underfunded. An Australian Rotary club first ran a lottery to raise funds in NSW and then a team of Rotary Australian climbers visted Tanzania to climb the highest mountain in Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro, again in aid of funds for "Operation Medical Hope". Rotary Club of Tokyo joined the project to assist as far as contents of the re-furbished clinic was concerned.
Work start on the ref-furbishment nine months ago and a team led by Rotarian and past presidents Butch Liebneberg and Allan Walker, assisted by Ria Gibb and originator of the project, pres-elect Patrick McLaughlin, brought the project to a happy conclusion last week.
Below is a selection of the happy shots from a wonderful day to be shared by Rotarians in both Japan and South Africa..... reminders of a successful project that is one part of the on-going fight against HIV/Aids and TB in this part of Africa. Operation Medical Hope continues into phase four, which is educational support programmes to bring more persons possibly infected to the clinic to learn of their HIV status, either positive or negative, and to support the mothercare and hospice teams working amongst the poor as home care teams tending to those sick with TB and Aids and the terminally ill. Please don't forget us, Tokyo!
PP Don Peters, who has been with Rotary's Operation Medical Hope since its inception in Hout Bay and PP Butch Liebenberg who supervised the current phase of building operations at the Main Road Clinic.
Some of the singers from Imizamo Yethu whom Sister Carolus brought to thank Rotary
One of the rooms fully equipped by Rotary in the additional pre-fabricated area
Dr Ivan Bromfield, City Director of Health, with Rotarian Patrick McLaughlin in a new patient counselling area
Newly painted, new signage, happy staff and new equipment.
Any day in the crowded patient waiting area.
Rotary Hout Bay wishes all Rotarians all over the world a wonderful and joyous Christmas and a Happy New Year
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