Sunday Times 2
Rotary Club of Colombo Mid Town donates life-saving equipment to NHSL
View(s):The Rotary Club of Colombo Mid Town of District 3220 – Sri Lanka & Maldives — donated three portable ventilators and two CPAP/ BiPAP machines to the National Hospital Sri Lanka (NHSL) recently. This programme was initiated jointly with the Rotary Club of Falköping of District 2380 – Sweden – and was facilitated through a Rs. 5.8 million global grant received by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International. Jennifer Berg, Regional Grant Officer, Rotary Grants, the Rotary Foundation, Evanston, USA attended the event.
From Left: Jennifer Berg, Dr. Aruna Gunapala, Rtn. Hussein Fazleabas, Rtn. Selvarajah Maherakanth, and the Ven. Bandagiriye Somawansa Thera
Speaking at the event, Consultant Physician Dr. Aruna Gunapala said only 10 ICU beds were available at the NHSL and this was far below the minimum requirement. He said doctors and other medical staff tried their best to protect the lives of patients who required respiratory support even with these limitations by using manual ventilators. However, these manual ventilators could cause more damage to the patient’s lungs. “I don’t have words to express my gratitude. This is a lifesaving project,” he said.
District Governor – RI District 3220 Sri Lanka, the Ven. Bandagiriye Somawansa Thera, also appreciated the initiative taken by the Rotary Club of Colombo Mid Town and emphasised the importance of disease prevention and treatment projects to improve health infrastructure.
Ms. Jennifer Berg said she had approved many global grant projects but rarely got the opportunity to witness the execution of such a worthy project.
This project was spearheaded by PDG Thariq Thulba, Dr. Yusry Mohideen, Past President and Hussein Fazleabas, Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Colombo Mid Town.