By Jeanette Leigh
IT consultant Jagath Jayasinghe finds it hard to express the joy he feels knowing that he’s helped improve healthcare for thousands of poor people in his country of origin, Sri Lanka.
“I donate blood regularly, but this feeling is far beyond that,” said Jagath who joined Rotary North Balwyn in 2018.Soon after his induction, Jagath visited Sri Lanka where he spoke to doctors in the North Central Province – as a child he had witnessed his relatives having to deal with the challenged hospital system in the region. He asked the doctors to compile an equipment wish list, that he could take back to the Club. Small regional hospitals are vital, but tend to miss out on a lot of international aid with most going to hospitals in Colombo.
Supplemented by a district grant from The Rotary Foundation, the Club raised funds to send a container packed with 40 hospital beds, examination couches, linen and other medical equipment.
“One of the doctors I’ve been liaising with, Provincial Director of Health Service Dr. Palitha Bandara, said that they don’t even have 50 percent capacity to treat patients who have only the floor or inflatable beds to lay on,” advised Jagath.
International projects involving the sending of goods such as medical equipment to countries like Sri Lanka are challenging and proper documentation is vital. The pandemic has added to the difficulties with delayed shipping.
“We were fortunate to have assistance from Rotary Anuradhapura. Past President Dr. Bandara helped us deal with all the documentation,” said Jagath.
The beds and other items came from Box Hill, Monash and Austin Hospitals. Australian hospitals regularly update their equipment, and the items they discard often exceed the quality of equipment in many developing countries. Rotary’s Donations In Kind is a sustainable system that redistributes this equipment that would otherwise end up in landfill.
With the arrival of the equipment, a formal ceremony took place in the office of the Regional Director of Health Services, chaired by Dr. Palitha Bandara and attended by the Governor of North Central Province along with other health officials.
This project’s success was due to the effective collaboration between Rotary North Balwyn’s International Committee, staff at Donations In Kind, and the Rotary Club of Anuradhapura. The power of Rotary exists in its ability to bring the right people together to make things happen.