(JollofNews) – A Gambian registered charitable foundation, the Baba Jerreh Foundation, has donated surgical equipment including gloves, bandages, antiseptics, syringes, needles, alcohol swaps and tourniquets to Brikama District Hospital.
The equipment was delivered to officials of the hospital by Musukoi Sanyang, a Farababanta born and a former Community Health Nurse now based in Alaska, United States.
Brikama lies some 35 km south of Gambia’s capital Banjul, serving the entire West Coast Region, the biggest region in the country with a population of 699, 704 inhabitants and a population density of 397, according to a 2013 national census report.
Musukoi Sanyang said she decided to provide the equipment with support from Esther Petrie, a specialist in emergency medicine based in Anchorage, Alaska, because she knows and felt the hospital’s need for essential medical equipment.
The hospital has the biggest coverage area in the Gambia with its catchment area alone having about 40,000 people.
Ms Sanyang believes that the equipment would help to maintain the hospital’s operations and address the growing demand for medical attention within its coverage area.
“I decided to provide these equipment to Brikama because here is where I received my first salary,” she said.
The officer in charge of the hospital, Alieu Sonko, said if people really understand the importance of contributing to save lives, they will always participate in providing the health needs of the people.
He said the equipment will help to address the health needs of the people they serve, particularly the vulnerable ones.
“Any nation with a weak workforce is on the brink of failure,” Mr. Sonko said.
“We don’t view the donation as little because the hospital largely depends on donations and to make the facility reliably functional, we must have reliable partners in combination with the government.”
Representing the governor of the region, the chief executive officer of Brikama Area Council, Mam Sait Jallow said, “We can only boast of being reliable and true citizens if we offer services to our communities and nation.”
He added that Brikama is the single largest community in the Gambia with the higher medical coverage area and the need for health service is too high in the Gambia.
Lamin Marong, a public health nurse at the hospital, said government alone cannot address all the health needs of the people and individuals and organisations have to come in to support.
Thank you very much Sister Musukoi Sanyang. I only hope some of the unscrupulous medical personnel won’t take the chance of hiding away with some of these materials for their personal uses to get money from the poor and needy.
While I was at Yundum during my holidays, I also learnt that a Kombo citizens’ Association(Kafo) based in Barcelona, Spain equally send laudable materials to the Brikama Health Centre. I praise them for the excellent efforts.
May Allah bless Miss Sanyang and the Spain Kombo Association!