| SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE We recently had an opportunity to share our “wealth.” The Medical Loan Closet was bursting at its seams because grateful members of our community frequently return borrowed equipment and add something extra. We also acquired older equipment that wasn’t in high demand like wooden crutches and walker/wheelchairs that don’t fold. For almost six months, I have tried to contact various organizations that could utilize this durable medical equipment. Our inventory of wheelchairs had grown to 41 and we had so many walkers there wasn’t a place to store them. Earlier this summer, Louella Hanson was instrumental in organizing a shipment to the Dominican Republic with Doug Hanson (her son) to support the Christ For The Nations mission. I called the Rotary club to ask about their “Amigo Project” and learned about a new humanitarian program. |
 Sally Sue Barry, Louella Hanson,Gary Gano (owner, Angeles Medical Supply), Sherry Schubert, Imbert Matthee (director of NW Clear Path International) |
|
| Clear Path International (CPI) was formed by a group with a wealth of relief-work experience in Vietnam and other parts of Asia in 2000. They originally formed as a landmine and bomb removal organization. CPI collects and ships medical equipment to hospitals in mine-affected countries. Their goal is to strengthen the ability of communities threatened by wartime explosives to treat and heal trauma patients, particularly landmine accident survivors. They have shipped 40 foot containers to Cambodia, Vietnam, Jordan, Columbia and the Philippines. Smaller shipments have gone to Iraq, Guatemala, Ecuador, Uganda and Thailand.
When I contacted Imbert Matthee, Northwest director of CPI from Bainbridge Island, WA., he was very interested in our unused equipment and medical supplies. I asked Gary Gano, owner of Angeles Medical Supply, to check the 8 wheelchairs and other equipment prior to Imbert’s pick up date. Gary was so interested in this project, that he volunteered to bring cases of gloves and other supplies to add to the container. We were all eager to share and share alike; it was a true spirit of community cooperation. On Friday-October 1, Sally Sue Barry, Louella Hanson, and Sherry Schubert gathered at the Medical Loan Closet to help with the transfer of the equipment. Gary came early to help select walkers and make final repairs on the wheelchairs. He even helped with a real Medical Loan transaction when a woman was asking about the best wheelchair for her husband that recently had a stroke. By the time Imbert arrived, the equipment was ready to load in his van. Several pictures were taken to celebrate and document the event. We hope to partner with CPI again as we collect equipment that cannot be used here. Gary is eager to donate more medical supplies when Imbert comes again. The CPI is designed to create an in-country capacity that can sustain the victim assistance activities well into the future, independently or with minimal support from the international community. More information about CPI is on their website: www.clearpathinternational.org. This project certainly lends to the Soroptimist programs of Goodwill and Understanding. Soroptimist Disaster Relief Fund, Project Independence: Women Survivors of War. Colleen Blazier |
||
|
|
SI Sequim |