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Health Services Project

Planning:
The International Goan Organization of Ontario decided to ride the opportunity presented by the restructuring of health services in Ontario, which involved closures of hospitals and disposal of related surplus medical equipment, with the goal of transferring this surplus equipment and supplies to targeted charitable health organizations in Goa.

Eligibility criteria for receipt of medical equipment and supplies was established by the IGO. The consensus was that the health services organizations in Goa must be operated exclusively on a charitable basis; must provide care and services to poor and disadvantaged children, seniors, individuals suffering from infectious diseases or those terminally ill; and must be able to effectively use the medical equipment and supplies donated. Cellie Gonsalves, Director of the IGO visited Goa and met with management personnel of various missionary/charitable institutions, all of whom were overwhelmingly receptive of the project. They subsequently submitted their requests for hospital equipment and supplies to the IGO.

Cellie Gonsalves, Director of the IGO and Project Manager for this initiative, visited each selected health facility to ensure that they met and complied with the established eligibility criteria and to ensure that they would be able to use the donated medical equipment and supplies effectively. The following organizations were selected:

• St.Francis Xavier's Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled Children, Old Goa
  
• Christ the King Physiotherapy, Artificial Limb Centre, Santa Inez, Panjim
  
• Nirmala Mary Hospital and Dispensary, Cavelossim
  
• Shanti Avedna Ashram - Palliative Care and Cancer Treatment Center, Loutolim
  
• Missionaries of Charity (Mother Teresa) Maternity and Old Age Home, Panaji
  
• Lokvishwas Pratishthan's School for Handicapped Kids, Ponda
  
• Porvorim Lions Charitable General Hospital, Siolim
  
• Rotary Club of Panjim Charitable Hospital, Panjim
  

In order for the IGO to meet its objective, it had to ensure effective receipt and distribution of the medical equipment and supplies in Goa. To this end, Msgr. Alberto Luis, Executive Director of Caritas in Goa, was appointed to assume leadership of the IGO Health Services Quality Control Team in Goa.

The IGO developed a budget aimed at covering the cost of collection, storage, shipment of medical equipment and supplies to Goa as well as maintenance and distribution costs in Goa itself.

Implementation:
Intense and extensive networking was conducted with a number of hospitals and health services facilities to ensure the effective distribution and receipt of the pertinent medical equipment and supplies, while in Toronto arrangements were made for the storage of these resources pending shipment to Goa. Concurrently, several fundraising events, including a boat cruise, were held to raise funds for the project. The support received, from far and wide, in terms of both physical and financial resources, was very much appreciated and without which this project could not have been brought to fruition.

Indicators of Success/Outcomes:
Two shipments of medical supplies and equipment worth a total of $100,000 were sent and received in Goa. The first shipment included 75 wheelchairs, 95 walkers, 154 boxes of catheter units, 410 boxes of various athletic supports, 4110 syringe units, audiogram, hearing aids, crutches, angio sets and blood pressure sets. The second shipment included 64 wheelchairs, 81 folding aluminum walkers, 40 rollator walkers and other medical and health care equipment. Delivery and receipt of these resources was published in the Navhind Times on February 4, 1999 and the Evening Times, Gomantak on January 27, 1999.

Letters of thanks were received from Msgr. Alberto Luis, Executive Director of Caritas, Goa who coordinated the IGO efforts in Goa, as well as from receiving institutions and individual recipients of the donated resources. Contents of these letters including the following verbiage:

• It is only because of philanthropists like you (IGO), this institution is making headway for the upliftment of handicapped children in society and is creating self-reliance in their life".
  

Conclusion
The IGO Health Services Project served to affirm that numerous individuals' hearts are in the right place, in that, when approached, a number of individuals and organizations dug deep and donated funds, medical/health care resources and, most importantly, countless man-hours to make this project a success.

Stretching out our hands to bring comfort and assistance to the truly needy in our motherland was a source of great pride and satisfaction to the many individuals who were involved and is in line with the overall thrust and mission of the International Goan Organization of Ontario.