Germany donates to F.E.S.A. and N.H.S.

24 August 2016, 12:00AM

Mr. Wolfgang Drewes from the small town Heide in Northern Germany is well known on our shores for his ongoing projects in sourcing donations for Samoa.

Most of his previous projects were focused on equipment for the Fire and Emergency Services Authority and once again, he has helped this organization.

In addition, the Ministry of Health has benefitted from his generosity and that of others in his home region.  

He fell in love with Samoa back in 2010 when he participated in a training of F.E.S.A. staff providing a Rescue Tender full of tools donated by the German Technical Relief Organization THW. 

Since then, he has begun his own projects to help Samoa. 

He is promoting Samoa in his home region of Northern Germany by talking about his positive impressions of Samoa and he is convincing people in Germany to donate needed equipment to Samoa. 

And if he has allocated donors or if he collects enough volume of goods financed by him, he is fulfilling the next complicated step to organize the shipment to Samoa. 

For F.E.S.A., he donated in 2012 the first Mobile Kitchen to be used in Upolu. In 2014 it was a fully equipped Ambulance and Short Wave Radios, and in 2015, a container full of spare parts and fire protection gear. 

Now he has brought F.E.S.A. a second Mobile Kitchen, this time a donation from the German Technical Relief Organization T.H.W.. 

The Mobile Kitchen is designed to provide immediate help in areas where a disaster has occurred. The kitchen can be towed as a trailer to remote areas and it has the capability to cook food on it for up to 400 people at the time.

Additionally, Wolfgang donated a trailer, 80 working uniforms and plenty of other useful goods for F.E.S.A. 

The total value of the goods for F.E.S.A. is about $30,000 tala. A handover to the Fire and Emergency Services Authority was conducted last week.

With space to spare in the container, Wolfgang filled it up with an Ultrasound Scanner the midwife Aiufi from the Sataua District Hospital has asked him for. She wanted to use it for scanning pregnant women. 

Wolfgang has known Aiufi for some time through her German husband Helmut who has been living in Savaii for over 30 years. As Wolfgang discussed the usage of the Ultrasound Machine with N.H.S. they came to the conclusion that the scanner would be under-utilized at the District Hospital. 

The high tech device is more needed at Savai’i’s Tuasivi Hospital. 

The scanner is a Phillips HDI 4000 Ultrasound machine ideal for breast, urology and vascular imaging for diagnostic purposes. The device has been donated by the Westkuestenklinikum Heide, the hospital of Wolfgang’s home town.

Wolfgang still had some goods for the Sataua District Hospital: a wheelchair, walker, crutches and a laptop for administration purposes. 

The handover ceremony at the Tuasivi Hospital was attended by the Associate Minister of Health, Salausa Dr Ah Ching and other N.H.S. officials. 

The total value of the Savaii Donation was about $18,000 tala. Wolfgang is very thankful to the German Organization E.G. Global and the T.H.W. Stiftung for supporting him in financing the freight costs. 

24 August 2016, 12:00AM
Samoa Observer

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