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CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE- NOVEMBER 2020
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My Fellow Rotarians and Friends,
At the age of two months, young Vincent Toto's life was set to end before it really began.
If Vincent had remained in Honiara, in the Solomon Islands, he would have died most probably within a few days or certainly within a month.
Vincent was born without a 'food-pipe' - which is his oesophagus.
As there are no paediatric surgeons in Honiara, or indeed in any of the Pacific Island countries, the local general surgeon contacted Canberra Centenary Hospital to seek emergency assistance. The Hospital immediately contacted the local ROMAC (Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children) District Chair who organised for Vincent, and his mother, Cosinta, to fly to Canberra where he underwent three significant surgical operations, dozens of gastroscopies, and ended up in the neonatal intensive care unit on a number of occasions during the next 16 months.
18-month old Vincent, after 16 long months, was finally able to return to the Solomons, a happy and healthy toddler, thanks to the outstanding efforts of the medical staff at Canberra Centenary Hospital, and all the volunteers from the local ROMAC team.
There are many other young children under the age of 15 needing urgent surgery, waiting for the COVID restrictions to be lifted so they too, through the assistance of ROMAC, can be treated in either Australian or New Zealand hospitals.
Please consider supporting ROMAC so that we can provide more children like Vincent from the Oceania region with life giving and/or dignity restoring surgery not accessible to them in their home country.
Please donate now to help.
Keep safe and keep well.
PDG Harold Sharp OAM
Chairman
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