The Rotary Club of Falomo on Thursday gifted 25 baby cots worth millions of naira to the Lagos Island Maternity Hospital in Lagos State.
The gesture, which is one of the seven areas of the Club’s focus for the year, was aimed at addressing the maternal and childcare needs of the hospital.
District Governor, Rotary International District 9110, Rotarian Omotunde Lawson, who presented the cots to the management of the hospital during her official visit to the Club, said the cots were part of the urgent needs of the hospital.
She stressed that nursing mothers face a lot of challenges sleeping on the same bed as their newborn babies, adding that there was a need to begin to address the problem in hospitals.
Lawson, who is the first female governor of the district, noted that the empowerment of the girl child is one of the major focuses of the district for the year, adding that the district would facilitate the vaccination of 2500 girls between the ages of 10 to 14 to protect them against cervical cancer.
She said, “So, usually, on an occasion like this when the District Governor pays a visit to clubs as part of his/her official assignment, the club will carry out a good project in the area of need for the community. They were here before and they asked what they would require for them to function properly and the baby cot was part of the needs of this hospital.
“Every year, there are areas of focus, for this year, it is to empower the girls and to do this in our District we would ensure that they are protected against cervical cancer which is preventable by vaccination.
“This vaccination for girls between the age of 10 and 14 had been on in our district and we want to pursue it. We also have skill acquisition for the girl and also fibroid surgery management. We are looking at vaccinating 2500 girls this year. The job does not end in one day, it is a continuum.”
Also speaking, the President of the Rotary Club of Falomo, Rotarian Tolulope Ogundipe, said despite the global economic downturn, the club is still able to raise money for projects because of the commitment and dedication of its members.
He urged the maternity hospital to make judicious use of the items donated.
“Despite the global economic downturn, we are still able to raise money to fund projects no matter the condition the world has found itself. Anytime we call up our friends to donate towards these services they are always happy to do it. We are glad that it is a need area for the hospital and I promise we would do more to help out immediate communities,” he stressed.
Project Service Director of Rotary Club, Falomo, Ibrahim Sule, disclosed that a total of N17.8m has been earmarked for projects within the host community for the year, adding that the donation of the baby cots to the maternity hospital was one of such projects.
Receiving the cots, Medical Director, Lagos Island Maternity Hospital, Dr Olufemi Balogun, said the donation will be very useful to the hospital.
“This is a maternity hospital and we have a very high delivery rate of over 250 per month. So, the hospital faces a lot of pressure in terms of drug supplies and the sustainability of some of the services. So, when we have donations like this it helps us to maintain our standards and provide comfort for patients. So, these kinds of gestures are always welcomed.
“We charge humanitarian organisations like the Rotary Club to keep up their good work. We need to continue to help each other and the Rotary Club has been very useful to us.”
