Rotaract spreading spirit of Christmas

Words: Jasmine Netzler
Source: Samoa Observer, Thursday 21 December 2006
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The Rotaract Club of Apia helped spread Christmas cheer to many sick children at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital, yesterday.

Club members visited the Paediatric Ward to give out food, drinks and toys to the children who will be spending Christmas there.

They also donated material for curtains which they said would brighten up the ward.

President of Rotaract, Ofeira Fa'asau, said yesterday's visit was made possible by the assistance from Rotaract Redcliffe Club, Brisbane, Australia.

"We have just finished "Battle of the Minds" for the school kids and now we want to help the sick kids," said Ms Fa'asau.

Rotaract made a similar donation last year.

"We want this to be an annual event," she said.

There are 28 members of the Rotaract Club of Apia.
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N.B.
Rotaract also donated linen (sheets and pillow cases) for the 32-bed ward in addition to the curtain materials, toys, and books from various organizations including the Rotaract Club of Redcliffe, UNDP, MNREM, and the Samoan public who showed up at their Toy/Book drive earlier this month. The donations were received by Dr. Aiga Sesega and members of the medical staff at Tupua Tamamsese Meaole Hospital.
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Photos: John Tagiilima (Vice President 2006)

Rotaract member, Ramona Tugaga, presenting gifts to the children

President Ofeira (right) presenting donations to the doctors and nurses at the National Hospital

Hard-working members of the Club. L-R Maxine Sausi, Dr. Aiga Sesega, Ofeira Faasau, Litia Brighouse, & Leanne Brighouse

One of the kids who's Christmas came early this year:)

ROTARACT CLUB OF APIA
"Service above self"

The Rotaract Club of Apia would like to take this opportunity to thank each and every one of you, our staunch and loyal supporters for your patronage and your undying dedication to helping us with each and every one of our projects this past year and the years prior. We couldn’t have done any of the good works we have done so far without you. Fa’afetai, fa’afetai tele lava!

To our parent club, the Rotary Club of Apia, of which we owe our very existence. We cannot thank you enough for all you have done for us, as a Club and as members, individually. We look forward to working with you in the spirit of Rotary for many more years to come!

Our partner SBC TVOne and our principal sponsor Telecom Samoa for all your hard work and support in bringing about our first annual "Battle of the Minds" quiz competition! We hope to work more with you in the coming years as we develop and maintain this programme for the future leaders of Samoa! Thank you for seeing the importance and potential of such a program and for helping us realize our dream of a successful show!

A big fa’afetai tele lava also goes out to all our screening and prize sponsors:

King’s Neon Signs
McDonald’s Family Restaurant
Computer Services Limited
Pacific Link Technologies
Ink Patch Money Transfer
Electric Power Corporation (EPC)
Samoa Realty Limited
Ministry of Women & Community Development (Youth Division)
Westpac Bank (Samoa) Ltd
Ministry of Health
Mr. Ed Lai
Tuala & Tuala Lawyers
Coral Sands Management
Samoa Breweries Limited
Western Union Money Transfer
Rotary Club of Pago Pago
National Bank of Samoa
Business Systems Limited
Samoa Shipping Corporation
CCK
Le Tusi Faitau
Kofi Haus

No words can express how truly grateful we are to have had you on board with us! Looking forward to working with you again next year! To everyone else who contributed to the Club in one small way or another, your generosity has not gone unnoticed. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

Last but certainly not least, to all the generous souls who turned up at our Toy/Book Drive Siva to help fundraise for the pediatric ward at our National Hospital, and those who stopped by to donate toys/books and/or make financial donations to our cause. A big fa’afetai to the Rotaract Club of Redcliffe, UNDP, MNREM, Dean & Lupe Johnston of the Bora Bora Bar as well as B.A.T.S. for your kind assistance in this project. May God reward you in a million other ways for recognizing our call for help and for giving so generously from your hearts.

From all of us at Rotaract, may you have a very blessed
Christmas and a prosperous New Year Samoa!

In the spirit of the Holiday Season
we cordially invite you to the first ever

ROTARACT CLUB OF APIA

TOY/BOOK DRIVE SIVA!



FOR THE PAEDRIATIC WARD AT THE
TUPUA TAMASESE MEAOLE HOSPITAL

Date: Wednesday, 6th December 2006
Venue: Bora Bora Bar, Togafuafua
Doors Open: 6:00pm
Cover Charge: ONLY $4.00


“Donate a toy, create a smile!”
$1 discount on cover charge if you bring one or more toys/books per person!!

Donate a toy, create a smile!

The Rotaract Club of Apia is beseeching the help of the public again this Holiday Season in gifting the pediatrics ward at the Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital with books and toys for the children. This is part of the Club’s annual International Project where it usually pairs up with one or more of its international counterparts to provide aid and support to each other.

Last year, for their international project, RCOA helped the Rotaract Club of Rarotonga through extensive fundraising and sponsorship drives, to buy food supplies for the island of PukaPuka in the Cook Islands, which was devastated by the multiple cyclones in early 2005.

This year, RCOA is cooperating with its sister Club in Redcliffe, Australia to provide new curtains, linens, books/magazines, toys, wall hangings and posters for our pediatrics clinic at Motootua. This was decided after much deliberation and liaison with Dr Aiga Sesega, a General Practitioner at the National Hospital. The Club is set to give the “dreary” place a minor “facelift” just in time for Christmas.

“Initially, it was decided that we would undertake to paint the walls bright colours, with pictorial settings, etc – to create a fun and happy atmosphere,” says RCOA President, Ofeira Faasau. “However, we have ruled out that option due to the fact that the hospital will undergo major renovation within the next few months, and any effort in facilitating this service would have only been a temporary one.”

The pediatrics ward has been a special concern for Rotaract since it’s reestablishment in the end of 2004, when they also fundraised and gave out Christmas presents for the hospital-bound children of Samoa who weren’t going home for the holidays. This year, with the help of the Rotaract Club of Redcliffe and the Samoan public, RCOA hopes to create more smiles and make the children’s ward at our National Hospital a brighter and more cheerful place!

“The children of Samoa have very special places in each of our hearts and whatever we can do to help those who need it, we are more than happy to do, in whatever insignificant way we can,” Faasau said.

In this quest, the Club will be holding a Toy/Book Drive Siva on Wednesday, 6th December, at the Bora Bora Bar, Togafuafua. Doors open at 6pm. You are cordially invited to join them for a fun-filled night to support their cause! Please feel free to bring along as many toys and/or books as you want, and help the Rotaract Club of Apia create smiles this Christmas!

The Club is planning to present the materials to the Children’s Ward on December 8th, 2006.