Bong County: Diaspora Liberian in the U.S. Donates Medical Supplies to County

Report By: Moses Bailey

Gbarnga – A son of Bong County staying in the U.S., Dennis Garsinii, has donated an assortment of medical supplies and used clothes to some health facilities in Bong County.

The materials include personal protective equipment (PPE), nose masks, web for medical equipment, among others. C.B. Dunbar Maternity Hospital, the Samay Clinic, Palala Clinic and the Baptist Soul Winning Conference Clinic are the four health posts that received the materials.

Garsinii puts the cost of the supplies at US$85,000. Dorothy Toomann, former executive director of Development Education Network Liberia, is spearheading the distribution of the materials to the health posts.

She said Garsinii being a son of the county; he is concerned about the health needs of citizens back home.

“Dennis Garsinii has been supporting Bong and Liberia in different ways. He is found of mobilizing and organizing materials to help the grassroot Liberian people, particularly those that are working in the health sector,” Toomann said during a presentation at C.B. Dunbar Maternity Hospital in Gbarnga.

Her organization is shouldering transportation cost of the materials to the different health posts in the county.

Toomann recounted that “things like equipment and materials can become issue, but Garsinii has been very, very good in supporting us.”

Mrs. Dorothy Toomann (right) and Dr. Kour Geah, medical director of C.B. Dunbar Maternity Hospital. Photo:Moses Bailey.

Dr. Kour Geah, medical director of C.B. Dunbar Maternity Hospital, expressed delights over the donation and extended appreciation to the donor.

“We appreciate it highly; it came at a timely basis. We are so happy,” Dr. Geah said.

Her excitement even grew more when Toomann announced that Garsinii was preparing another assortment of medical materials to be shipped to Liberia in November for onward distribution to hospitals and other health facilities in Bong.

“We will appreciate more from him so that we can keep the hospital alive and keep providing the quality of care our people need to keep them alive,” Dr. Geah averred.

She however named drug and fuel shortages as well as electrical outages as challenges confronting the only maternity hospital in rural Liberia.

“Our generator uses four-five gallons of fuel per hour. Most of our allotment goes to fuel purchase,” she said.

She noted that as a result of the huge numbers of the patients that visit the hospital on a daily basis, the hospital always experiences shortages of drugs and medical supply. The hospital is operated on a free basis; patients do not pay to access services.

Dr. Geah said the “poor wiring system” that was done on the facility “almost a decade ago” often causes electrical shocks during heavy rains, noting that the shocks sometimes occur when surgeries are being done.