Donation of Opthalmic Cameras to St. Lucia by Toronto Western Hospital

In January 2010, HOPE worldwide of Canada was able to facilitate the donation of an ophthalmic camera to St. Jude Hospital in Saint Lucia. Ian Brown, a member of the Toronto Church of Christ, who works as a photographer in the Ophthalmic Department of the Toronto Western Hospital, approached HOPE worldwide of Canada to make this donation happen.

In early 2011, Ian Brown let HOPE worldwide of Canada know about two more cameras that the hospital had available to donate. The Toronto Western Hospital graciously donated this equipment crucial to the diagnosis of eye disease. Saint Lucia has the highest per capita rates in the world of diabetes. A major side effect of diabetes is eye disease, and if left untreated, will lead to debilitating blindness. In a developing country such as Saint Lucia, the onset of blindness to the bread winner of a family can send a poor family into a spiral of base poverty.

In 2011, one ophthalmic camera is going to the Gros Islet Polyclinic. Gros Islet is a town in the north of Saint Lucia where many of the island nation's hotels are located, but is surrounded by local villages. The other camera is going to Victoria Hospital located in Castries, the capital of Saint Lucia, which is in North West of the island and close to one of the island's two airports, George F. L. Charles Airport. Victoria Hospital is a public hospital. St. Jude Hospital, which received the first donation in 2010, is near the town of Vieux Fort located in the south of the island near the second airport, Hewanorra International Airport. St. Jude is a public hospital.

Saint Lucia had two other hospitals, one in Soufriere (Soufriere Hospital) located in the south west which sustained major damage from Hurricane Tomas on 30 October 2010 and will need to be rehabilitated. Soufriere was the capital of Saint Lucia when it was ruled by the French and is reputed to be the birth place of Napoleon's Empress Josephine. At the very least she spent much of her childhood in Saint Lucia. A world heritage site is located in Soufriere where the Pitons and the walk-in volcano are located. The Pitons have been named as "one of the top places that must be visited in your lifetime". The Dennery Hospital was also damaged and will be rebuilt at a new location. The decision to construct the new Dennery Hospital at a different site is because the engineers feel that the location is seriously compromised during major flooding within the low lying areas of the village. This was determined after major flooding on 9 October 2010 and during the passage of Hurricane Tomas. Also there have been major problems related to maintenance of equipment and appliances at the current location due to the saline conditions as a result of persistent “sea blast” from the near by Atlantic Ocean. Dennery is a village located east of the island. Both Soufriere Hospital and Dennery Hospital are public hospitals. There is one private hospital, Tapion Hotel located in the capital, Castries.

The photo attached in the usual order shows Consul General of Saint Lucia Stephen Julien, Ian Brown of the Toronto Western Hospital, and Taras Kulish of HOPE worldwide of Canada.




Taras Kulish, Country Director
HOPE worldwide of Canada
email: tkulish@smhilaw.com