Mr. Robert Banasi’s small daughter was admitted to the Modilon General Hospital in Madang.
His young girl was running a high fever and when he went to fetch water to cool her body, he was dismayed to find that the taps had run dry.
“I had to go over to my Big Paps house to get water for my daughter in the hospital.”
This dire situation prompted Mr. Banasi, to start an appeal, through his social media platform and network, to provide an alternative water source, specifically for the Children’s Ward at Modilon General Hospital.
“We received overwhelming support from all corners of the country.”
He said through his posts on Facebook, a WhatsApp group was then created, where people were able to pledge their support with varying amounts of money.
“I had initially planned to seek 100 people to contribute K30 each to purchase a 3000-litre tank.”
“But the support was so great, that we were able to raise K10 672; enough to purchase a larger capacity tank as well as to lay the foundations of the 9000-litre water tank.”
Mr. Banasi was elated to share that through his appeal, they also received a very generous donation of 20 solar lights from a charitable person and they immediately set about installing these lights throughout the Children’s Ward.
“These solar lights were a great donation, because when we were in the hospital, we observed the nurses come around with the lights from their mobile phones, to administer medication to the Children.”
This past Christmas weekend, the foundation for the water tank were laid down, and the tank transported to the hospital, ready to be set in place.
“All the hardware shops were closed over the Christmas period. The shops are open today, so we will buy all the pipes that are needed, to install and connect the water tank to the Children’s Ward.”
Mr. Banasi is an avid and well know artist and other artists that are part of his art group, will also be painting a mural on the water tank.
“All these efforts would not have been possible without the support of the Madang community throughout the country, and I am glad that they trusted me enough to answer to my appeal in cash and kind.”
He said by the New Year, they should have the tank up and running and officially handed over to the hospital.
“I just want to encourage people that if you face a problem, do not complain about it, instead, find a solution to it.”
Mr. Banasi spoke to PNGHAUSBUNG this morning from the hospital, where he was glad to share that his daughter has now being discharged and they were running through a quick review with the doctor, before returning home.