Rotary International (RI) President Elect Gordon McInally recently visited the Philippines to meet with local rotary clubs, with one of the highlights of his trip being his visit at the Rotary Club of Makati West (RCMW)’s Gift of Life (GOL) service project in one of the latter’s partner hospitals, the De Los Santos Medical Center (DLSMC) in Quezon City.
Accompanying McInally in the said visit were District 3830 Governor Mildred Vitangcol, Past District Governor Evett Olivan, District Governors Elect from the 10 Philippines Rotary Districts, as well as RCMW officers and advisers: Past Rotary International Director Guiller Tumangan, President Gil Chua, President Elect Dax Carlos, GOL Project Chair Gerry Limcaoco, and Past President Eric Tensuan.
As planned and arranged by District Governor Elect Jay Tambunting III, McInally started his GOL service project visit by observing an ongoing PDA device closure procedure on a three-year old child from Tarlac province, one of the five pediatric patients who had heart procedure that day under RCMW’s GOL project. This was followed by a simple program, where McInally learned more about Gift of Life in the Philippines from RCMW, its partners, and its past beneficiaries.
In his speech, McInally said that he had a special “Rotary moment” when he saw first-hand the RCMW Gift of Life project, and realized how the Rotary has been helping save lives by raising funds and through partnerships so that indigent children with congenital heart disease (CHD) could have a chance to live.
“It’s a great privilege to be in the Philippines all week, but this afternoon is the best part of it. I experienced another ‘rotary moment’ while witnessing a Gift of Life heart procedure and realized that without this being done, a kid’s life will be limited and he or she could die because of heart disease,” he said.
McInally compared his Gift of Life rotary moment with what he experienced upon seeing for himself how the Rotary changes the lives of orphans in Rwanda, the street children in South Africa, and the poor children in India.
As a token of appreciation, RCMW President Gil Chua awarded McInally a certificate of donation in the latter’s name for the Gift of Life heart procedure he witnessed during his visit.
“We are deeply honored to have RIPE McInally visit our club’s Gift of Life project. Just having him spend his precious time with us sends the message that GOL is indeed one of the important projects of the rotary here in the Philippines. It further inspires us to continue with our mission to save lives,” said Chua.
Governor Elect Tambunting, who led the RCMW organizing committee for McInally’s visit, said that the Rotary International executive’s visit was a big boost to the program.
“We thank RI President Elect Gordon McInally for spending time with our club and inspiring us to continue working hard for the Gift of Life program that RCMW started in the country almost two decades ago,” said Tambunting.
One of the major projects of the Rotary International, the GOL program was introduced to the Rotary Club of Makati West in 2004 by its Past President Lou Del Rosario, and has since then
been helping provide heart surgeries and other procedures to indigent patients suffering from congenital heart disease.
DLSMC President & CEO Elizabeth Dantes and VP for Medical Affairs & Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nilo de los Santos expressed how proud and thankful they are to be one of GOL’s partner hospitals. With them were Dra. Louisa Go and Dexter Eugene Cheng, the lead doctors who do the heart surgeries and other procedures with the GOL beneficiaries.
The mother of GOL beneficiary #57 Zeann James, Joyce Tahimic, gave her testimonial during the program. She said her son was born with a heart defect that needs a lifetime of monitoring and medical procedures, which her family could not afford. Through the help of GOL, Zeann was able to undergo his first open-heart surgery in 2006 and was able to have an artificial valve in 2019.
For his part, Gift of Life International President Rob Raylman extolled the volunteerism of the Makati West Rotarians along with hundreds of Rotarians around the world, for making the Gift of Life program a shining beacon of hope for children with heart disease in the developing world.
“In the Philippines, Gift of Life International has forged an amazing partnership with the Rotary Club of Makati West. I thank the Makati West Rotarians for being there every step of the way to help children in need. Because of you, hundreds and hundreds of hearts are being healed every year,” said Raylman.