Doctor Rob Irwin, Rotary District Governor Mitch Brown, Tranzit’s Paul Snelgrove, and project manager and Masterton South Rotarian David Baker cut the ribbon to officially open the medical bus. PHOTO/JADE CVETKOV
A celebration was held in Masterton on Sunday to mark the completion of a bus that will increase access to health care in Rarotonga, thanks to the dedication of a group of Masterton Rotarians.
People gathered at the car boot sale to sneak a peek inside the brightly decorated bus, which is fitted with medical equipment and wifi to allow it to be a command centre in a disaster event.
The mobile health clinic project was led by the Masterton South Rotary club.
It came after a visit a year ago by Dr Rob Irwin and Tranzit’s Paul Snelgrove to Rarotonga to evaluate the island’s health needs.
The cost of the project was $171,000, with the funding coming from four Rotary districts, 16 Rotary clubs within the lower North Island, and Rotary International.
It is scheduled to arrive in the Cook Islands on May 31.
The official Rarotonga welcome is set to be held on June 18.
Great photo and great story and record of a significant day for Rotary in Masterton and New Zealand. Most importantly for the people of the Cook Islands. Thanks Jade !!
Absolutely wonderful. The locals in Rarotonga are sooo appreciative of this generous gift and look forward to the bus arriving in their paradise island. I only stumbled upon this news as an article was posted in a Rarotongan website by the Wairarapa Times Age. I recognised that it was Masterton and was rapt as it is my hometown.
Good work Rotary