A BELGIAN philanthropist has donated over 600 medical equipment to the government-run hospital Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC) on Thursday, May 10.
Belgian national Patrick Haghedooren has been touring provinces mostly in the Visayas and Mindanao regions but not to have a vacation, but to donate medical equipment to public hospitals.
"I'm not a millionaire, I just do this on a voluntary basis so we have friends in Belgium, we are the one who gets these equipment from the hospitals, we are the one loading these to the containers, we are the one who bring it here, and we are the one who identify to see where it's needed," Haghedooren said.
"If people approach me, we are going to see where it's really needed, we do not give it to a hospital where it's not needed, we are not giving these to private hospitals," he added.
Haghedooren said he is doing this “so that poor people in the Philippines have a nice bed and a nice foam to lay especially when they are sick.”
The 58-year-old Belgian said he has been to Cebu, Samar, Southern Leyte, Tacloban, Maasin, Leyte, and in Lanao del Sur area to distribute the slightly-used medical equipment from Belgium.
Haghedooren said he and other four Belgian friends under the Hands in Action Solidarity foundation bought the P15 million worth of equipment in Belgium.
"We pay for the equipment but we also accept those who want to help us shoulder our transportation," he said.
Haghedooren said he does not call the act as a job, but more of a hobby as he does not earn a centavo for giving out donations.
He used to be an employee of a telephone company ran by the Belgium Government; and when he retired, he found a love for doing charity works.
“I was helping a priest in Belgium doing the same thing, but he stopped but I still continued. I did it little by little and it worked. I just want to help your public hospitals here,” he added.
Medical Center Chief Dr. Jose Chan, for his part, said NMMC needed new equipment to replace the dilapidated ones, and to cater to the increasing patients of the 300-bed capacity hospital.
"Si Mr. Patrick nianhi sa ato niduol sa ato ug nivolunteer na magdala sa mga gamit so nakita nako iyang maayong intention sa iyang paghatag ani nga mga gamit (Mr. Patrick came to us expressing his intent to donate medical equipment and we saw that he really had good intention in doing this," he said.
"Of course, gawas anang kulang ta (aside thatt we lack the equipment), daghan natay daan nga mga equipment nga kinahanglan ilisan so kinahanglan gyud kaayo siya (we have also have many old equipment that needs replacement)," he added.
Among the equipment include hospital beds and mattresses, wheel chairs, chairs, night-tables, medical gloves, and hospital working clothes.