Moved by a letter from two Grade 11 students, New Zealand Ambassador to the Philippines Peter Kell on Thursday turned over P800,000 to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) in Quezon City to help them procure additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers and frontliners.
In a statement, the New Zealand Embassy said Santino and Lorenzo, Grade 11 students from Everest Academy, recently wrote Kell a letter informing him about the shortage of medical equipment and supplies at the NKTI amid the outbreak of the pandemic.
“Both of us strongly believe that in a time of crisis such as the pandemic, nations should work together to be able to support one another,” the two young students were quoted as saying in their letter to the New Zealand diplomat.
“The boys could not have said it better, countries need to work together and New Zealand is here to support the Philippines in their fight against COVID-19. We recognize the need to support the health workers who are at the forefront of this battle. This is just one aspect where New Zealand can help,” Kell said.
The New Zealand Embassy immediately got in touch with the NKTI through Dr. Rose Liquete, NKTI executive director, to facilitate the donation.
During the turnover, Liquete said the pandemic has truly exhausted their resources and despite their annual procurement plan, “we have not projected the sudden increase or demand on the use of PPEs in our hospital operations.”
“We at the NKTI are very grateful to the New Zealand Embassy, as the donation will help our frontline health workers for their safety in managing COVID patients at the NKTI,” she said.
“As we protect our health care workers, we also protect our patients. This is an important event that demonstrates our ‘Bayanihan’ effort to control the spread of coronavirus,” Liquete added.
Kell assured that the New Zealand government, through its embassy here, is working on “other bigger projects that would help the Philippines’ response to the pandemic.”
The donation was funded through the Higher Embassy Fund of the New Zealand Embassy which supports small scale, short-term community projects that contribute to wider community well-being.
Among the previous projects funded under the program includes the Philippine Disaster Resilience Foundation, Visayan Rugby Football Union, and Al Qalam Institute-Ateneo de Davao University.