The St. Lucia Toronto Association (SLTA) has responded to calls for an improvement to the island’s healthcare facilities by donating beds and medical supplies to St. Jude Hospital. The 18 long-term care beds and medical supplies were used in a mini hospital built in the 2015 Pan Am Games Athletes Village in Toronto. The estimated value of this gift is Canadian $85,000.
After the Pan Am Games torch was extinguished, Melinda Joseph, a member of the Saint Lucian community in Toronto, contacted the games procurement team to make the beds available to the SLTA. Pan Am had set a criteria for who could receive the donation of beds, namely that the receiving country had to have participated in the games.
According to the SLTA President, Ross Cadasse, it took a joint effort of his association, Saint Lucia’s Consul General Michael Willius and St. Lucian businessman Ken Chitolie of KLC Shipping to procure the beds and arrange shipment to Saint Lucia.
“This donation supports our commitment to help improve the quality of healthcare in Saint Lucia. This small but significant contribution will go a long way in helping to meet the growing need for beds at St Jude,” said Cadasse.
The St. Lucia Toronto Association is a non-profit organization that works within the multicultural landscape of Canada to preserve and promote the cultural traditions, language and heritage of the island. The SLTA is dedicated to promoting projects in Saint Lucia that enhance education, health and development for children and youth in disadvantaged situations.
