Butembo-Congo

The Butembo Project involved installation of a Solar-Powered Oxygen Delivery System at two hospitals in Butembo in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  The project was a collaboration between the Rotary Club of Butembo Semuliki of The Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Rotary Club of Stratford. The DRC Club operates in French.

 

This $57,000 USD project was financed with support from the Rotary Club of Stratford ($8,000), Rotary Club of Butembo Semuliki ($600), Rotary District 6330 ($8,000), RI District 9150 ($2,625), Rotary International ($22,925), and the Government of Canada through Rotary Canada ($16,000).  Because this project attracted the support of the Government of Canada and greater matching grants from Rotary International, each dollar contributed by the Clubs was actually matched six times!

 

The initiative was inspired by Dr Allan Hawkes of the Faculty of the University of Alberta, who travels frequently to the Congo, and who noted that too many pediatric patients requiring oxygen were dying because of the unreliable supply of electricity to the two hospitals in Butembo, DRC.  Dr Hawkes advised that a study showed that the cost of saving a baby’s life through the installed system is about $17 - which is one-third of the cost of oxygen cylinders, if available.

 

The Butembo Project was led by Rotarian Harry Brightwell with the full support of the International Committee.  The project took nearly two years to assemble.  Installation of the Solar-Powered Oxygen Delivery System was completed in early 2019.