NATIONAL ST JOHN AMBULANCE CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS EARLY

By Vonu LIBITINO

The National St John Ambulance attended to 30 000 incidences this year and this number is almost certain to increase, over the festive season.

Before the start of the christmas festivites all over the country, the National St John Ambulance team came together to celebrate Christmas early, with a lunch hosted by Coca-Cola.

In a speech following the fun games, music, and lunch provided by Coca-Cola, Dr. Mangu Kendino, National St John’s Chief Medical Officer, speaking on behalf of Chief Executive Officer Matt Canon, sincerely thanked Coca-Cola for their support and recognition of the ‘Green Angels’ for their valuable work.

“This Christmas season will see us increase our workload and that is expected as everyone is celebrating and when you are celebrating, you may fall sick. So, thank you for coming here and bring the cheer, before we go into that phase, where we are going to be working sleepless nights, our volunteer team is going to be here, coming in to cover extra shifts and our dispatch and operations team are going to be managing an increased number of cases.”

“And so, we believe that this celebration we are having this afternoon, will carry us forward so you can enjoy this festive season while we can give care to those people who are not able to celebrate with their families because of sickness or injury,” Dr Mangu said.

This Christmas Lunch also saw Coca-Cola donated K39 9793.08 (US$10 000) to the Green Angels Appeal.

Mangu said that this help will let them ‘spread the spirit of kindness,’ which was the theme of the National St John Ambulance Christmas Lunch with Coca-Cola
“Our footprint doesn’t exist in NCD alone.

We currently have service provision in two other provinces; East New Britain and Morobe Province and we are extending out into the Highlands Region so we hope to reach Eastern Highlands Province by next year.

Much of the progression and growth has happened in the National Capital District (NCD) so we want to use this funding to increase our presence and our facilities in our district and regional setups as well,” a grateful Dr Mangu expressed.

As she rounded up her brief speech for the occasion, Dr. Mangu extended her gratitude to the Green Angels, who had brought their children to the Christmas Lunch.

“Finally, thank you to everyone that brought in their families to celebrate with us.

Because you leave your families at home and your families are the ones who make the sacrifices in order for you (Green Angels) to come and provide your care to other people.

And it is heartwarming and wonderful to see you celebrate with your families today,” Dr Mangu gladly mentioned.

ENDS///