By Charminae George
During a recent prolonged stay at the Sir Lester Bird Medical Centre, local businessman Everod Roberts learned of the need for AC units in the Paediatric Department.
In response to this, Roberts, who is the Managing Director of Roberts Construction & Engineering Company Ltd and Roberts Industries Ltd, pledged a donation to remedy the problem.
Subsequently, on November 2, a total of 14 AC units with an estimated value of EC$26,800 were handed over to the hospital by Desma Granger Sutton on Roberts’ behalf.
“We hope these units will make a difference to the level of care being offered to our young ones,” Sutton stated.
She spoke of Roberts’ sense of responsibility, citing the words ‘We are responsible for our children; we brought them here, so we have to care for them’, from the late King Swallow’s song ‘Children of the Universe’ which the managing director is said to often sing.
Dr Shivon Belle-Jarvis, Head of the Paediatric Department, accepted the donation and expressed words of thanks.
“These units are going to make a tremendous difference in the lives of our children, the lives of parents, the lives of guardians and the lives of our staff,” she stated.
Dr Belle-Jarvis added that the gift will help alleviate the effects of the hospital’s lack of central AC — a system in which air is cooled at a central location then distributed around a building.
Roberts Construction is a private limited company that has been operating since 1989. Over the years, the company has been contracted by Jumby Bay, Jolly Beach Resort and the Holy Family Cathedral, among others.