Asafa gives to KPH
“WE CANNOT wait on the Government or the ministry to get involved and take up this cause. This is something we as Jamaicans can do, today.” Those were Asafa Powell’s words when he launched the #SpreadABed4KPH crowdfunding campaign – an effort to raise money to satisfy the Kingston Public Hospital’s (KPH) need for bedsheets.
Spurred on by his brother’s need to receive care at the hospital, Powell said at the time that while the doctors and nurses provided the very best possible care, “they work under some really tough conditions”. The need for basic bedding was one such condition.
Through the Asafa Powell Foundation (APF), the sprinter will hand over $560,000 today, which consists of funds raised via the trusted crowdfunding platform Indiegogo as well as a direct donation from Powell.
STRAIN ON HOSPITAL
KPH, which was founded in 1776, is the largest multidisciplinary health institution in the English-speaking Caribbean. At its peak, the hospital handles more than 10,000 emergency and non-emergency cases every week. Each day, more than 500 patients are admitted, putting a strain on the hospital’s 475 beds. It is a juggling act that compounds an already understaffed and underequipped facility. In addition, the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) is housed on the same campus and faces the same problems. Between KPH and VJH, there is a need for more than 6,000 sheets – with a dire need for 2,000.
“We are happy to be handing this money over, proud that it was raised with the philosophy that ‘every mickle mek a muckle’, and hope that the team at KPH and the VJH can utilise it and begin to put a dent in the existing need,” said Powell.