Teachers donate blood |04 October 2023
It is widely known nationally, that the first week of October is dedicated to the celebration of teachers across the country. Although the official Teachers’ Day is on October 5, for one whole week we all come together to show our appreciation for teachers’ hard work in this noble profession. During this week, many events are planned and one such yearly event is the donation of blood. As such, a group of teachers flocked to the Blood Transfusion Unit at the Ministry of Health early yesterday morning to participate in the activity.
Around twenty teachers were greeted by the principal secretary for Educational Services, Merna Eulentin, who came to show support and personally thank them for their presence and participation.
PS Eulentin explained that this charitable gesture shows the close partnership between the ministries of education and health, which collaborate on many projects.
She stated that the noble act by the teachers will help save lives as the country frequently registers incidents resulting in the need for blood supply and also expressed her satisfaction at the turnout.
Her gratitude was echoed by the nurse in charge of the Blood Transfusion Unit, Justina Hollanda, who expressed her appreciation at the number of teachers who were willing and ready to help her department.
She stated that the education ministry has always been a loyal client and was present every year for this event.
Mrs Hollanda explained that there will always be a need to replenish the blood bank as blood was in constant demand. This was underscored by the recent call for the public to donate blood, specifically those with blood types ‘O’ positive and ‘A’ positive.
For those who were able to donate blood, they felt compelled to be part of this event for various reasons, many of them being personal.
“Donating blood today signifies that I am able to potentially save the life of someone which is something I find noble,” said Sherinya Sopha from Beau Vallon primary school, who was donating blood for the second time.
Iris Jean-Baptiste, from Bel Eau primary school, shared that she was unable to help close members of her family when they needed the assistance a few years ago. Given this opportunity, she now feels privileged to be able to help someone else.
Notably, this was Mrs Jean-Baptiste’s first experience as a blood donor, and she described the process as a bit scary, but everything went smoothly with the guidance of the staff from the blood transfusion unit.
All in all, the blood donation activity can be considered a success for the Ministry of Education, as the statistics show that around twenty teachers responded to the call and luckily, 85% of the group was able to successfully donate blood. Others could not donate blood due to various health issues.
Text & photos by Sheryl Kilindo
