Over 500 volunteers converged on the Tungaru Central Hospital recently to clean and paint the facilities.  Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints joined with volunteers from six other Christian churches to provide the service over six days.

 

“We are grateful we could work together,” said Pastor Teakamatang Eritai of the Assembly of God Church at the project’s closing event on Saturday 21 November.  He said that he had never seen such a coordinated effort.

The project was organized by the two local stakes (similar to dioceses) of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the island of Tarawa.                                                                                                     

 

Reina Rimeta, Secretary of the Ministry of Health, expressed thanks to the volunteers for the work that had been accomplished in the week-long effort.  She said that patients need to be loved, and need to live in a clean environment.   “We thank you that you saw this need.” 

 

Secretary Rimeta also accepted the gift (donated by the Church) of a new flat-screen TV for the pediatric ward.  

 

According to one of the helpers, Elder Van Johnson, the objective of this ‘Mormon Helping Hands’ project was two-fold: to completely clean and paint the inside of the six major hospital wards, and to promote unity in the community.  

 

The project was planned under the direction of Iotua Tune, president of the Latter-day Saints’ Tarawa East Stake.  

 

President Tune represented the Church at the closing ceremony and noted that Saturday over 200 participants had helped to paint and clean the grounds surrounding the hospital.   He said the Church provided the materials and the paint and the volunteers provided the labour.

 

In the initial planning for the project, it became clear that in the interest of the patients who had to be moved in and out of the wards, only one ward a day could be completed.  To accomplish the painting, churches were assigned to provide 30 people per day to prepare and paint each ward.  Enthusiasm was so high, however, that on Monday 60 people were on hand for the 7a.m.morning devotional and many more came during the day. The surplus of helping hands continued throughout the week.

 

Many who participated started their day at 5:30 a.m. when a transport picked them up and dropped them off at the hospital.   Their day usually ended well after 6 pm when brushes had to be cleaned, and hospital beds moved back into the wards.

 

By the close of the project late Saturday night, over 500 people had participated.  The work included 17 Mormon missionaries who joined the project for their weekly service activity.

 

In addition to the painters, an unseen and uncounted group of faithful women from the Latter-day Saints’ Relief Society (women’s organization) provided snacks at 10 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. with a generous lunch at noon.  Women from other denominations assisted throughout the week.

 

The satisfaction that came from participating in the project was expressed by Walter Muller, a leader in the Tarawa East Stake, Sunday morning after working a 14-hour day Saturday:  “We thought we would all be tired this morning, but we are refreshed.”