Contact MESA

SECOND-HAND SUPPLIES AND EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE...

Emergency Vehicles,	Wheelchairs,	Temporary Housing, etc.

Here's a cause you can champion and do a world of good.

In the United States, there's a huge wealth of usable medical equipment and supplies that are no longer in use. Some may be in your own back room or warehouse right now.

Imagine … what's simply second-hand surplus in our country is state-of-the-art to the healing needs of Russia, the Philippines, Bolivia, Mexico, Nicaragua, South Africa … even for special in-need areas of the United States itself. Rotarians are able to collect, sort, identify, store, and ship millions of dollars worth of these still usable medical goods to worldwide locations sorely in need.

The efforts of the volunteer, non-profit Rotary District 6600 Medical Equipment Supplies Abroad (MESA) in getting surplus into the right hands and putting it to good use worldwide would not be possible without the efforts of one key person. You.

Just by contacting Rotary District 6600 MESA about your equipment and supplies donation, you can be a world champion.

Matching Supply with Demand

Understanding what the needs of Host Countries are involves …

Establishing and maintaining close ties with an extensive network of Rotarians and community healthcare leaders in each country. Six members of the MESA Steering Committee are regularly in contact with their counterparts in Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua and Belize. For other areas of the world, ad-hoc project coordinators maintain communication.

Project fairs in host countries. Each year all of the Central American countries invite Rotarians and healthcare professionals from North America to join in a project fair held annually in January. This fair known as the Uniendo Conference is hosted by a different Central American country each year. District 6600 has been involved for over 10 years and Rotarians from District 6600 form one of the largest contingents. The district has also participated in project fairs in other parts of the world, including Eastern Europe.

How Can You Help

Rotary District 6600's MESA organization (Medical Equipment Supplies) urges all hospitals, doctors, medical groups, clinics, rehabilitation centers, pharmaceutical companies, nursing homes, home health agencies, medical suppliers, mortuaries, and a host of other medically related institutions and businesses to "partner" in the efforts to meet urgent needs in less developed parts of the world. To that end, MESA collects and distributes all medical and equipment supplies that are in-date and functional. That includes (but is not limited to):

Anything that can be used in a medical facility, we can use to save lives all over the world. Even if you are not sure about your items, contact us! Even the following emergency vehicles can be handled: Ambulances, fire trucks, buses, etc.

There is one exception. We don't handle pharma-ceuticals due to the high risk and strict regulations.

Impact: Millions of Dollars to the Needy

In addition to MESA's everyday mission of providing medical equipment and supplies to meet the medical needs of those in the third world, two major events have dominated MESA's recent activities. Hurricane Mitch's aftermath of homelessness, hunger, and disease carried well into the year, especially in Honduras and Nicaragua. In January 2001, the Salvadoran earthquake disaster provided MESA with many new opportunities for service. These events created especially urgent needs for crisis assistance.

MESA shipped six seagoing containers to Honduras, four to Nicaragua and two to El Salvador. The following is a detailed list of MESA shipments for 2000-2001:

Medical Equipment and Supplies Abroad (MESA) is an ongoing World Community Service Project of Rotary District 6600 inviting participation from all Clubs and Rotarians in the District, plus other interested organizations. In addition to active involvement of Rotarians in donor and recipient countries, MESA has been blessed with very active participation of university students who are members of Rotaract Clubs in District 6600. Rotaract clubs are comprised of young professional and collegiate individuals who share Rotary's "Service Above Self" motto, but are not yet qualified to be Rotarians. The efforts of MESA volunteers in getting surplus into the rights hands and putting it to good use worldwide would not be possible without the efforts of one key person. You!

Here's How You Can Become A World Champion

Contact MESA if you …

• Are a donor or a facilitator to a donation
• You have a donation ready for pick-up
• Would like more information
• Would like to participate in the volunteer work of MESA

No matter how large or how small, your gift of medical equipment or supplies will be as beneficial as it is greatly appreciated ... and you will feel like a true world champion!

For questions and initial contact:

Ron Stoner
MESA Director of Operations
home: 419-352-5636
cell: 419-276-1839
fax: 419-353-6297
e-mail: ronstoner@dacor.net

Other contact information for donation coordination:

Stan Kujawa home: 419-424-0979 work: 419-422-1661

Other contact information for regional collection centers:

Elyria Dr. Sean McNeeley - samcneeley@cs.com Dr. Mary Kay Shuba - mkshuba@cs.com McNeeley and Shuba D.D.S., Inc. 530 North Abbe Road Elyria, OH 44035 440-365-0230	Findlay Mr. Chuck Bills Findlay Tall Timbers 2001 Industrial Drive Findlay, OH 45840 419-424-0309 (H); 419-425-4906 (W)
Toledo Mr. Regan Smith Trans-World Shipping Service, Inc. 3206 Frenchmens, Rd., P.O. Box 795 Toledo, OH 43697-0795 419-536-6100; 419-536-9366 (Fax)	Waterville Mr. Stan Greene International Services of Hope 905 Farnsworth Road Waterville, OH 43566