At the end of March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic was already well-known in the United States. Many states and regions were locked down, with large outbreaks of cases in major cities. Even those areas and hospitals with the most advanced technologies were finding it difficult to keep up with the demand for treatments and testing. As Fidalgo Island Rotarians watched as local medical professionals begin to grapple with the pandemic, our thoughts turned to sister cities, such as Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where we knew a lack of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies could greatly hinder the emergency responses to the COVID-19 outbreak in that area, and have dire consequences for the population there. 

This month, the Fidalgo Island Rotary international committee worked with other Rotary clubs and donors to pay to reroute a shipping container full of supplies (including masks, antiseptics, cotton-tipped swaps, oxygen tubing and more) from a warehouse in Tulsa, Oklahoma, to Ouagadougou. The container was originally bound for maternity clinics in the southwest of the country, but seeing a great need, FIR authorized Ouagadougou to use the PPE and other supplies to help with COVID-19 relief efforts. In the above photo, the president of the Rotary Club of Ouagadougou poses with medical supplies while unloading the container.
Click to see more photos of the transport being unloaded and a donation ceremony, and read a message from the Rotary Club in Ouagadougou.