TACLOBAN CITY - They came as conquerors 65 years ago, but today they came back as ambassadors of goodwill and angels of mercy.
With this change of wind, a Japanese delegation from the Rotary International District 2650 visited Dulag and turned over a school building and nearly P1 million worth of medical and dental equipment to the so-called “Little Tokyo” last January 17, 2006.
The delegation, which was composed of 48 medical workers, government officials, and family members of Japanese servicemen who fought here during WW II, gave different medical equipment and vaccines to the Dulag Rural Health Unit (RHU) and barangay health centers in the said municipality.
According to the municipal health officer Dr. Allan Alvarez, the Japanese delegation was headed by Dr. Yushikuni Sato, who donated vaccines against polio, measles, tuberculosis and hepatitis B.
Moreover, according to him, the Japanese also gave seven refrigerator units, refrigerator maintenance equipment and a brand-new Suzuki van to the Dulag RHU.
“We will now be able to improve our preventive measures against various ailments like TB and measles,” Dr. Alvarez said.
“Furthermore, the delivery of basic health services to the barangays and outlying areas will be much faster, he added.
For the dental division of the Dulag RHU, the Japanese donated one unit of advanced dental equipment complete with accessories.
“This would be the most up-to-date dental equipment in Region 8. Only the Dulag RHU owned such kind of high-tech dental equipment among RHU’s in the whole region,” Dr. Alvarez stressed.
After the donation of the medical and dental equipment, the delegation then went to the Dulag Central School for the turnover of a school building constructed with funding from Japan.
The initial talks on the Japanese financial and material aid to Dulag started with the Japanese ambassador’s visit to that town in August, 2005.
