PLEASE SEE VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE AT THE BOTTOM FOR
ALL "L" MEMBERS
Mr. Darboe, thank you for your offer. As I said in my
previous message, I have been out of town. I got back
Monday after 1:00 AM and spent both Tuesday and
Wednesday trying to catch up with work and school and
returning calls from people about donations for the
cancer machine. When I finally got in touch with
Albury, he told me that UGOA gave him the $350 as
promised. And he had gone back to the doctor's office
and the moving company are already in the process of
dismantling and moving the machine. In addition, they
have further donated three bags of clothes and more
boxes of medication including prescription medicine
for arthritis.
Now, to address your questions and concerns.
Your first question was:
1. What is the name of this screening machine? and who
is the manufacturer?
ANS: I just finished calling Mariama Jallow (the nurse
working for the Atlanta Medical Center-the donors of
the machine). Unfortunately, I was not able to get in
touch with her; I thus left her a message to call me
with this information. But Albury has promised that
he will call the doctor himself and get that specific
information. So until they get back to me, am sorry
but I do not have those specifics. For now, all I can
tell you is that, it is an X-Ray machine for cancer.
And as soon as I get the information, I will put it on
the "L" with special attention to you.
2. Does the arrangement with the transfer company
include insurance from damage
& compromise to integrity? This is very important
because we understand the cost of transfer has been
negotiated down to $350.00. It is presumed that
because time is of the essence, insurance
considerations have been marginalized or overlooked.
ANS: Again, as soon as they get back with me, I will
have this information available. All I know for now
is that, the company is the same company that the
Atlanta Medical Center used to move the machine into
their facility. And in fact, they are the same
company that initially moved the machine into the
center when it was first purchased.
3.What is the transitional storage environment for
both the medications and the equipment? Would that not
compromise the viability of the drugs and equipment
even if they are safely moved there?
ANS: The drugs are at present being stored in a
CLIMATE CONTROLLED storage area recommended by the
doctors from the Atlanta Medical Center. And the
equipment will also be stored at the same facility.
4. Medication intended for human consumption and
fighting disease is not like canned food or clothes.
Therefore, just because it is a good faith donation
does not mean that viability, and efficacy should be
overlooked. before we embark on such a seemingly noble
effort, we suggest that all concerned consult with a
Gambian doctor as to drug efficacy, approval,
expiration, and administrability. The intended
recipient of the machine must also be established
before you saddle yourself with such a white elephant
for want of a better term. Under ordinary
circumstances, the intended recipient can play a major
role in facilitating this transfer up to Gambia and
will better determine if it can be useful.
ANS: With all due respect, sir, I think everybody
knows that medication is not like canned food and that
it possess a certain viable shelf life, after which
its integrity is compromised. And I being a former
Pre-medical student, am sure my former professors will
be ashamed of me if I overlook such a valid point. We
will never, and I repeat, never, put anyone in the
Gambia in danger by accepting expired or compromised
drugs and sending it to our country for our own
countrymen to consume. Who knows, my own mother might
be one of them. And yes! We have consulted with a
Gambian doctor. As I said in my previous message,
Albury talked to Dr. Palmer (while he was on a visit
over here) and he submitted a couple of pages of
recommendations to us. As for the efficacy of the
drugs, these are FDA approved drugs that are currently
in use here in the U.S.; not over the counter, but
prescription drugs. And we have been talking to my
brother Mr. Ebraham Jagne, who was a practicing
physician at the Pasadena Medical diagnostic, INC. in
Pasadena California. He presently owns and runs a
clinic in Lamin, Gambia. He has been rendering advice
to us. We are in the process of trying to put him in
touch with the doctor at the Atlanta Medical Center,
and he is in the process of trying to get us in touch
with someone at the RVH. After all these contacts are
established, the doctor who will be helping us in
getting the medication and machine to the RVH, and
doctor Ebrahim Jagne, will be put in touch with Dr. D.
Timothy Daugherty, of the Atlanta Medical Center, so
that they can share information such as efficacy,
administrability, etc . Under normal circumstances,
we would have established the recipient first, before
acquiring the machine, as you suggest. But
considering that the machine was donated a while back,
and all the other communities who received their
machine and medication have since then gotten it to
their individual countries, and no complaints have
been heard from their end about the donations, and the
fact that we are running on a deadline because the
doctors have finally demanded their office space after
letting the machine sit there for months and months, I
think we would rather accept the gift first and then
do the rest, than risk loosing such a significant
medical gift, to our country, by doing too much
looking of the gift horse in the mouth. I am quite
sure that once the recipient is established, he/she
will be able to help in facilitating the transfer to
the Gambia, just like you said. And again, we are
working with Dr. Jagne in order to have him put us in
contact with a reliable physician from the RVH, who
has the necessary acting authority to receive and
ascertain that the gifts are used appropriately.
5. How much will an identical, but new machine cost to
purchase and deliver to Gambia as opposed to
transferring this one to storage, paying storage costs
while the intended recipient is determined, and
maintaining it in storage until such time?
ANS: I was quoted a figure by Mariama in July, which I
have since forgotten, but it was in the hundred
thousands, I think. But again, Albury will get back
to me with that information. But I know that the
total cost of a new one, will be far more than the
storage and transporting to the Gambia of this totally
FREE one. And even if we could purchase a brand new
one, that does not mean that we should give up the old
machine. For two is always better than one. If your
association can purchase a new one, all the better for
the Gambia. I will be happy to know that the Gambia
has two cancer screening machines (and one of them is
a brand new one).
6. If the transfer company does not include insurance
in the $350.00 and you still want to move the
equipment to storage, SONS OF AFRIKA volunteers to
move it au gratis without insurance because we are not
familiar with the machine and its insurance
considerations but at least we will save you the
$350.00 which you can put toward storage and
maintenance. My agents can be reached in Georgia at
404-650-7278. We will need to see the machine to
determine the transfer mechanism that will cause no
damage. e.g. palletisation, containerization,
floor-to-dock moving etc. So since time is of the
essence, and if my questions 1 to 4 are ignored as
trivial, I would still move it for you au gratis but
we will need at least two days notice, information,
authority, and assessment so that if we are not
capable of completing the task, we can still pay the
moving company $350.00 with our supplemental pledge of
$250.00
ANS: I am very grateful for your offer. And your
points were well raised. And since the equipment
itself is in Atlanta, and so is your company, that
would have been perfect. But it is unfortunate that
by the time I read your message, Albury had already
embarked on the moving of the machine with the
previous company. He did this due to the time
constraints. They are now dis-assembling the machine
and transferring it. The doctor assured us that the
company knew what they were doing since they are the
same company that his facility uses. But there may
still be something your company can do to help at this
stage. And your help will definitely be needed when
it is time to move the machine for final shipping to
the Gambia. Albury lives in Atlanta, so please
contact him at 404-752-1253, or 404-759-4982. I will
call you myself.
MESSAGE TO ALL "L" MEMBERS
As for the donations, a number of people have called
me and expressed their desire to help. I have given
them Albury's address to send their contributions.
One of my friends have already given me $20 to go
towards the storage and final shipping of the
equipment and medication. For any of you who would
like to donate , send it to:
Abdoulie "Albury" Njie
1871 Plaza Lane
Apt F3, Atlanta GA 30311
The storage costs $170 per month. Right after the
July 4th, we paid for the first month's rent and some
medication was stored there. This money is from a
collection made on the Sunday during the picnic at the
July 4th event. I was told by Albury that about $150
is left of that original money. We do not expect to
need more than another month's rent, for we would like
to get everything shipped to the Gambia within a
month's time. But of course we do need money for the
shipping as well. But I have had a good response from
people wanting to donate. And if all those that have
requested Albury's address so far, send in a
contribution, we should be O.K. I also hope that
those of you on the L will also send in your
contributions. We plan to put in Gambian newspapers,
as soon as the machine is delivered, that it is from
All Gambians in the U.S. and donated by the Atlanta
Medical Center. We will also put a special thank you
note to all those who one way or the other made
contributions.
P.S. I do not think that UGOA is the same as the
for-profit organization in Atlanta that holds the July
4th. And as noted above, they have indeed contributed
the $350 as they originally promised.
=====
"NO ONE CAN MAKE YOU FEEL INFERIOR WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION"
ALSO
"NOTHING IS UNACHIEVABLE, THE ONLY QUESTION IS, WHETHER ONE IS WILLING TO DO WHAT IT TAKES TO ACHIEVE WHAT IS DESIRED"
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