St. Lucia is the recipient of a Mobile Blood Unit, made possible by Rudi Page, Global Diaspora Director and former CEO of RAFFA. The Unit was handed over to St. Lucia’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Guy Mayers, on Thursday.
“RAFFA supports the donation of medical equipment and expertise to developing countries and, in particular, the Caribbean,” Page explained. “The theme of the scheme is ‘Every Caribbean Donor Matters’. I am pleased that so far we have been able to supply Mobile Blood Units to Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Jamaica. St. Lucia is now the fourth Caribbean island to benefit from the scheme. RAFFA believes in community empowerment and reducing inequality by encouraging enterprise and increasing productivity through social action.”
Without reasonable health, none of the above is achievable. The Caribbean is constantly under the threat of hurricanes and storms and, as such, the Unit can be of great use under dire weather conditions.
Page first came to prominence over 30 years ago in the heyday of the Black Hair Care Industry. After leaving the leading firm of Dyke and Dryden, he established his own hair product distribution company. Based in Finsbury Park, London, he was one of the leading supporters of the show, Black Heroes in the Hall of Fame, which was staged in the West End, at the Astoria Theatre.
Page used his connection to the producers of the show, JD Douglas and Flip Fraser, to stage his own daring and ambitious landmark production, Hair Ex 88, at the Astoria Theatre. Their quasi-business relationship saw Page organising 250 hairdressers all over the country to a Black Heroes production. Now, St. Lucia is the recipient of his entrepreneurial and community-spirited ethos.
Page also stated that, “This is an important milestone for Diaspora involvement within the global health sector…The success of this programme demonstrates the essential role of global Diaspora system leadership across boundaries and its capability to provide Ministries of Health across the region with additional capacity to provide high quality, easily accessible and sustainable services for their populations.”
He added: “We recognise the role of High Commissioner Guy Mayers representing the Ministry of Health and Wellness to complete the process of delivery.”