Roman Catholic church donates beds, mattresses to hospital

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Bossangoa donated on Wednesday 30 beds and mattresses to Bossangoa Hospital, which was looted during a rebellion in northwestern Central African Republic (CAR) between October 2002 and March 2003, state-owned radio Centrafrique reported. The vicar of the diocese, Francois Nganamokoy, handed over the donation worth US $2,700 to the hospital administrator, Dr Donatien Ouenezoui. The French-based Association de Saint Vincent de Paul made the donation that came as a relief to patients who have been sleeping on the floor. Bossangoa, 305 km north of the CAR capital, Bangui, was among the worst affected towns during the rebellion led by former army chief of staff Francois Bozize who ousted President Ange-Felix on 15 march 2003. During that rebellion, health facilities and other community services in the northwest were either looted or destroyed. Bossangoa Hospital had been receiving drugs from an Italian charity, Cooperazione Internazionale, which had been implementing an EC-supported emergency medical programme in the northwest of the country since June 2003. Among the destroyed facilities was the Roman Catholic Church’s property, including the main church building, the bishop's residence and Radio Ndoye. The donation to the hospital comes soon after a tour of the northwest by the Special Humanitarian Adviser of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Ramiro Lopes Da Silva, to assess the humanitarian needs of the region. During the trip that ended on 28 February, Da Silva toured Bossangoa in Ouham Province as well as the province of Ouham Pende. He visited the towns of Bozoum and Paoua in Ouham Pende, 384 km and 506 km northwest of the Bangui. Da Silva and his delegation also toured the provinces of Kemo and Nana Grebizi.