Buckets for fighting Ebola.
I think that some of Toyota is reading this blog, so I hope to share the message that the company is under observation on this issue.
In Liberia, where the total number of ambulances in Monrovia is around only 15, there is a dire need for more ambulances for the living.
Pickup trucks are used for the dead bodies. Videos of the body bag pickups show that some of these are Toyota Tundra trucks, and perhaps others.
Googling for "Toyota Ebola Liberia," etc. I happened upon this article that describes a small donation by Toyota's dealer in Liberia. I am underwhelmed by the buckets, etc.. Although this is better than nothing, surely, I hope that this is only the beginning.
With all of its cash, Toyota could stop Ebola completely, all by itself. Why not try!CICA Motors Joins Fight Against Ebola
Sun, 09/28/2014 - 21:27 admin
-French Business Firm Donates Anti-Ebola Materials to 12 Communities in Logan Town
By:
George D. Kennedy
CICA Motors Liberia Inc, a leading motor vehicle dealer currently seated at Toyota Garage in Logan Town, Bushrod Island, has joined the fight against the deadly Ebola virus disease (EVD), donating several cartons of assorted antiseptics and buckets to 12 communities in Logan Town. The items included 550 buckets with faucets, 43 cartons of chloral, soap and Ebola awareness flyers valued over US$10,000. Each of the 12 communities got 50 buckets each, four cartons of chloral, four cartons of soap and anti-Ebola flyers, amongst others.
Making special remarks at the donation ceremony at the company’s head office, over the weekend, CICA Motors Managing Director Marc Boisgarnier thanked the government of Liberia and its international partners for their efforts in fighting the Ebola virus.
Mr. Boisgarnier pleaded with the public to adhere to the preventive measures prescribed by the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization in order to defeat the Ebola virus in the country. He pledged his company’s commitment to continuing to do business in Liberia and to fighting the deadly Ebola virus in the country.
He told community residents that Ebola is real and warned them against taking the fight against the virus lightly. “I don’t want you to think that this virus does not exist. Ebola is real and kills,” he said.
CICA arrived in Liberia in December, 2013 after taking over from REELIN, a vehicle dealer that operated TOYOTA Garage on Bushrod Island.
The French company is part of CFO Group based in France and considers Liberia as a strategic business center. CICA Motors is owned by CFAO Group with Toyota sitting in as its major shareholder. Its sells brand new Toyota vehicles and Bridgestone tires, amongst others.
“We are here to help you and your communities develop to decent levels,” Marc said. “We hope that these buckets will help a lot of people in the Logan Town Community as we fight the Ebola virus together.”
In an official statement read on behalf of the Company, CICA Motors’ market supervisor George N. Woltoe warned that Ebola is one of the deadliest viruses in the world with fatality rate of up to 60 percent.
“As there is no known cure and no vaccine, the best way to contain the outbreak of Ebola is to educate people to recognize the symptoms early, as the risk of transmission of the virus is far lower in the early stages,” he said.
He disclosed that CICA Motors is working alongside Liberia’s Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Liberian National Red Cross Society to create awareness to its staff on preventive measures.
CICA Motors had also donated US$10,000 in cash to the Liberian National Red Cross Society (LNRCS) on Thursday, September 25 to help with the fight against Ebola. That donation took place at the French Embassy in Monrovia along with seven other companies who are members of the French Business Club in the country.
Mr. Woltoe noted that the donation to the LNRCS at the French Embassy and the one to the 12 communities in Logan Town where CICA Motors Liberia Inc. is based, are all intended to help the government and communities fight the Ebola virus.
He thanked CFAO and Toyota Tsusho for supporting CICA Motors’ desire to contribute to the fight against the Ebola virus.
Mr. Woltoe used the occasion to disclose plans in the offing by CICA Motors and its partners to donate an ambulance and a truck to the LNRCS to fight Ebola.
In the fight against the Ebola virus, part of the roles of the LNRCS is to collect and dispose of both Ebola-related ad non-Ebola related dead bodies from the streets and healthcare centers across the country.
“As a people with one goal to fight this virus, we are giving you these buckets with faucets, chloral, soap and flyers indicating signs and symptoms of Ebola and share with you some preventive measures learned from the LNRCS and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare,” said Mr. Woltoe.
For his part, the spokesperson of the 12 communities Mr. Richard F. Kollie thanked CICA Motors Liberia for the gesture and assured the French company that the items will be used for the intended purposes. “We are very grateful to you Mr. Boisgarnier and your team. You have done extremely well in helping us and our communities eradicate Ebola from Liberia and God bless you,” Kollie said.
The an-Ebola virus items were made available to the people after CICA Motors Liberia contacted its parent company CFAO Group and its estimated shareholder Toyota Tsusho Corporation (TTC).
The company and its partners have meanwhile agreed to make several other donations to help with fight against Ebola. The communities that received the donation include Zondoe Town, Zinc Town, Little White Chapel, King Peter, Central Logan Town, Gbadi Town and Blamo Town. Also receiving was the Township Commissioner, the general chairman, the general co-chairman, public health initiative, Network (PHINET),Inc, Catholic for Social Action and Radio Bushrod (Dist. #15), amongst others. The Ebola virus has killed over 3,000 people in West and infected nearly 6,000 others in the sub-region, WHO has said. Liberia is the worst hit of the three most affected countries accounting for more than half of the fatalities