May 23 2012, Miss Africa USA Gigi Tchouaga was received at Medshare International Headquarters in Georgia.
Queen Gigi who will be leading the upcoming Cameroon Medical Mission is working closely with the Leon H Sullivan Foundation and Medshare International to facilitate a gift of Medical Supplies and Equipment for hospitals and health centers in Cameroon. The Chair of Miss Africa USA Pageant, and CEO of The Leon H Sullivan Foundation, Mrs Hope Sullivan Masters is committed to this Gift for Cameroon. Earlier this year she Hosted the Program ” A Night in Cameroon” when she received the Minister of Culture Ms Ama Tutu Muna and her Delegation from Yaounde, she pledged her commitment to ensure that Cameroon gets this special gift to help improve health care in the country. We are very pleased that Queen Gigi is very much part of the project and with all the help and support, many lives will be touched and improved by this goodwill gesture.
This is not the first time that a Miss Africa USA Queen is granted audience and the opportunity to work with Medshare. In 2008 Queen Mfonobong Essiet who had won the pageant was also introduced to Medshare in order to accomplish her platform project which was to ship a 40ft container of Medical Supplies and Equipment to Nigeria to support under served communities. The Said Container made it to Akwa Ibom State Nigeria and was received with great joy and appreciation by the local communities that stood to benefit.
It was an honor for Miss Africa USA Gigi to receive such warm reception from the staff and volunteers of Medshare International. Ms Nell Diallo, the Vice President of Corporate and International Affairs introduced the Queen and team members of the Miss Africa Pageant to the staff and volunteers and the Queen was given and opportunity to share her mission and vision with everyone as well, before proceeding to get a hands on experience on preparing packages for shipment.
Queen Gigi had the opportunity to share her mission with the volunteers who come from different backgrounds. She was also able to learn from the volunteers about their commitment to Medshare and why they do what they do. While meeting and chatting with them, she was also able to learn to process of sorting out supplies and helped to pack them in boxes ready for shipment, an experience she valued very much and described as an eye opener.
The Mission of Medshare International is very simple, to bridge the gap between surplus and need. Medshare collects excess and unwanted hospital supplies and equipment in good working condition and ships to countries around the world with great need. The need in Africa for example is very overwhelming and Medshare has been shipping containers to several Africa countries. Queen Gigi wanted to understand the process and how it all works, so her visit to Medshare really helped. She was able to get a hands on experience in preparing the supplies for shipment and see what goes on in the background as container loads of equipment and supplies make their way to various destinations around the world.
She was able to work with young volunteers like herself, students from local Universities in Georgia who spend time as volunteers at Medshare on a weekly or monthly basis. The Queen was also an inspiration her peers as they learned about her role and her project as Miss Africa USA.
After sorting out packages of supplies that come from hospitals, trashing out expired supplies, all good supplies are boxed and secured ready for shipment. The Queen sure did learn fast and was able to help with a few boxes and enjoyed the entire experience at Medshare.
Queen Gigi is working with The Leon H Sullivan Foundation to secure a shipment for Cameroon this year, to help support under served communities with very poor health care services. More information to come as the journey continues. Thanks to Mrs Nell Diallo, Mr. Dave Pass, Mr. Eben Amstrong and all the staff and volunteers of Medshare for the warm reception.