Hato Hone St John Te Awamutu's ambulance 639, funded by Grassroots Trust and the Numans.
Hato Hone St John Te Awamutu's ambulance 639, funded by Grassroots Trust and the Numans.
Hato Hone St John Te Awamutu received a new ambulance, thanks to Grassroots Trust and local farmers John and Maria Numan (Chamberfield Limited).
A dedication service was held in Te Awamutu on November 21 where Hato Hone St John Te Awamutu thanked the sponsors for their support to fund the vehicle.
The Numans wanted to support the purchase of the new ambulance after their daughter had a serious accident in Te Poi.
“She thought life was coming to an end. We appreciate everything St John has done but we understand the restraints they’ve got. She waited an hour and a half for an ambulance,” John said.
“It was dramatic at the time. But she was picked up, taken to hospital and had surgery. She’s pretty good now.”
“Grassroots Trust is a long-term partner of St John, over the last three years we have provided $3.4 million to this iconic and core service,” Bradley said.
“We anticipate our partnership continuing long into the future.”
The volunteer base at St John is nothing short of exceptional with some volunteers having volunteered for 70 years.
Ambulance 639 was blessed by District Chaplain Reverend Murray Olsen and Koro Jim Keremeta.
Bailiff Grand Cross in the Order of St John Steve Evans (right) with John and Maria Numan, who helped fund Hato Hone St John Te Awamutu an ambulance. Photo / Jesse Wood
“Faced with a gift of this magnitude, thank you just does not seem to be enough. The vehicle plays an integral role in building the trust and a feeling of safety members of the public get,” Hato Hone St John Central West District group operations manager Debbie Hayward said.
“639 will travel thousands of kilometres through our region, its walls are going to witness a mery of emotions from hundreds of patients at varying degrees of medical and traumatic conditions.
“It will become a safe haven for a lot of our staff and patients, and a site of hot debriefs after particularly challenging jobs. It will see people who take their last breath and people who will take their first. It will be witness to a lot of laughs, secrets, jokes, camaraderie, anger, frustration and sorrow.
“Everyone that passes through 639, out of all of them, most of them will say thank you. Whatever form it comes in there is a depth of gratitude that comes with it.
“So, when we stand here before you today on behalf of Hato Hone St John and say thank you for your gift, please remember there is a volume of thank yous to come after that.”
Bailiff Grand Cross in the Order of St John Steve Evans was in attendance to also thank the pair, alongside Grassroots Trust, for their contribution.
“We are very grateful. It’s going to touch the lives of many people,” Evans said.
“A month ago, I was in Africa and their ambulance was a container every 50km along the road.
“When there was an accident, people from the community come out, opened the container and got all the gear out and attended to people until, an ambulance came from far away.
“We’re here to acknowledge your gift and I speak on behalf of the community to say they will be very grateful in their hour of need.”
639 will carry Grassroots Trust and the Numans’ name, hopefully inspiring others to give to the essential charity.
