Bob Pagett, Charlene Pagett and Ray Schmidt traveled to China to install cardiac care equipment in the Toajing County Hospital in May, 2008. Rotary International and GE graciously donated the equipment, and we want to thank them for their continued partnership in our work.
Toajing County Hospital is a referral hospital to 850,000 people who reside in the city and roughly 2 million more in the surrounding area. Dr. Chang, a Cardiologist at the hospital, helped train local doctors and nurses on using the new equipment, which included six GE Dash Monitors that measure vital signs. This equipment is certain to save lives and give hope to people in the region suffering from heart-related illnesses.
Assist International and GE also provided 6 Dinamap monitors, 1 LOGIQ Ultrasound and 1 CIC Pro Clinical Information Center to the hospital.
Your donations helped pave the way for this important piece of equipment, and we want to thank you for your partnership in our mission, too.
Area: 9,596,960 sq km (slightly smaller than the US) Capital: Beijing Population: 1,321,851,888 Government: Communist State
Background on the Political Climate in China:
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation.
After World War II, the Communists under MAO Zedong established an autocratic socialist system that, while ensuring China's sovereignty, imposed strict controls over everyday life and cost the lives of tens of millions of people. After 1978, his successor DENG Xiaoping and other leaders focused on market-oriented economic development and by 2000 output had quadrupled.
For much of the population, living standards have improved dramatically and the room for personal choice has expanded, yet political controls remain tight.
Other Assist International Projects in China:
June 2008 -- Assist International and GE Send Water Purification Systems to China
Assist International and GE -- long a valued partner of our international relief agency -- worked together to send three water purification systems to aid victims of the May 12 earthquake that devastated the region of Sichuan Province, in central China.
The water filtration systems were specifically earmarked for installation in small villages in the mountainous region near Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan Province. They will ensure safe drinking water for students and villagers struggling to cope with the effects of the earthquake.
Official figures state that the 7.9 earthquake killed nearly 70,000 people, including 68,636 in Sichuan Province. Many of them were children who were trapped in their schools.
Witnesses reported scores of dead children being hauled away from the rubble, and news reports later showed devastated parents holding photos of their dead children.
Sichuan Province hasn't enjoyed the economic boom that much of China has in recent years, and the remote villages around Chengdu are especially struggling following the disaster.
"It doesn't matter where you come from or what language you speak, the tragedy in Sichuan Province was felt by billions around the world," said Assist International President Bob Pagett. "The pictures carried by the news into all of our homes touched a raw nerve ... we will never forget the anguish on the faces of the parents who learned their family members were killed in the earthquake," Pagett said.
One system was installed for a Kindergarten Facility; one installed in a local high school; and one provided for the villagers in a community center. All together, the three systems will give fresh potable water to thousands of Sichaun Province residents for many years to come.
"Our hearts go out to all the victims and their families for enduring one of the worst natural disasters in recent memory. In addition to other aid supplies and in conjunction with our partners at GE, we hope that these water purification systems will provide some measure of relief to those working to repair their damaged homes and communities," Pagett said.
February 1, 2008: The California Sunshine Foundation is a new partner of ours -- they are a charity dedicated to helping abandoned Chinese children. Their mission is to prepare Chinese orphans for a healthy, loving and productive life through nurturing, medical care and education. With education as the primary focus, CSF volunteers have helped orphans improve in vocabulary, fine motor skills, creativity, behavior and social skills and reasoning. The medical care that CSF provides have helped children stand, walk and hear. These medical interventions provide the first step necessary to make it possible for these children to begin to reach their potential.
For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation.
Assist International and GE -- long a valued partner of our international relief agency -- worked together to send three water purification systems to aid victims of the May 12 earthquake that devastated the region of Sichuan Province, in central 
