The lot in Sinapalo will be the grand prize in the medical fundraiser raffle draw that will be held at 6 p.m., of Dec. 11 at the residence of Kelvin Atalig in the same village.
Local winners will get the lot “fee simple” while nonresidents can win a 55-year lease.
In an interview, Ayuyu, Ind.-Rota, said with the help of other community members on Rota and some good-hearted people on Saipan, they organized the fundraiser “because a lot of our people are having a hard time getting medical referrals.”
Because he understands the difficulties these families are going through, Ayuyu said he donated one house lot for the raffle draw.
He also would like to thank people on Saipan who donated other prizes and helped him organize the fundraising project.
“The money will go to inter-island medical referral patients,” he said, adding that they know how the government is currently dealing with a financial crisis.
“We have to be creative in helping our people. I thought about it for so long and decided to give something to our people especially to those who are in dire need of medical attention. It is important for us to help,” he said.
He said anything that can help ailing people will be greatly appreciated.
Although the Rota Health Center so far has not encountered the same problems plaguing the Tinian Health Center, Rota had 30 new medical referral patients in June alone.
Most of these people, Ayuyu said, are indigents in dire need of assistance for their medical trip to Saipan which costs $200.
Rota has dialysis and some terminally ill patients confined at the Commonwealth Health Center.
Ayuyu said the medical referral office on Saipan and the Department of Finance are now working “really well” with Freedom Air which transports patients from Tinian and Rota.
The first prize winner of the Rota raffle draw will get a live pig that weighs approximately 50 pounds; second prize, $50 cash; third prize, two whole chickens; fourth prize, two pieces of chicken quarter legs; fifth prize, two packs of ribs; sixth, seventh and eighth prizes, one sack of 50-pound rice.
