US MNAs donate beverages, healthy snacks to public health lab technicians |18 May 2021

The donation ceremony

Technicians and other staff of the public health laboratory yesterday received a donation of a variety of beverages and healthy snacks to boost their strength and energy and keep them going throughout their long hours of work conducting Covid-19 tests.

It was the United Seychelles’ (US) members of the National Assembly represented by honourables Sylvanne Lemiel, Audrey Vidot and Wallace Cosgrow who handed over the small gift of tea, coffee, milk, bottled water, fruits and snacks to the deputy chief executive of the Health Care Agency (HCA) Kathleen Cécile in the presence of the lab technicians in a short meeting yesterday morning at the Red Roof building of the Seychelles Hospital.

Speaking after the handover, Hon. Lemiel said “this time wedecided to donate specifically to this group of workers because very often people don’t realise the amount of work this small group of people do because they work in the background but they are the ones doing all the important work to come up with either a negative or a positive test results for a lot of people. Handling all these different samples require a lot of work”.

Hon. Lemiel noted that in January they made a similar but bigger donation to all frontline workers.

“Some of these technicians work very late and some until morning and this because of the huge workload and limited number of staff. We as MNAs recognise the huge amount of work you are doing as laboratory technicians and at the same time we also recognise and appreciate all the work and devotion of all front liners. You are working very hard, you are risking your lives and that of your families to ensure all the test results are ready in reasonable time. We really appreciate your devotion and this also reinforces our support for all the employees of the Ministry of Health,” Hon. Lemiel highlighted.

She noted that the gesture, though small, comes from the bottom of their heart and they want to show their appreciation for this particular small group of workers this time.  

Thanking the MNAs on behalf of the technicians and other lab employees, Ms Cecile said since Covid-19 struck last year the Health Care Agency, the Public Health Authority under which falls the public health laboratory as well as the health ministry as a whole have all been working more closely together, supporting all the employees and front liners to protect as much as they can the population and the country.

“It is true that the lab technicians work in the background and people hardly think of them but we are very much aware of the high risks they have been taking for more than a year now handling all those many Covid-19 samples every day and we make sure they are well protected while they work and we appreciate and thank them very much. We also welcome and appreciate your support and recognition for their hard work,” said Ms Cecile.   

Marie-Anne Lepathy