Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Kazuhiko Koshikawa on Tuesday signed a P6 million grant under Grass-Roots Human Security Projects (GGP) at the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation to provide eye surgery equipment to a hospital owned by a humanitarian non-government organization.

The contract signing was done between Koshikawa and Sister Eva Fidela Maamo, the 1997 Ramon Magsaysay awardee and the founder of the Foundation of Our Lady of Peace Mission, which runs the Our Lady of Peace Hospital in Paranaque, Metro Manila.

Our Lady of Peace Hospital will receive medical equipment for eye operations which will be purchased with the funds from the grant.

The latest project of the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation is a collaboration between Maamo and Tadashi Hattori Tadashi, an ophthalmologist who has been giving free cataract surgeries in Vietnam for more than 20 years and and a 2022 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, where they will provide free cataract operations to poor Filipinos.

The first medical mission of the two awardees, in partnership with the Tzu Chi Foundation, will be conducted at the Tzu Chi Eye Center on February 20-21 with volunteer Filipino ophthalmologists.

Koshikawa said that grassroots activities like these under the GGP will have a “significant and lasting impact” on the lives of Filipinos.

“Through this project, we hope that many underprivileged cataract patients will be able to receive Doctor Hattori’s treatment and regain clear…vision,” Koshikawa said.

For her part, Maamo thanked Koshikawa and said she wants to be able to reach more underprivileged Filipinos.

“With these devices that you have given us, we hope to be able to serve better and reach more target clientele,” Maamo said.

In a video message, Hattori also expressed his gratitude and said he hoped the project would help many poor people and that it would benefit the hospital.

“ I hope that donation will have a good effect on the hospital and not only on the hospital, but also the Ophthalmology Academy and ophthalmologists who will do volunteer work to save the poor patients at the outreach area,” Hattori said.

The GGP is a project of the Japanese government established to help reduce poverty in the Philippines and engage various communities in grassroots activities.

The signed project for the provision of medical equipment to the Our Lady of Peace Hospital is the newest addition to the 560 grassroots projects implemented by the GGP. Jaspearl Tan/DMS