20th October, 2020
Your Excellence,
I am deeply honoured and moved by this decoration that Your Excellency Mr President has kindly bestowed on me for the realisation of the Cuomo Cardio-Paediatric Centre.
This was a project undertaking that involved numerous discussions with all members of the Board of Directors, as the Foundation in the first 10 years of its establishment had primarily focussed on building schools for disadvantaged children and supporting scholarships for the most deserving.
Initially presented to the Foundation by Professor Alain Deloche ,this project became a reality thanks to the mediation and involvement of Professor Gilles Dreyfus and the tireless dedication of Dr Cheikh Tacko Diop the director of the Fann University Hospital, the enthusiastic support of Professor Mouhamadou N’Diaye, Professor Amadou Ciss, Professor Oumar Kane, Professor Ibrahima Bara Diop and the commitments of both Ministers of Health and Social Action, Professor Awa Marie Coll Seck and Mr Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr.
Additionally, a special mention of thanks goes to the Managing Director of the Foundation Mr. Francisco Diaz Lison, who has been and continues being, every day, in the front line so the Centre not only can function as it should but that also it can become, in a brief timeframe, the leading Centre for all of West Africa: the gem of your wonderful Country, Mr. President.
For this very reason Mr President, I venture to request that when time allows you a brief respite from your busy agenda, you come and witness first-hand this gem that is the Centre. That artists and craftsmen, children of your country, have rendered with images of butterflies, birds and happiness, smiling children run through a cheerful Centre, where one does not witness pain or suffering but only the hope of healing.
This Centre functions extremely well and for this we must thank not only the specialist doctors and nurses but also the orderlies, the housekeepers, the caretakers, the cooks, the gardeners… all who have dedicated themselves to progress and success despite having to overcome obstacles such as the Covid crisis. In this unexpected situation the CCPC has remained solid, firm and equipped with the most efficient and modern means to manage this new plague.
The Foundation stands side by side with your wonderful Country.
