$20,000 extension to P’pang Maternity Home

Published on: Monday, July 29, 1963

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NORTH BORNEO NEWS & SABAH TIMES (July 29, 1963) - PENAMPANG, July 28. — The people of Penampang today celebrated the opening of the extension to their Maternity Home. The $20,000-extension was declared open by Mrs R.N. Turner, wife of the Chief Secretary (pix).

The original Home, a Rotary project, was also opened by Mrs Turner in 1958.

Rtn Joe Berwick, past President of the Jesselton Rotary Club, during whose term of office the extension was built, said the Centre continued to become more and more popular and was happy that the Club was able to help build the much demanded extension.

“During the past five years 367 babies have been born in this Maternity Home, an average of one every five days,” he said.

Earlier, Rtn Berwick listed the projects completed by the Club – the building of Jesselton Youth Club, the Sports Pavilion, the Wallace Training Centre for the Blind, a Physics Laboratory.

During the Rotary year 1962-63 the Club decided to enlarge the Maternity Home which had proved so successful that it was obviously too small to do the job required he said.

The extension was built with the help of the Penampang Mission and the Social Welfare funds together with money raised by the Club.

Mrs Turner, in her short address before declaring the Home open, on behalf of the people of Penampang – especially the mothers – thanked the Rotary Club of Jesselton for their enterprising project. A large crowd, including Rotarians and their wives and leaders of the Penampang District were present. Also present were Bishop Buis and the Resident West Coast and Mrs Mclean.

Refreshments were served to the guests which was followed by sumazau.