Testimonial from Dr. Charles Van Risseghem

I’ve been a specialist in clinical biology since 1984. I ran a medical analysis laboratory that had actually been founded between 1950 and 1955, the Laboratoires Van Risseghem-Flasse, which I renamed Laboratoires de Biologie Médicale VR in 1984. I spent my entire career in that laboratory, which grew across the Brussels region: other similar practices joined us between 2000 and 2009, and then in 2014 we became part of a European group, Synlab, where I brought my career to a close in 2022.

A Rotarian of long standing, I had attended presentations by HWF and even a guided tour of the premises. As my career drew to an end, it felt quite natural — together with my wife, a general practitioner — to join HWF. That’s how we became members of the Medical Council, the team that reviews the projects HWF receives. With each project, we bring our expertise to bear while learning the ins and outs of it.

All these projects share a common purpose: to bring medical aid to a disadvantaged local population. You come to realise that these communities, cut off from medical care, live with precarious health day in, day out. The truth is, when you have nothing, having nothing feels normal and you don’t ask questions. So the little that HWF brings is a great deal.

Every project is compelling, and often a real lesson in life. You almost wish you could go along with the equipment and see what becomes of it. The most moving are those where we get feedback from the centres we’ve helped, and can see how they develop on the ground.

At HWF, the management of funds is entirely devoted to the mission itself, rather than to constantly publicising its work. The downside is that HWF remains little known outside Rotary — and sometimes even within the Rotary clubs themselves.

As for the future, it’s tied directly to our ability to collect equipment and to export it to countries in need. The evolving laws and procedures around this — around second-hand medical equipment — are surely one of the major challenges ahead for HWF.