Reka Souwapawong hosted last Sunday a champagne brunch in honor of Dr. Bob Paeglow, recipient of White Plains Kiwanis Club’s First Humanitarian Award. Close to thirty members and guests of Kiwanis Club (sponsor of the event) were on hand at Reka’s Thai Restaurant last Sunday the 31st of January. A five-course Thai Champagne Brunch preceded Dr. Bob’s update on the status of his humanitarian work. Dr. Bob’s biography:
In 1988, Bob Paeglow was moved while watching a local news report about a mother who was unable to pay for her son’s health care. He felt called to go to medical school to treat the underinsured in his local area and around the world. At the time Dr. Bob was 36 years old with a wife, four children, a house and a mortgage. Yet he and his family made the necessary sacrifices to support and fulfill his mission. In 1994 he graduated from Albany Medical College. He also went on his first medical missions trip to Mozambique. In 2000, he founded Koinonia Primary Health Care, a medical practice located in West Hill, the neighborhood in which he grew up and now one of the worst sections of inner city Albany, NY. He moved from comfortable, suburban Albany to live amongst his patients. There he works with his wife, Leane, a nurse, to provide quality medical care to his patients no matter their race, creed or socio-economic status. Many of his patients are unable to pay for their care and thus he draws no salary from his practice. During his vacations, he continues to travel to Africa where he cares for the sick.
Dr. Bob’s audience was visibly touched and moved to action by his description of the needs of his patients who are unable to pay for their own basic health care. Following his talk, a team was formed, agreeing to visit Dr. Bob’s clinic in Albany, NY to pursue worthwhile ideas, which surfaced during the Q&A session, that might further support his cause. Finally, Bruce MacDonald Esq., White Plains Kiwanis Cub Secretary, presented Dr. Bob with a $2,000 grant donated by Wal-Mart.
Receiving further encouraging emails from her guests, Reka acknowledged: "It makes me cry knowing how much people really care."
