Russian entrepreneur couple Alex and Violetta Sekler's $650,000 donation to the Cairns hospital has come at the time when the hospital was in need of critical equipment, including ventilators, to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Though this isn't the first time the Seklers have made a donation to the hospital, they say it's particularly important given the gravity of the situation.
"There's more and more panic because of this coronavirus situation. So we talked to the hospital staff and learned that they needed a lot of things," Alex Sekler said.
"Then we contacted the Hospital foundation and asked them to make a list of medical equipment and other supplies they lack.
"They came up with this amount, $650,000, that would cover their basic needs. And we decided to help," he told SBS Russian.
Dr Ken Chapman, the chairman of the Far North Queensland Hospital Foundation says the "extremely generous" contribution has come at a time when the hospital was considering launching an urgent fundraising appeal. He says he was "absolutely delighted" when the couple offered to help.
"I was contacted by the Sekler family and they said 'Can we help, is there something that we can do' to bolster the preparedness for these extraordinary unprecedented circumstances," he says.
"So they have agreed to fund the entire list that we have at this stage.. the entire wishlist of the equipment."
The hospital will be able to add one hundred extra beds, apart from some critical life-saving equipment.
Among other things, the donation will be used to buy two ventilators for the neonatal ward where newborn babies are kept.
"I think, it's very important and probably will help save lives, and as parents, we are very concerned about the children. So, yeah, I'm happy about the baby ventilators," says Violetta Sekler.
"We call Australia home"
Alex and Violetta moved to Australia seven years ago on the investor visa. They are permanent residents and looking forward to becoming Australian citizens.
"We can definitely say that Australia is our home now," Mr Sekler says. "We traveled around the world a lot, lived in different countries, but only Australia gave us the feeling of home."
While the Seklers have several businesses, including construction, banking and others in several countries, they consider the creation of the Australian Silicon Valley as their main project.
Alex and Violetta Sekler donated $650,000 to Far North Queensland Foundation Source: Supplied
"This project is a source of my constant inspiration," Mr Sekler says. "We want to gather the best developments from the former USSR, UK, Germany, and other countries in one place to create new sources of alternative energy, new developments in proton therapy for the treatment of cancer and other exciting projects".
Ms Sekler says she and her husband don’t like to talk about their philanthropic work but the hospital urged them not to refuse interviews so that they could be an example for others.
"Also during this time people need to hear more positive stories with everything happening in the world," she says.
