The late Mr Gerry Essery and Mrs Jo Essery left more than $13 million to four charities, including the NKF. It fulfilled their wishes to support the social causes which they cared for and held dear to their hearts during their lifetime.
Last year, we received the remaining half of our share of $4 million, which will go towards providing dialysis treatment and care to more than 5,300 NKF patients and beneficiaries in financial need.
The first $2 million which we received in 2016 was used to establish The Jo & Gerry Essery-NKF Dialysis Centre in Marsiling. It is one of the largest dialysis centres in the north of Singapore and treats up to 132 patients. It was also one of the first centres to pilot self-care management under the renal rehabilitation programme, where patients measure their own weight, check their vital signs and set up the things needed for dialysis.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we thank Jo and Gerry for their generosity and heart for kidney failure patients, who have to bear the physical and financial burden of life-long dialysis to sustain their lives. This legacy gift from Jo and Gerry will go a long way in advancing NKF’s vision and mission of Giving Life & Hope, helping us to do more and do better in renal care.”
– Mr Arthur Lang, Chairman of NKF
Mr Gerry Essery who was an accountant, and his wife Jo, a housewife, became Singaporeans in the 1970s. Mrs Essery died in 2013 at the age of 89, while Mr Essery was 92 when he died in 2015.
Retired veterinarian Dr Tan Hwa Luck, a good friend of the Essery couple and executor of their estate, said, “Jo and Gerry were always generous with not just money but also their hearts. Growing up with little meant that they saw the needs often overlooked by many.”
The other three beneficiaries were Assisi Hospice, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and the Garden City Fund. A Burmese Banyan heritage tree, which is located at Swan Lake in the Singapore Botanic Gardens, has been dedicated to the generous couple.
