Rotary caravan visits Lealea

A CARAVAN being towed down the road is an unusual sight in Papua New Guinea, but when it arrived at Lealea from Port Moresby, the whole village knew why it had come.
The Rotary caravan imported as a donation to community health several years ago, now acts as a mobile health dispensary and clinic.
It is fitted with air conditioning and refrigeration, and carries a supply of medicine, test equipment and bandages.
Surprisingly, despite Lealea and Papa, a big community linked by road to the nation’s capital, it had no reliable Government health services, according to Rotary.
The medical team, headed by Doctor Fa of the Ela Beach Medical Centre, organised Rotary volunteers to write down each patient’s complaint and direct them to the appropriate doctor.
Ailments treated included sore ears, aching joints, arthritis, gout, muscle pains, asthma and chronic chest infections.
The doctors gave advice on the management of the problem and referred patients to the caravan for dispensing of appropriate treatment.
Boroko Rotary president Peter Loko was also there to assist the team to fill medicine packets for the dispensary.
Boroko Rotary has a programme of village medical visits to improve the lives of communities.