Medical ship boosts outreach to rural areas

By OGIA MIAMEL
THE Youth With a Mission medical ship mv YWAM PNG will increase outreach to rural communities following a major renovation, managing director Ken Mulligan says.
It follows the improvement to the ship plus the purchase of two patrol boats by AusAID.
He said the ship had been operating in Papua New Guinea for seven years, visiting more than 100 villages and serving more than 30,000 people.
The improvements to the vessel, therefore, will mean reaching more remote communities.
“We eventually would like to see three ships around the coast,” he said.
“In the next 10 years, we would like to have a similar ship in the New Guinea Islands and the rest of Momase.
“The current one has gone through parts of Morobe.
“The smaller one is up in Madang and slowly making its way to West New Britain.
“We also have another vessel joining us.
“It’s a yacht from Europe called Yura and will work in more isolated islands.”
YWAM Medical Ships Papua New Guinea patron Sir Rabbie  Namaliu said the medical team operated in Gulf, Western, National Capital District, Central, Milne Bay and parts of Morobe.
“The old ship we had only covered Gulf and Western.
“This one has enabled us to cover the whole of the Southern region and parts of Morobe.”
Field activities delivered by YWAM medical ship teams and rural health care workers include dental care, maternal and child health, eye care, mobile medical laboratory support, health promotion and collegial support, and the mentoring for Papua New Guinea health workers.
The University of Papua New Guinea also uses the vessel for student training placements.
The mv YWAM PNG will be docked in Port Moresby this week before departing for Gulf this weekend.
More than 100 volunteers will be on board from 12 different nations.
The mv YWAM PNG is equipped with an on board dentistry clinic.
The medical vessel operates as a mother ship and patrol boats are launched from the ship to reach very remote areas who lack access to basic healthcare services.