YWAM on a mission

Weekender

By OGIA MIAMEL
THE crystal blue sea is calm and gleams in the afternoon sun as specks of coral reef jut out of the sea. We are nearing Tufi airport in Popondetta and the view from the plane is magical.
As the plane hits the runway at 4:06pm exact, I peek out the window to get a glimpse of the place. Tufi International Airport written on a wooden sign board nailed on the wall of a small haus win just next to the airport fencing catches my attention. I believe most first time travelers to the place notice this sign with surprise and humor as I did.
Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Medical Ships public relations manager Anna Scott and her husband Matt and a volunteer photographer from California Stephanie Dao pick me up after we disembark from the aircraft.
We hop on a white Nissan open back vehicle belonging to the Tufi Health centre and drive off, past Tufi resort and down to Tufi dive club, a mere five minutes drive away from the airport.
At the dive club, a radio message is sent to the ship for the crew to release a boat to pick us up. After few minutes and we can see the boat approaching in the distance. After our bags are loaded, life jackets are strapped on.
It was a windy but fine afternoon and for a boat ride and we were soon bouncing up and down in the waves next to the MV YWAM PNG.
It was a Friday afternoon and after a brief tour around the ship, I was given a few basics on safety measures on the large medical vessel. We then sat down to a glass of cold water and Anna went through the activities of the week.
I joined the team at the invitation of the Oro provincial government who had requested for a reporter from The National to be there to write some news stories.
My trip was also important to highlight the province’s vital partnership with the YWAM medical Ship that saw many people in remote villages of the province access high quality medical service.
Health service there, as in many other remote parts of the country is almost non-existent.
Partnerships that the YWAM team has with coastal provinces that support their work is more than just a relationship of mutual benefits.
It is a friendship built over the years upon the common goal of providing better medical service to people in remote areas who might not have had the services at all.
This will be the ship’s fourth visit to Northern and the third visit to outlying villages along Oro Bay towards Sohe and Ijivitari districts.
The planned activities for the week included; visits to five different villages of Manau, Deboin, Sia, Taututu and Mambutu.
Aid the medical ship provides includes dentistry, primary health care, optometry, community engagement and ophthalmology.
The clinics went into action both on board and the ship as soon as the bigger vessel anchored during its visits to the five different villages.
Apart from the international doctors, local health professionals in the province were also invited to be part of the team during the outreach. The provincial team included, Siroga Health Centre eye clinician Leah Tasari, community health worker Philip Tahima, laboratory technician John Keve, dentists Elsie Gahanao and Dr Hilda Audubo.
Partnering with local health professionals to work on board YWAM Medical Ships is one way of training and mentoring local health professionals to strengthen the health care system of PNG according to program strategy and partner relations Dr Sarah Dunn.
Rural health care is a struggle but there are a lot of hope for the dedicated health workers who are serving in their communities.
Last week was a busy time for the team. The day’s activity begins at 6am in the morning and ends in 5pm in the afternoon.
Dentist and eye surgery teams works on board the ship, attending to patients who are referred to them by teams who visit the villages.
The people expressed their gratitude towards the medical ship and the provincial government.
Quality health service hardly reaches them because of the remoteness of their villages.
Some have no health workers or there is insufficient drugs or the conditions of the health facilities are often poor.
Major supporters of YWAM medical ship’s work in Northern are the Oro Provincial Government, Puma Energy, PNG National Government, Steamships Trading Company, PNG Port Corporation, Manolos Aviation, Pro-Ma Systems and the Sohe District Development Authority.……………