Church mobile clinic eases burdens

National, Normal
Source:

By BOSORINA ROBBY

LIKE so many urban settlers in Port Moresby, young mother Vivian Max sometimes has difficulty going to the nearby urban clinic or even to the general hospital.
She then looks forward to the once a month visit by the Foursquare church’s mobile clinic which goes right into their community to provide basic health services like dispensing of medicines, treatment and medication and other general outpatient services.
Yesterday, Vivian took her two children Nixey, five, and Ada, one, for their check-up when the mobile clinic visited Morata One.
Urban settlers in Port Moresby often do not have access to urban clinics due to financial constraints or location.
The Foursquare church mobile clinic is now providing the basic health services in Morata, 6-Mile, 8-Mile and 9-Mile, Vadavada and Moitaka Wildlife.
They also visit the city outskirts in Doa Rubber Plantation, Sabusa and Brown River to promote their “Operation Pasim Sua” mission.
At Morata, about 35 patients turned up for their check-ups, received treatment for infections and other illnesses and received a prayer to strengthen their spirits.
The church’s medical administrator, Josephine Mamis, said from every visit to each of the settlements, turnouts were  always good, with about 70 patients a day, and growing.
In agreement with the urban clinics, the mobile clinic does not provide immunisation, maternal health care, vaccines, family planning, antenatal and TB programmes.
Patients are referred to the urban clinics or to the general hospital.
The mobile clinic is funded by US-based Foursquare Mission International, which pays for all the medical supplies, vaccines and staff wages.
They are based at the Foursquare Living Light church in Kaugere and run the Kaugere and Kilakila urban clinics.
Since its inception in June, the programme has expanded to Enga province where the Foursquare church is operating.
Two fully stocked 10-seater Landcruisers with medical supplies worth more than K150,000 were donated to the programme from Digicel Foundation.