Digicel staff secure water supply for Aseki Health Centre

The National National
Digicel PNG Morobe general manager Shaunna Imatana turning on the solar pump at Aseki Health Centre witnessed by officer-in-charge Sr Mathilda Maborai. The centre has been without running water for over two decades. – Picture supplied

ASEKI Health Centre in Nanima-Kariba rural local level government area, Morobe, has received water supply after 20 years of fetching water in buckets.
The donation was from a team of eight women staff from Digicel PNG’s Lae office, who were successful applicants of the annual 3L staff grants programme of Digicel Foundation.
Morobe general manager Shaunna Imatana said 3L gave staff the opportunity to apply for grants as an individual or team, so they could give back to their communities.
The health centre’s plight was previously reported via the media.
“We were told that buckets of water had to be fetched for basic medical treatment and operations, including the delivery of babies,” Imatana said.
“Water is crucial for hygiene and health so seeing this need, our staff in Lae decided to apply as a team for a water project.”
Carmella Gware and project manager Milika Kepas said the health centre had been struggling with no ambulance, no running water, no electricity and a leaking roof.
The health centre serves more than 25,000 persons in the LLG, including Watut Rural and in the nearby Bulolo.
Noting water and sanitation as the greatest need, the team stressed through their grant application that water supply project would alleviate the burden of having to fetch buckets of water from the outside tanks to bring into the health centre to use during surgery or treatment.
“Having proper running water would reduce the time and energy spent on filling and carrying buckets of water to wash their hands, their equipment and clean patients before and after surgery.
“This would go a long way in addressing the districts’ maternal mortality, where mothers and babies die from infections due to lack of proper running water,” the team stated.
The team successfully secured K10,000 from the grant programme last year and contributed another K10,000 themselves.
The K20,000 water supply project, complete with solar supply, was launched on Friday.
Officer-in-charge Sr Mathilda Maborai thanked the Digicel team and called on the people of Aseki to take ownership of such donations.