By Sasha Pei-Silovo, EMTV Online – Port Moresby
A five-man team of volunteers from St Mark’s Anglican Church in Balcutha in the town of Otago on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand arrived this weekend in PNG to commence volunteer services at the Kapuna Hospital in the Kikori District of Gulf province.
23-year-old, David Hall, a trainee electrician is part of the team who will be working at the rural hospital for the next three weeks. Hall is a third year electrical training student at Balcutha’s Johnstone Electrical. He will be carrying out electrical work, which will include wiring, at the hospital.
Kapuna Hospital is located along the Wame River, a tributary of the Purari River, and is the only hospital within paddling distance for about 15,000 locals. The rural hospital is part of Gulf Christian Services and serves over 30,000 people in the area.
The remote five-ward hospital is only accessible by river transport and has a staff of two doctors, seven nurses and 12 community health workers. Tuberculosis (TB) is a major health problem is the area, with the fourth ward of the hospital solely dedicated to TB patients.
According to South Island Times, Hall said that he accepted the offer to volunteer from a member of his church, Craig Joseph, who has been to Papua New Guinea twice already. Hall said that this will be first time for him to travel to anywhere as remote as Kapuna.
“It will be an experience.”
Links:
Kapuna Hospital website
