Volunteer Testimonials

I joined ADI in late 2019 after seeing a position advertised. I was tempted by the idea of working in a different economic and cultural context with an organisation that has a sustainable development program.

Working in PNG is varied and very different from Australian general practice. The attainment of good health or access to healthcare is not easy in this resource constrained environment but gaining an understanding of the complex factors affecting these health outcomes has been invaluable.

The highlight for me was the regular outreach patrols we conducted. For 12 days we would travel to a particular rural province. We'd work as a team of 8-12 health and logistics staff to deliver education, health promotion, screening and clinical services to communities and leaders.

My role was to improve the capacity of the local health workers by providing education and resources. Though well experienced, rural health workers were professionally isolated and lacked training opportunities. I valued the time I spent helping to improve knowledge and services.

The other enjoyable parts of the role were collecting and reporting on health data, working to find solutions to complex public health problems, creating evidence-based promotion materials and swimming in warm, tropical waters.
Throughout my three deployments, I've always felt well supported by ADI and I look forward to more experiences!

We are so lucky to live in Australia, yet we seem blissfully unaware of our privilege. Within two hours flight from my home I can step onto a totally different planet, a parallel universe, it is surreal. I am so blessed to have been given the opportunity to work in PNG, to ignite a passion for teaching, to have received in abundance and to have pushed myself beyond my limits.

We can, with the help of ADI, continue to teach, advocate, support, save lives, lead and just be there for the people of our closest and neediest of neighbours.

I joined ADI in late 2019 after seeing a position advertised. I was tempted by the idea of working in a different economic and cultural context with an organisation that has a sustainable development program.

Working in PNG is varied and very different from Australian general practice. The attainment of good health or access to healthcare is not easy in this resource constrained environment but gaining an understanding of the complex factors affecting these health outcomes has been invaluable.

The highlight for me was the regular outreach patrols we conducted. For 12 days we would travel to a particular rural province. We'd work as a team of 8-12 health and logistics staff to deliver education, health promotion, screening and clinical services to communities and leaders.

My role was to improve the capacity of the local health workers by providing education and resources. Though well experienced, rural health workers were professionally isolated and lacked training opportunities. I valued the time I spent helping to improve knowledge and services.

The other enjoyable parts of the role were collecting and reporting on health data, working to find solutions to complex public health problems, creating evidence-based promotion materials and swimming in warm, tropical waters.
Throughout my three deployments, I've always felt well supported by ADI and I look forward to more experiences!

In late January 2024, ADI received the sad news that one of our favourite volunteer doctors had lost his battle with cancer.

One of the few individuals to receive honorary membership of ADI, Dr Bruce Slonim not only completed four successful deployments in New Ireland from 2012 to 2017 but assisted in two scoping trips to assess both Gulf Province (2014) and West New Britain Province (2018) as potential projects.

Bruce was also a member of ADI’s program committee for over 10 years.

Dr Bruce was always available to advise new doctors on deployment or assist ADI’s program team with advice when needed. He and his wife Gayle volunteered as a team in New Ireland Province, setting an example of how outreach should be delivered.

Always helping, always teaching, Dr Bruce’s vast experience as an Australian country GP improved the lives of countless remote New Irelanders through the delivery of clinical services and the education of their health workers. Bruce introduced triage to patrol teams to improve efficiency and was instrumental with ADI’s early family planning work.

Bruce and Gayle helped develop a strong team spirit in New Ireland that is still evident today as the program concludes its thirteenth year.

Bruce was a skilled and extremely knowledgeable physician, and everyone at ADI is so grateful for his gift of time and knowledge to our program. He will be profoundly missed.