VOLUNTEERS
“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.”
DR MERRILEE FRANKISH
New Ireland Province, PNG
ADI's programs were first established by volunteer doctors over 20 years ago in Western Province. Since then, our volunteer doctors have been the cornerstone of ADI’s health and outreach programs. As our programs have evolved, so too has the role our volunteer doctors play on the ground. The primary focus for the volunteers is to build the clinical capacity of rural health workers through case-based and group training. Much of this work takes place on outreach trips in some of the most remote, and beautiful, locations in Papua New Guinea.
These outreach trips, are planned in coordination between ADI staff on the ground and local provincial health authorities. During outreach trips, volunteer doctors work as part of a multidisciplinary team providing clinical and preventative healthcare services across remote health centres and aid posts across the province. Some Provincial Health Authorities also request that they assist with the provision of clinical services and training at the provincial hospital.
Volunteer Testimonials
Dr Chris McCall
Imagine a place where to go almost anywhere, you have to travel by water, through a maze of confusing rivers and lake channels, around floating stands of grass that move - but boat fuel is hard to come by and expensive.
Many villages have no real health service, not even a small health post, although tuberculosis, leprosy and malaria are common. The Bosset region of Papua New Guinea’s Western Province, part of the Middle Fly district, is a vast, flat, swampy area with spectacular vistas and impressive bird life. For its human inhabitants, it is a land with a lot of health problems where options for treatment are limited by geography.
The health clinic only has power during the day, as the batteries that should supply power at night do not work. With limited internet and mobile phone coverage, some of the riverside communities mainly receive news of the outside world by word of mouth.
People have heard of COVID-19 but many do not understand truly what it is or that it could represent a threat to them. Belief in sorcery is still strong. Many people prefer to believe scare stories about COVID-19 vaccinations circulating online.
Nevertheless, thanks to some strong persuasion from local leaders, some of these communities have opened up to the idea of vaccination. It has been hard to explain that if the residents do not take the opportunity to be vaccinated when a visiting health patrol comes, they may wait a long time for another chance.
Dr Alison Brown
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!