Mum says cleaning kits, brought to her remote community with an Aerial Health Patrol flown by MAF, is changing lives.
Story by Aquila Matit
Esther Waliah, a mother of two, credits the arrival of cleaning kits with a dramatic improvement in the health of her family.
Her community in the Lake Murray area of Papua New Guinea’s Western Province has seen a reduction in common diseases following the introduction of a Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) initiative.
The WASH initiative is delivered by Aerial Health Patrol (AHP) teams from the Sustainable Development Program (SDP), reaching isolated communities in Western Province through MAF aircraft. The initiative involves health education on the importance of washing hands and feet through special cleaning kits.
“In my family we practise the initiative in which we wash our hands before eating three times a day to avoid carrying germs and bacteria around,” she said.
“This has helped as I have seen my family living healthier without disease compared to the past where my children had stomach-aches or diarrhoea, or even fever from small things such as not washing hands.”
“We have two cleaning kits situated at our hospital. This is where we first have been taught then we exercise this back at home.”
The WASH team emphasises teaching locals how to live healthier lives through the cleaning kits, particularly at health facilities.
We have been able to reach these communities throughout Lake Murray with the help of MAF
Yanu Kagayo, a WASH Officer with one of SDP’s AHP teams, said that the team is focused on helping the community to prevent illness.
“My team and I concentrate on the WASH aspect. We are using the cleaning kits to teach about good health in the local community. The cleaning kits are made up of a container attached to a foot pressure and a hanging soap. Pressure is added by the foot and water flows to where the soap is attached and where the hand is,” she said.
“By addressing these at the community level, we aim to reduce the need for hospital visits.”
There are 12 AHP teams with SDP. The AHP team 6 flies from Balimo, the main SDP hub, to Lake Murray where they travel to about 16 communities across the lake.
“We have been able to reach these communities throughout Lake Murray with the help of MAF,” said Yanu.
“We are usually flown in by one of the MAF caravans that service us and the people of Western province. At Boboa (Lake Murray) Station we go out by dinghy or speedboat, and its challenging and time-consuming. With the MAF floatplane, we’ll be able to reach these communities within minutes, and it won’t be as challenging. We are thankful to have this partnership with MAF.”
The station and its health centre alone have seen several WASH projects ongoing simultaneously. The newly built kitchen project, rubbish pit projects, toilet projects, and the general cleanliness and upkeep of the facility and community, including the cleaning kits.
Prevention is better than the cure, that’s the reason we are in the communities
Team 6 Patrol Manager Claudette Alex, who is from Western Province, expressed her gratitude towards MAF’s partnership with SDP and the work MAF is doing to help support her people through preventative health care.
“Prevention is better than the cure, that’s the reason we are in the communities. We help them to know how to avoid diseases, so they won’t have to come here at the health facility,” she said.
The Aerial Health Patrol program is initiated and funded by SDP and implemented in partnership with MAF in Western Province.