 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Loloma Team of 18 on Relief Mission to Island Nations
of Vanuatu and Fiji in February 2005
Thanks to all who have made the Loloma Foundation’s February 2005 trip the most successful to date. We not only revisited and restocked all of our recipients in Fiji, but reached out to a new country, Vanuatu; expanding Loloma’s work for the first time from the boundaries of Fiji to other much needed areas of the South Pacific.
The first week of our trip was spent in Suva, the capital of Fiji. It was here that we unloaded and distributed much of our goods from the 20 foot container.
Our gratitude to the Rotary Club of Downtown Suva for clearing the container, as well as Elizabeth Clayton for providing us a place to store and sort all goods.
Medical triage boxes went out to Taveuni Island, Gau Island, Koro Island, and Kadavu Island.
Hospitals in Nadi and Kadavu also received much needed medical equipment.
Sister Patricia McLaughlin of the Saint Vincent de Paul Order has partnered with the Loloma Foundation in distributing all educational and clothing items to the impoverished areas surrounding Suva.
It is hard to fathom that the difference items which we think so little of, make such a big difference to these people’s lives.
Upon returning, we received a thank you letter from Sister Patricia. A young boy she visited in a village, was dying of leukemia. She described how he was covered with a heavy blanket, perspiring profusely. She went to one of the donated boxes, and found a simple white sheet.
Quoted from her letter:
” You should have seen the joy on his face when he saw the sheet and held it to his face before his mother covered his body with such love. Two days later it was the sheet that covered his body as they carried him to our car to take him to the mortuary.”
We visited and distributed much needed supplies to several of the nursing homes around Suva. It is wonderful to see improvements being made in several of the institutions since our last visit. It is also rewarding to recognize many of the items we have sent in the past, being used.
The Suva Boy’s Home and the McCaffrey Girl’s Home, hold a very special place in our hearts. Both are home to children who have been abused or neglected. They also house juvenile offenders.
They were given clothing, school supplies, bedding and towels, computers, and a triage box of basic medication.
The boy’s home is a condemned building which once housed those suffering from Leprosy. Because the building is condemned, the government refuses to put any more money into it. Not only are the children betrayed and thrown away by their families, but by the government as well. The “thank you” letters written by the children spoke volumes.
One boy wrote of being abandoned by both his family and his people. Through our gifts, we had given him hope again.
Another wrote how we were both his mother and father.
Yet another wrote how this was the best day of his life. Never could he have dreamed of receiving such wonderful items.
The staff of the main trauma and teaching hospital of Fiji, Colonial War Memorial Hospital, were at a loss for words when we brought in sutures, surgical gloves, and medical supplies. Prior to our arrival, all elective surgery had been postponed as they were out of suture equipment and disposable gloves. The Pediatric wing of CWM was thrilled to receive two children’s wheelchairs. Unbeknownst to us, children’s wheelchairs are nonexistent in Fiji.
The Fiji School of Medicine was the biggest recipient this time, with over $40,000 worth of training items being donated. We have helped with the education of doctors for all the Pacific nations. A special reception was held for board member Dr. Lance Hendricks in recognition for all the hard work he has done to provide such goods.
Our trip to the island nation of Vanuatu took an incredible amount of planning, coordination, communication, and physical effort to make it happen. Every bit of preparatory work was worth the effort as we witnessed the expressions of surprise, gratitude, and appreciation by people from isolated villages who might not otherwise ever receive any true medical care.
For one week, we chartered The Silent World for our “Meds on Water” portion of the trip. Aboard, we carried one internist, one infectious disease specialist, one dermatologist, two anesthesiologists, one ENT surgeon, and one radiologist. We also had two optometrists with an unlimited supply of glasses and two nurses to assist all.
Our first stop was the island of Tanna, home to the John Frum Cargo Cult and the worlds most active and accessible volcano.
To learn more about the “Cargo Cult.” Go to: www.charlesmontgomery.ca/fred.html
We held several days of clinic at the small 40 bed Lenakel Hospital which serves over 20,000 people.
We were able to stock their pharmacy with much needed medical supplies and medication. We also held a “bush clinic” at Resolution Bay. Most of the people on the outer islands still depend on the local witch doctor, or “cleavers” to cure all ills. The cleaver’s favorite treatment is the slice and dice method, cutting into the skin of the problem area with glass shards.
As a last resort, islanders will make the long journey to the remote hospital.
Over 400 people were treated at the Lenakel Hospital by our team. People walked for miles through dense mountainous jungle, then waited for hours to be seen by our specialists.
The doctors treated coughs, colds, flu, bronchitis, tuberculosis, malaria, congestive heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, otitis media, boils, scabies, and arthritis, along with work related injuries.
Dr. Dubois, the dermatologist of our group, commented that many of the skin problems she saw only existed in text books. Due to the limited diagnostic and treatment situations, through the combined skills of the varied specialists in our group, they were able to diagnose such things as pericardial effusion, multiple myeloma, acromegaly, and cardiomyopathy.
Someone joked that only in a remote, tropical jungle, located at the end of the world, would you be able to get specialists from different fields together to confer over a patient’s diagnosis at a moments notice. It is medicine working in the way that we all dream of.
A one day clinic was held on the island of Erromango, north of Tanna. We were able to see 150 people at Dillon’s Bay Village. People had come from all over the island. Many people brought gifts of homemade clothing and food from their garden. These were gifts from the heart. All were shaking our hands in gratitude for coming so far to care for them.
To learn more of our Meds On Water adventure in Vanuatu please go to: http://www.news.vu/en/living/health/050225-medics-bring-specialist-healthcare.shtml
Our final stop was to our home base, Lalati Clinic on Beqa Island, Fiji. Here we restocked and rotated all medication in the clinic. We held a marathon one day clinic where over 200 people were seen to be fitted for glasses, with an additional 100 seen for medical reasons. Looking out at the beach, there was a steady stream of islanders making their way to the clinic. Again, the gratitude shown can not be expressed in words, but only spoken through their hearts and translated in their faces.
“Thank You” to the hundreds of friends who made this incredible journey possible
A very special thank you goes to:
Meyric Slimmings and crew of the MV Silent One, Silent World Expeditions
The Doctors and Nurses aboard our “Meds On Water”
Jayne and Clint Carlson of Lalati Resort, Home of the Lalati Clinic
The International Relief Team for underwriting the cost of shipping the container to Fiji
Medisend International for supplying close to $40,000 in medical supplies
Southwest Airlines for donating approximately $30,000 worth of domestic air freight to stage our relief goods for the ocean voyage to Fiji
Air Pacific for always coming through with international air freight for crucial medicine and supplies at the last minute
Blue Whale Moving Company of Austin, Texasfor their generous donation of moving van and driver during our transport of medical supplies
Scripps Health for their unwavering support in medicines, materials and personnel
AmeriCares for their continued support of donated medicine and supplies
Direct Relief for their continued generous support
Interchurch Medical Assistance, Inc ., Patricia E. Pickett, for their generous donations
MAP (Medical Assistance Programs) for their donation of Drugs and medical supplies
Vinaka, Vinaka, Vinaka
The Loloma Foundation Board of Directors
Lucy Skerrett
Dr. Phil Higginbottom
Jeff Cox
Robert Duell, DDS
 |