Waralla Seventh-day Adventist Church in the North Waghi District of Jiwaka Province, Papua New Guinea, recently opened a health clinic.
The clinic, a Total Member Involvement initiative, was the idea of Adventist doctor Malts Wai, a senior consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology at Mt Hagan General Hospital. Seeing the plight of local mothers struggling with poor health, he committed to helping them obtain first class medical services.
Some mothers have been been battling with birth complications; others from cancer and other diseases. Sadly, some have died due to their distance from health clinics and aid posts, and also because they have not had the money to afford treatment. Due to lack of government funding, most state-run rural health facilities have closed.
The new clinic, which locals have described as a beacon of hope and a New Year’s present, includes ultrasound technology that can detect cancer at its earliest stage.
Dr Wai’s goal is that the clinic becomes a regional hospital with specialist doctors to serve the wider community. The clinic was funded from the doctor’s own savings without assistance from the government or donor agencies. It was given to the people of Jiwaka, especially North Waghi, as tithe to God.
