The 10,000 Toes Campaign is set to restore two wellness clinics in the South Pacific, thanks to funds raised through a collaborative effort by the Sydney Adventist Hospital (the San) and Avondale University.
During the 10,000 Toes fifth annual barbecue fundraiser held at the San this Wednesday (October 22), representatives from both institutions presented a cheque for $A17,500 to 10,000 Toes campaign director Pamela Townend. The donation will help restore and equip two of the campaign’s Wellness Clinics—Hoiya Clinic in Papua New Guinea and Kukudu Clinic in the Solomon Islands—which provide lifestyle medicine care to patients at high risk of diabetes and other non-communicable diseases.
The event also raised more than $A1700, with around 140 vegetarian hot dogs served to staff and visitors. Supported by Sanitarium and local Fox Valley businesses, the annual “OcTOEber BBQ” supports the campaign’s work to prevent diabetes across the Pacific, where every 20 minutes, a limb is lost to the disease.
Ms Townend said the donation will help address urgent facility issues, “We actually have about 35 clinics in the Solomon Islands and roughly 55 in Papua New Guinea. Due to the weather and conditions out there, mould has entered the buildings, the cyclonic weather has taken roofing iron off, and plumbing is no longer working. We’ve done an audit on all our clinics and we’re going to be fixing them up to make them a standard that I’d be happy to have my baby at.”
She added that the San is also donating birthing beds and other equipment alongside the funds. “We’ve got mums delivering babies on the floor of the clinics—it’s not hygienic,” she said. “So we’re going to be able to paint, put in better plumbing and do a whole lot of those kinds of things to really make them something we can be proud of.”
Hospital CEO Brett Goods said the initiative aligns closely with the San’s mission of “Christianity in action”. “The executive of the hospital wanted to be doing something practical to support the South Pacific. We see about 200,000 patients a year at this site, and we wanted to do something beyond our normal community. We know there is significant health problems associated with non-communicable diseases, type 2 diabetes being one of those.”
He explained that the hospital fundraised internally and matched donations dollar for dollar, with Avondale’s faculty of nursing joining the effort.
Avondale’s head of the School of Nursing Tamera Gosling said staff and students were eager to contribute, “A lot of our staff did some baking—we did cupcake sales, and one of our nursing staff’s mums donated knitted booties and scarves to sell. It’s just really satisfying to know it’s going to an excellent cause.”
The 10,000 Toes Campaign, an initiative of the South Pacific Division’s health ministries, is working to turn the tide on diabetes by transforming local health clinics into Wellness Clinics that provide lifestyle medicine and preventative care. The clinics serve patients referred from the 10,000 Toes community wellness hubs for follow-up treatment and support.
To learn more about the Adopt a Wellness Clinic initiative, visit 10000toes.com/adopt-a-clinic.
