The value added through a fully kitted ambulance to a society, located in the middle of a densely forested mountainous large landmass, is indeed great.
This is the value that will be added to the lives of the people of Telefomin through the partnership between Digicel PNG Foundation and the Member for Telefomin.
The 50/50 counterpart funding is a partnership that is valued at K188,000, and includes an annual basic servicing for the next three years by Ela Motors.
Presenting the cheque of K94,000 was Telefomin district executive officer, Delun Dentavi, who said: “The office of the Member for Telefomin was very impressed with the service provided by Digicel Foundation nationwide, and they were keen to take up this partnership and deliver on some tangible services despite the current economic trough.
“Health and Education remain high on our priority list, and as long as Mr. (Solan) Mirisim is in power, he will continue to deliver on these services in partnership with development organisations such as Digicel PNG Foundation.”
Digicel Foundation’s Chief Operations Officer, Adi Anaseini Vesikula, said the purpose of the mobile health clinic is two-fold; to treat and to prevent.
“While the MHC (mobile health clinic) does its outreaches to deliver the basic treatment services to the rural people, an important aspect of the MHC is to carry out outreach activities and do awareness on primary health care. We then collect data on a monthly period for the purpose of reporting to our stakeholders and the health department,” Vesikula stated.
She also said Digicel PNG Foundation has an arrangement with Ela Motors to service the MHCs on an annual basis for three years during the reporting period. After the third year, the MHC and all its responsibilities will then be fully owned by the beneficiaries.
Digicel PNG Foundation has directly impacted over 800,000 people in rural remote and socially marginalised communities across all 22 provinces, leaving a footprint in all 89 districts and already 65 percent of all 324 LLGs in PNG.
She thanked the Member for Telefomin, Solan Mirisim, for the partnership.
“Together we create a world where on one gets left behind,” she said.
(Telefomin Member and Minister for Defence, Solan Mirisim, and Digicel Foundation’s PR and engagement manager, Hane Toua, in front of a Digicel Foundation funded MHC display during the Parliament Peles Expo held during the 2018 Speaker’s Summit in August)