Marie Stopes PNG visited Kemabolo village in Rigo District, Central Province to deliver vital services to the women and those living with disability.
Marie Stopes PNG has been delivering its services to women in all facets of life and geographical setting just to give a woman the power to choose if and when she has children so that she’s free to pursue her plans and dreams for herself and her family.
Kila Sele, 36, who hails from Kemabolo was happy to see the team come to her village to provide Family Planning support to the women in her community. Kila was born with impaired vision and has been in a wheelchair all her life and supported by her mother and family.
She admitted that in her current condition it has made it difficult for her to move around and get much needed services.
Kila expressed her gratitude to the team, “God will bless you and your work Marie Stopes. I have been thinking on how I would get myself to Port Moresby to get my implant removed as it is already due for removal. When I heard the announcement, you were in my village today. I asked my mother to get me ready and bring me in my wheelchair to where you set up. Thank you for coming all this way.”
It has been known that women with a disability can be targets for sexual and gender-based violence.
Kila explained that she had heard and seen women like her in her village who fell victim to unwanted pregnancies because of their condition, and she didn’t want to end up that way.
She finally got her implant removed, as it was due since inserted by Marie Stopes in 2017, despite her mother’s disagreement for her to remove the old implant for a new one, but she eventually agreed.
The women thanked Marie Stopes for making the time to provide them with services that would usually be difficult to acquire given the distance travelled and their physical disabilities.
Marie Stopes rural multi-day outreach programs are supported through the PNG-Australia Partnership to provide family planning services to remote areas.