“In early 2009 I volunteered with the medical aid organisation Australian Doctors International in Western Province, PNG. On one patrol I caught a chopper to Golgobip in North Fly District and over the next 12 days had to trek 30-plus grueling hours through thick muddy jungle, over mountains, along landslides and across steep ravines via tightrope-like ‘bridges’ to see patients,” said 30-year-old Doolabh, who following her near fatal shooting in Jordan taught herself to walk again. “Another time we got lost in swamplands on the mighty Fly and had to overnight in our banana boat, which made it a harrowing 22-hour journey rather than a 14-hour journey.”
“The people out here don’t have much in terms of basic health services. Malaria and scabies are common, along with respiratory illnesses such as tuberculosis. Drug shortages – even for mainstays such as paracetamol – are the norm. And many pregnant women give birth in the bush because they are unable to walk the long distance to the main village in time,” explained the adventurous doctor, who cut her teeth working in rural Australia (Coonamble, NSW and Mitchell, QLD) and was awarded RACGP GP Registrar of the Year 2008.
Whilst in PNG, Doolabh was based in the port town Kiunga in North Fly District, Western Province, a regional hub dominated by the mining giant Ok Tedi Mining Limited. In North Fly the Fly River is a major artery of transport (there is only one road), average rainfall is 4,000 to 8,000mm, the influence of the Catholic Church is strong, and most locals survive on subsistence farming.
“It was challenging on a physical, emotional and medical level. I was daily seeing and doing things I never would have imagined. For example, working with a community of leprosy patients was fascinating, considering I barely knew what leprosy was before coming to PNG. In another community I was appalled to hear disturbing stories of domestic violence and incest,” said Doolabh, who believes that you only grow as a person if you continually challenge yourself.
This dedicated volunteer doctor conducted medical clinics and hospital rounds in hospitals where there was no doctor. She undertook frequent patrols to impoverished aid posts and Iowarra Refugee Settlement, which services a population of approximately 2,500 IDPs. (It’s also worth noting that she was the first doctor in four years fit enough to be able to trek to the Star Mountains region.) She treated patients with leprosy and elephantiasis, performed maternal-child health checks, and trained local community health workers – always with extremely limited resources.
“Some of the village ‘aid posts’ were no more than tiny dilapidated shacks. Considering there was no electricity or clean drinking water in many places, it came as little surprise that there was usually no medical equipment or drugs either,” she said, noting that her arrival in villages – a celebration especially in places where there’d been no doctor for years – was often announced via local radio or handheld megaphone.
Accommodation on patrol was extremely basic: sleeping bags under mosquito nets in simple thatched huts, which, despite PNG’s stifling heat and humidity, were often windowless to keep marauding spirits out at night. (Traditional beliefs and the Catholic faith are practiced side-by-side in local villages.) Breakfast, lunch and dinner frequently consisted of boiled taro, baked taro, mashed taro or derivations thereof, though during a visit to Marofen village Doolabh was lucky enough to be treated to freshly killed cassowary.
Originally from New Zealand with a dash of Indian heritage and a deep-rooted passion for travel, this intrepid Aussie doctor points out that while there are many everyday challenges of working in a remote and under-resourced location like Western Province, there are also many rewards.
“Volunteering in PNG was one of the most memorable travel experiences I have ever had. The local people were very friendly and it was touching to see how genuinely happy they were to have me visit their community. One particular moment stands out for me: I was gritting my teeth on a difficult part of my trek, cursing under my breath, when we met a village woman who was so excited to hear the doctor was coming that she ran over to give me a huge hug – this was so touching that I was nearly reduced to tears. And that is just one of the hundreds of special memories I will carry with me from this extremely fulfilling experience,” she said.
Doolabh’s three-month-long assignment in North Fly District, Western Province, PNG, with Australian Doctors International included travels to Kiunga, Rumginae, Tabubil, Matkomnai, Yenkonnai, Ningerum, Neogamban, Komopkin, Kuyu, Yogidome, Swetikin, Marofen, Drimskai, Golgobip, Semitibip, Bolivip, Kaimfurabip and Olsobip. Her next medical posting will be slightly more tame: Orange in rural NSW.
You can read her PNG patrol reports on www.adi.org.au
ENDS
