Stephanie Hald visited Papua New Guinea to experience rural medicine. When the Danish medical student flew to her placement, she saw how MAF impacts the lives of isolated people, through partnership with Kompiam Rural Hospital.
Story by Tajs Jespersen
“To get to hospital, I was told that some of the patients have to walk for several days or need to get carried by their relatives,” said Stephanie. “For some, the only possible way to get to the hospital in time is by flying with MAF.”
Stephanie was visiting Kompiam Rural Hospital in Enga Province where she had the chance to assist the doctors at the hospital for a week. Taking an MAF flight from Mt Hagen to Kompiam, she experienced an intermediate landing at Megau, a small Engan village with no roads connecting the people to the outside world.
“When the children saw the MAF plane they ran towards it and helped unload its cargo. It was clear that they knew that something good was going to happen when MAF came,” said Stephanie.
Megau is located amidst jungle and mountains in the highlands of PNG. While it only takes 10 minutes to fly to Kompiam Rural Hospital with MAF, it takes more than a day to walk through the thick jungle. This difference can be life or death when tragedy occurs.
Letting women get prenatal care and allowing them to give birth at a hospital surrounded by qualified staff… It prevents many deaths for both mothers and babies
Continuing on to Kompiam Stephanie got to see the life-saving work that the hospital team performs.
“I think that the work of the staff is very important for Enga Province. Letting women get prenatal care and allowing them to give birth at a hospital surrounded by qualified staff… It prevents many deaths for both mothers and babies,” said Stephanie, impressed by the equipment and medicine available at such a rural location.
“In PNG, infections such as tuberculosis and malaria, and injuries caused by tribal fights are common,” said Stephanie. “Antibiotics, proper treatment and medication for these diseases save a lot of lives.”
Kompiam Rural Hospital and MAF have been partnering for decades. Since 2018 MAF have flown medical teams from the hospital to remote communities like Megau on ‘Health Patrols’.
Consisting of at least one doctor and several nursing officers, an aerial health patrol is a medical team flown to an isolated community to setup a clinic and provide health services in an otherwise inaccessible location. The team usually stays for two nights in the village and is one of the ways that MAF can create lasting impact for isolated people through valuable partnerships.
You can read more about the Kompiam aerial health patrols HERE.
For Stephanie, flying with MAF to the hospital is something she will never forget.
“The flight itself was very exciting. Being able to see the highlands from above was one of the most beautiful things that I have ever seen,” said Stephanie.
After her visit at Kompiam Rural Hospital Stephanie spent three weeks with a YWAM (Youth With A Mission) outreach team in Western Province providing valuable medical assistance to people living in remote communities. She is now returning to her medical studies in Denmark with new knowledge and experience.
When asked about her experience in PNG she responded:
“This is definitely not the last time I will come to PNG.”
Watch "Why we fly Kompiam health patrols" below