YWAM Medical Ships Australia’s (YWAM MSA) provision of health care and training services in Papua New Guinea (PNG) is part of a long-term strategy to see sustainable community development solutions take root. One way we do this is by equipping people in isolated communities with the skills to establish basic services that currently do not exist. YWAM MSA has recently acquired basic optometry and dental kits from the Indigenous Technology and Education Centre, USA, to help establish these services in rural and remote areas of PNG. Earlier this year YWAM MSA began to identify villagers and community leaders with the capacity to establish these services in their village and are looking

forward to bringing the technology and training to these areas in 2013.

I-SEEIt would be a massive undertaking to establish an entire optometry clinic and train personnel - something we can certainly aim for in the future. However, I-SEE provides a kit that can train people in just two hours to offer basic eye care, which will assist up to 200 people. Initially, the training can be practiced alongside YWAM MSA’s optometry team. The kit consists of a light-weight system for prescribing corrective eye glasses, and has been developed to be simple to use regardless of language barriers and literacy limitations. Its design also makes it highly portable through difficult terrain. Good vision opens a world

YWAM MSA volunteers use the I-SEE and I-DENT kits in PNG. The kits are light-weight, transportable, easy to use, and break down language barriers.

Medical Ships - Australia

news updateDecember 2012 edition

G’day from KenThe Christmas and New Year’s season is now upon us. My lights are strung to remind me of how much I have to be grateful for. This newsletter encapsulates just a few. It is exciting to have received some new I-Dent Portable Dental Systems and I-See kits to use in PNG, enabling us to train dental and optical workers in rural and remote areas to provide much needed services that are currently lacking in PNG. We are also grateful for the many volunteers who have served on board the Medical Ship this year. This month’s newsletter highlights our marine volunteer, Captain John McDonnell, who was a great addition to our team this year. We are also thankful for all of your support throughout the year. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season!

www.ywamships.org.au

Ken Mulligan - CEO YWAM Medical Ships - Australia

Exciting New Community Developement Solutions For PNG

of possibilities for rural communities to step toward their goals, such as provide people with jobs, and encourage education and literacy.

I-DENTThere are 32 dentists in the whole of PNG; simply put, there are vast rural areas with no access to dental services at all. Imagine having a toothache or living with major infections in your mouth for years on end. I-DENT is an ideal tool to empower communities to meet this critical need. It consists of a Portable Dental System (PDS) and standardised training package which can equip a community member to perform basic dentistry services in just weeks. The PDS includes a dental chair and solar powered dental tools. What’s especially exciting is that the whole unit folds up into a backpack so is easily transportable.

If you are looking for a great way to give this holiday season, I-SEE and I-DENT are practical, yet impactful, gifts to PNG. The I-SEE kit is $907 AUD and the I-DENT $2860 AUD. YWAM MSA’s goal is to distribute at least four I-SEE kits and ten I-DENT kit in 2013. - Give an entire village the gift of sight or oral health for Christmas! Visit: https://www.ywamships.org.au/payments/ to make a donation.

From 2010 through

2012 we’ve delivered

106,384 health,

training, & community

development outputs.

Thanking our Partners:

For more information: Address: PO Box 1959 Townsville QLD 4810 Australia Phone: +61 7 4771 2123 Fax: +61 7 4772 4414 Email: info@ywamships.org Web: www.ywamships.org.au

It’s not everyday a person gets to serve alongside someone who has travelled to over 140 sovereign states, been captured by Columbian pirates, served in the Vietnam War, and met presidents and dignitaries of nations around the world. Captain John McDonnell, a volunteer mariner with YWAM Medical Ships Australia (YWAM MSA), has done that and so much more.

From his early childhood, John was drawn to a seafaring life. Between world wars, his parents travelled the world by ship, so he grew up in a household full of books about life at sea.

In 1965, John graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point Long Island, New York. Serving in the Navy during the Vietnam War, his career was expedited and he became a captain in 1971.

After hearing positive reports of YWAM MSA’s work in Papua New Guinea (PNG), Captain John contacted Captain Jeremy Schierer. He said he was excited to serve with the organisation and alongside Captain Jeremy. In 2012, he volunteered on board the Medical Ship.

Of all of the places he has travelled in the world, PNG is one of John’s favourites. It was the people of PNG

that drew him in. He said he loves how the people of PNG want to grow, learn, and help themselves. He appreciated the attitudes, even in the poorest regions, and how they were so generous, despite having so little.

John was also drawn to the volunteers and crew on board the Ship. He was impressed with the hearts of the volunteers and each of their stories. It has been a desire in his life to give back, and has served since 2000 with other ship-based not for profit organisations.

More than anything, Captain John was excited to serve with Captain Jeremy on three of the four outreaches he was a part of. He praised Captain Jeremy’s dedication to YWAM MSA’s work. “I’ve been sailing for 50 years and have never seen a captain with the ability to navigate hard to reach areas the way that Captain Jeremy can. His navigational skills and use of hydro graphic survey equipment are both brave and amazing.”

Captain John is eager to have the opportunity to serve again, and looks forward to working with YWAM MSA in the future. He hopes that soon his wife, a doctor, will also be able to join him.

Life at Sea: Captain John McDonnell

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all of us at YWAM MSA!

Captain John McDonnell in the wheelhouse on board the YWAM Medical Ship.