PNG maritime outreach

Kula Spirit is a solid 44′ fishing trawler owned by Australian Wendy Stein. She is setting up an outreach floating clinic to visit remote villages without access to adequate medical services.

Wendy started off in this area with a project called Spacim Pikinini – literally “spread out your children” – which provides subcutaneous contraceptive implants for women in remote areas. Spacim Pikinini is a charity and Wendy’s focus has been on teaching nurses, medical students and young doctors to insert the implants. Under her supervision some 60,000 of these devices have now been used in PNG. They are Jadelle double implants, which ensure contraception for almost 5 years, and fertility returns promptly when the inserts are removed. Her project, which is staffed by volunteers, has the support of the PNG government, the O&G department at UPNG, Rotary International and the Australian-based DAK Foundation.

But Spacim Pikinini now does much more than that. Dedicated, tireless and enthusiastic, Wendy has expanded its activities and she now enables free provision of disability support services, new medical equipment to clinics and hospitals, hearing aids and spectacles for all those in need. Indeed this week her son was held up by PNG customs on arrival here and had a merry time explaining away the 500 pairs of reading glasses in his kit bag!

 

Wendy the mover

Those glasses!

MV Kula Spirit

off to the first clinic

 

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