[ August 2010 Edition ]

NEWS

G’day from Ken the Managing Director As our 16-port Australia portion of the tour draws to a close, we are ready to see, first hand, life restored in PNG. Thanks to all the hard work that community members, businesses, schools and families have put in, this maiden voyage has become a reality. It has been an amazing feat to get this far in the journey and I can only imagine that there will be plenty more hurdles to jump. However, we have only been able to accomplish what we have because of the amazing partnerships fostered along the way. A huge wind in our sails has come from the NRL Cowboys. The Cowboys share the vision to see primary health care become more readily available in PNG and the quality of life greatly improved. As partners, we can see the Millennium Development Goals become a reality, bring awareness to the cause in PNG, and achieve more working together than we could ever hope to alone. Thank you so very much to everyone who is partnering with us. However small or large, your involvement continues to make a world of difference.

Cowboys & YWAM partnering for PNG health servicesThe North Queensland Toyota Cowboys have joined forces with YWAM to promote the important work of the YWAM Medical Ship in improving vital health care services in PNG.

“North Queensland and Papua New Guinea both share a real passion for the game of rugby league,” said Cowboys Executive Director Peter Parr. “As a club, we want to do what we can to make a tangible difference in the lives of our near neighbours. We see this partnership as an ideal way for us to achieve that.”

Ken Mulligan, Managing Director of the YWAM Medical Ship said, “This is a significant time in PNG’s history and we are enthusiastic about working with the Cowboys to help enhance health care service delivery in PNG.”

Cowboys Community Relations Manager FionaPelling is looking forward to the opportunity to extend the ‘Cowboys in the Community’ program into PNG. “There are many Cowboys supporters in PNG

who follow the NRL competition as avidly as North Queenslanders,” Ms Pelling said. “Players like Matthew Bowen and Johnathan Thurston will be excellent mentors in raising awareness of issues such as good nutrition and preventable health care.”

www.ywamships.org

Matty Bowen, North Queensland Toyota Cowboys

Ken Mulligan speaks at a recent fundraising breakfast at the Townsville RSL

For more information:

Featured Crew Member:

Front-line Fight

Address: PO Box 1959 Townsville, QLD 4810 Phone: 07 4771 2123 Contact: info@ywamships.org

Name: Jennifer PerryAge: 32Hometown: Guelph, Ontario, Canada, eh!

YMS: What is your best medical mission experience?JP: Definitely the outreach with the Introduction to Primary Health Care School that I did last year when we travelled through 42 villages in the Gulf Province of PNG. We went to do some advance work to see the health care needs of the Gulf met and to see what areas the ship could go into.

YMS: Did your interest in health care come from playing the board game “Operation” when you were little?JP: Oooh, I loved that game! To be honest, I am not sure where my interest in health care came from first. I was always the weird kid that liked getting needles at the doctor.

YMS: If you could dream of the best week of your life...what would it look like?JP: Wow, that is a hard one. It would definitely involve time with my family because my family is what I treasure most in life (especially my Grammy, since she is my favourite person in the whole world). A Tim Horton’s coffee wouldn’t hurt either... can’t take the Canadian out of the girl!

Along with HIV/AIDS, malaria is one of the major causes of death and illness for our neighbours in Papua New Guinea. Ninety percent of PNG’s population is at risk of contracting this disease and in a country that has large obstacles in the way of treating cases, the potential for lives to be taken by malaria is huge. As we continue our work in PNG, this statistic becomes a reality as we meet people who are suffering because of this rampant disease. Due to something as simple to treat as a fever, brain damage and death are occurring regularly in young children. However, we are also seeing hope born in peoples’ lives as our allied health workers are able to test Malaria cases and effectively treat both children and adults, contributing to their fight for life. There are real practical ways to help stop the spread of malaria, one being mosquito nets. It costs only $25 for a net, which will protect a family of four. Will you consider giving $25 to help us give out malaria nets in PNG this year? Let’s help stop this terrible disease.

OVERHEARD“It was very

empowering and it made me want

to make a difference.”

- Cairns High School Student

Students in Cairns with the toothbrushes and toothpaste they donated to PNG