Remote Health Expeditions

The No Roads Foundation’s health expeditions aim to introduce healthcare professionals into remote local villages, providing general medical care while passing on knowledge and skills to local healthcare workers and communities. The education is centred around maternal and infant health, wound and infection management, and nutrition.

The expedition differs from other projects in that it focuses on building capacity NOT replacing it and promoting resilience and NOT reliance. Our aim is to provide a consistent, coordinated approach that delivers real outcomes over time. All aspects of our work are in partnership with the Provincial & District Health Services and support the PNG Governments National Health Plan 2021 to 2030. We continually consult local communities and work with them in the most effective way possible, utilising a large network of health volunteers and advocates. Most importantly the project is ongoing, with approximately three to four expeditions each year visiting communities now and into the future.

Our Coastal Expeditions visit the villages amongst the magical fjords of the Tufi District using boats as our main mode of transport. There is little trekking on this expedition but the hot and humid climate still makes the trip physically challenging.

Who We Need

We need registered health professionals (doctors, nurses, and midwives) and allied health professionals (physiotherapists, chiropractors, optometrists, osteopaths, etc) with a sense of adventure, 9 days to give, and a willingness to support the mission of the No Roads Foundation. We will induct you and support you as you use your skills in ways you would never think possible to provide primary health care where it is most needed and least available.

How you will help

Each Expedition is different. In some Expeditions, we require Doctors and Nurses; in others, we may need Physios and Osteopaths. No matter who we need, those who are on one of our Expeditions are hands-on and a valuable part of our overall mission to PNG, and that’s to help people.

WHERE

TUFI REGION -ORO PROVINCE

EXPEDITION - ALL POSITIONS FILLED

Stewart Kreltszheim – Mornington Peninsula Health Care Workers Integrated outreach patrol - 26/5/2024 to 3/6/2024

EXPEDITION - ALL POSITIONS FILLED

Stewart Kreltszheim & Jo Bergman – PNG Health Care Workers Integrated outreach patrol - 11/8/2024 to 19/8/2024

DURATION

9 DAYS

SEASON

YEAR ROUND

PICK UP / DROP OFF

PORT MORESBY

About the Expedition

A Sample Itinerary

Day 1 – Sunday – fly Melbourne to Port Moresby, stay Holiday Inn Port Moresby overnight

Day 2 – Monday – Depart POM (early am) for Tufi and boat to Tumari Bay (overnight)

Day 3 -Tuesday – AM Boat Tumari to Sinei then a boat to Vovo in the afternoon and overnight

Day 4 – Wednesday – AM Boat back to Tufi then on to Garewa for overnight

Day 5 – Thursday – Boat to Marassa for the day and back to Garewa for overnight

Day 6 – Friday – AM boat Garewa to Sinifara for the day then to Jebo for overnight

Day 7 – Saturday – Walk to Orotoaba in the morning and back to Jebo for overnight

Day 8 – Sunday – Boat back to Tufi for the final dinner and overnight at Tufi Dive Resort

Day 9 – Monday 5^th June (Early AM) – Flights Tufi – Port Moresby – Australia.

A huge day of travel home to Australia by commercial aircraft (no more boats).

A Typical Day On An Expedition

Awake early to the sounds of village life and prepare yourself in a rudimentary but clean and practical environment for a day of hard work entrenched in the most beautiful PNG communities. The food you will eat comes straight from the gardens and the sea and you will be amazed at what you will be served and the pride in which it is dished out. Now – to work!! The expedition leader will ensure that you are ready to depart to the next community/village by 8 am and then the local village volunteers will organise their communities to ensure that the sickest are seen first. Generally, the clinic will be conducted in wind houses or school rooms and the team will see around 100 patients each day. Many a birth has been performed in the villages and there are many “namesakes” in villages. Vaccination programs are a priority and the inquisitive nature of the local village health staff and volunteers makes training and mentoring extremely easy and rewarding. At the end of the day, you will return to a meal prepared by the locals, a swim in the sea, and sleep on a mattress with a pillow and mozzie net (either in a wind house or guest house) with the sounds of village life and the sea in the background.

Administration

All participants will be required to have a valid Australian passport, PNG Visa, be responsible for their own medical inoculations and have travel insurance relevant to PNG for the duration of the expedition.

Please note that you will be in a rural environment in PNG with no electricity and limited facilities. The target audience will be PNG villagers, some with limited English (we will work through interpreters) and little to no education.

Each team member on a health expedition will be responsible for self-funding or fundraising their own expedition costs. This will be supported by the No Roads Foundation.

An expedition Polo shirt will be supplied to all team members to wear whilst travelling and to wear during clinics.

Domestic flights & all PNG logistical arrangements will be facilitated by the No Roads Foundation including the procurement of food, accommodation etc as per the itinerary.

A detailed list of what each participant should take will be provided to each member.

What Have Others Said?

Bianca Di Sciascio (RN – Victoria) – No Roads – Health – where do I start? My experience was so far above and beyond my expectations of what it would be. Working with a group of people from different professional backgrounds, and with different levels of experience, to provide health care to the people of PNG was an amazing experience. There were things we came across that stumped us and provoked different emotions in all of us. I learnt so much about both PNG’s and Australia’s healthcare systems, and what we can do when we combine our healthcare workers to create a team with nothing but the well-being of the people of PNG in mind. I will do it all over again as soon as I can. Absolutely loved my time as part of the No Roads – Health team. Thank you for giving me this opportunity.’

Dr. Barry Teperman (GP – Victoria) – A perfect antidote to the humdrum of GP life in the burbs. Medical presentations bring back that wonder of diagnosis. People appreciate your efforts to help, even when you can’t always. Diagnoses that have never appeared on your list of differentials, what a challenge. The people of PNG are refreshing and bring you back to why you are in this career. Maybe even improving your medicine/nursing back home”.