Whether it’s snakebite or sorcery, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) flights are making all the difference to the people of Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Growing up in Dodomona, in the Middle Fly District of Western Province, PNG, Titus Yabua witnessed many members of his community dying from treatable illnesses, accidents, snakebites and pig bites.
Wanting to do something about these often-preventable deaths, Titus trained as a community health worker.
“Sometimes I used to question why we were placed in a community where we don’t have road access. But God,” he says, “doesn’t make mistakes. He knows the reason why He placed us in such a remote area.”
Titus, who has served his people faithfully for over two and a half years, says that, through his work, the perception of sickness and death in his local community has changed significantly.
Apart from treating patients or referring them to the appropriate medical facility, Titus’ team “now go from village to village educating people and helping them realise that diseases aren’t caused by sorcery.”
Thanks to his initiative, villagers no longer regard a two-month-old cough as being caused by witchcraft, but now realise it’s probably TB.
“MAF,” smiles Titus, “is our only ambulance – our only hope. We work according to our limits and, when we can’t handle a particular case, MAF steps in and helps us.”
Titus describes the time a pregnant mother needed to be transferred from Dodomona to Mougulu so she could receive the medical help she needed. Unfortunately, her condition deteriorated in Mougulu, so MAF Pilot Jan Ivar Andresen stepped in – his emergency medevac enabling the ailing mother to reach Tabubil Hospital safely.
Having heard that he’s been accepted at the Rumginae School of Nursing, Titus hopes that he’ll be able to provide even better medical care for his community when he has finished his studies there.
