20 January 2010
For immediate release
Special Care Nursery Receives Much-needed Naso-gastric Tubes from Australian High Commission Families
A large consignment of much-needed naso-gastric tubes was delivered to the Special Care Nursery at the Port Moresby General Hospital today.
The Special Care Nursery does not receive supplies or funding to purchase naso-gastric tubes for the premature and sick babies in its care. Naso-gastric tubes are thin, flexible tubes which are inserted through the nose and travel down to the esophagus into the stomach. Babies who are small, weak and sick and do not have the strength or coordination to feed naturally, have their milk and medication delivered through this tube. Without a naso-gastric tube these tiny babies would starve to death.
Roxanne Martens, who initiated the fundraising drive to purchase the tubes, presented them to the staff of the special care nursery.
Ms Martens, who is the wife of the Australian High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea, Ian Kemish AM, said that the money to fund this project was raised through a raffle, auction and personal donations given during the High Commissioner’s Christmas party last year.
“It is important to note that this money did not come from AusAID or the Head of Mission Development Assistance Program. It has come from the back pockets and purses of the staff and families of the Australian High Commission. I had originally hoped to raise enough money to be able to supply the special care nursery with enough tubes to last a few months, but I was overwhelmed to find that we had enough money to purchase tubes to last the year,” Ms Martens said.
Also in attendance were Ms Jill Rayner and Mr Brian Boon who personally donated almost half the money raised.
Freight charges for shipping the tubes from Clayton Victoria to Port Moresby were met by Dr Richard Pickworth and his wife Sandra, who also convinced the supplier, Convatec, to donate the first shipment of tubes.