Port Kaituma outreach attracts hundreds

In the humid jungle heat of Port Kaituma, residents clustered to receive medical attention, some having travelled many hours over rough terrain to benefit from the US medical mission ‘Continuing Promise 2008’.

Schoolchildren eagerly wait to greet Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, who visited the North West District community of Port Kaituma yesterday.

Over 500 people had been seen and treated by the medical team at that site in the North West District up to yesterday. Over 950 medical prescriptions were dispensed and by the end of the mission tomorrow between 1,000 and 1,500 persons are expected to benefit from the various services offered at the site. “Mostly what we tend to see–the high volume ones–are optometry and dental, both of those tend to be the ones that people are after,” said Commander John King, the head of the mission at Port Kaituma, responding to a question about which services were in demand.

Additionally, other medical services were offered while minor surgeries were done. “People here seem to be very healthy. I’m very impressed with the care that I’m seeing in terms of how people are taking care of themselves, their general health status and really the complaints that we are seeing are nothing different than what I would be seeing in the United States,” King said.

Prime Minister Samuel Hinds along with Mission Commander Fernandez Ponds visited the community yesterday. Speaking at the site, Hinds said the assistance is welcomed. He noted that as a developing country, Guyana will accept assistance from everyone and anyone who can and is willing to extend assistance. “We have needs which we could not meet in many, many areas, in the areas of health in particular,” he explained, while identifying economic activity as another.

Hinds further noted that in addition to the material assistance provided by the mission is the symbolism of assistance from one country and people to another. “It’s symbolic of the friendship that we both seek and also it allows some person-to-person contact,” he stated. Ponds, meanwhile, reiterated that the goodwill mission will strengthen the relationship between the two countries. Deputy Chief-of-Mission at the US Embassy Karen Williams and Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai also visited the site. One hundred mosquito nets were also handed over to the Prime Minister.

The mission established similar sites at Santa Rosa and Mabaruma but the site at Mabaruma has already been closed while the one at Santa Rosa is to close shortly. US personnel had also given their services to several repair and construction projects.

‘Continuing Promise 2008’ follows in the wake of the visit of the US Navy medical ship, the USNS Comfort last year. The United States Amphibious Assault Ship, the USS Kearsarge, currently anchored 17 miles off Guyana’s coast is supporting the current mission. Several surgeries have been done onboard the vessel. Guyana is the final stop for the ship, which has conducted similar humanitarian missions in five countries during the current tour. The mission closes at Port Kaituma tomorrow with the USS Kearsarge departing on Saturday.