May 2022

Due to the massive delay caused by the pandemic, Hospital Management has to start the whole administrative process for the drinking water project all over again. Mrs. Trunz has asked John Nell in Australia, who has been working with the Trunz company for a long time, for support. He is currently in contact with the responsible person at Buka Hospital.

February 2022

Unfortunately still no news! The Swiss Embassy has scheduled a Zoom meeting with Ms. Trunz for 03/01/2022. I will also participate. The new ambassador wants to know when the system will be installed at Buka Hospital.

November 2021

Unfortunately, still not much has happened – why? The Trunz technician is still in Bali and cannot leave because not vaccinated against Covid. Ms. Trunz is now working on getting another technician to do it. It just can’t go on like this, she says.

The situation at Buka Hospital is also not good, because many of the staff think that a vaccination against Covid is something to do with witchcraft and / or spooky …

August 2021

The confirmation letters from the Swiss Embassy and Buka Hospital have been with Trunz since July. Due to increased Covid case numbers in Indonesia, the technician’s trip to PNG is on the back burner. We hope that with the confirmation letters it is somehow possible for him to come to PNG and Buka Hospital.

June 2021

Currently I am in the process of organizing “travel papers” for the Trunz technician. More precisely, a letter of confirmation from the Swiss Embassy in Canberra and one from Buka Hospital. Otherwise, entry into PNG will be very difficult.

April 2021

The plant is on its way to Bougainville! The Trunz technician is now working to finalize his itinerary to MNG. Everything always under consideration of quarantine regulations and possible vaccinations, which for once have nothing to do with the Covid virus…

March 2021

Here we go! The drinking water system was provided with an official SDC sticker “Donation of Switzerland” and packed. one of Andrea Trunz’s employees was very happy to help with packing after work was finished – thank you!

Two forwarding companies have to see on which route the plant will be shipped by truck (Munich airport), plane – Munich-Frankfurt/M, Singapore – Port Moresby – ship to Bougainville and truck to Buka Hospital. Due to the pandemic, there are constantly new regulations, bans, closures, etc. BUT – this does not prevent us from “bringing” the drinking water facility to Buka Hospital.

 

Update follows…

February 2021

The transport of the drinking water plant is definitely scheduled for 20.02.2021! In parallel, the Trunz technician will make his way from Bali to Singapore and then on to Port Moresby (both by plane, of course) and on to Bougainville by ship. Tomorrow morning Swiss time I will call Dr Raisin at Buka Hospital and inform him.

The Swiss ambassador in Canberra told me last week on the phone that the Trunz technician is a hero to her and that I would like to pass this on. What he takes on to help the people of Bougainville and Buka Hospital get clean drinking water.

January 2021

Good news – according to Andrea Trunz, the drinking water system will be installed at Buka Hospital at the end of February / beginning of March. The Covid-19 pandemic complicates many things, including the Trunz technician’s journey. However, so far everything is in the “green” area!

I informed Dr. Haynes Raisin this is his response: “Thank you for the update. Wonderful news. Praise God. Will inform. Dr Tommy Wotsia. Cheers Haynes”

End November 2020

Yesterday I received the news that the plant for the Buka Hospital is produced so far ready. In addition, more than sufficient spare material is sent along so that the hospital is always in a position to carry out repairs itself. The company Trunz organizes together with Buka Hospital the “final transport” from Port Moresby to Bougainville. I.e. ship and truck, because the transport box with all the material is too big for the small plane from Port Moresby to Bougainville.

October 2020

The global Covid19 pandemic delayed our project by months. now there is a silver lining: this morning I spoke with Air Niugini (Air New Guinea in German) on the phone. Flights between Singapore and Port Moresby and from there to Bougainville are currently available again! Mrs. Trunz must now contact the lady from the Airniugini freight office and make the clarifications.

With the possibility of flights from Singapore, the technician can also get from Bali to Bougainville via Singapore.

The Swiss Ambassador will receive a status report shortly.

June 2020

I am still waiting for another mail from Dr. Haynes Raisin in which he gives me the names of the hospital managers and send this to the embassy in Canberra. For the Embassy, it is important to have precise contact persons to ensure that after the installation of the Trunz system, someone is always responsible for Care & Maintenance. With this, nothing will stand in the way of the implementation of the project!

February 2020

Finally, we are one step further in the project. On Wednesday, 19.2.2020 I phoned the Swiss Embassy in Canberra. I had deliberately waited so long because the bushfires in Australia were umpteen times worse than before and Canberra was also on the verge of evacuation. So a request for financial support for my drinking water project is completely out of place.

My telephone call was successful and with the PowerPoint presentation about the Buka Hospital I could convince. Even the quite high costs this time did not deter – I received as an answer in writing: “Thank you for the constant commitment.we will look at this project with great interest.” So – now it really starts!

AND – for the people working at Buka Hospital and all patients and relatives there is a light at the end of the tunnel – clean drinking water in sight.

November 2019

These looks say it all – we need help urgently!

We haven’t gotten very far with the project yet because I don’t have the cost breakdown from the Trunz company. The reason for this is that transporting a drinking water plant to Bougainville is very costly. From Port Moresby, only small planes fly to the island – how is all the material supposed to get there? This time everything is not as simple as the projects on the Solomon Islands.

But I received some photos of the Buka Hospital from Dr. Philipp Stillhard (Kantonsspital Chur)- first impressions

August 2019

Planning for the project is underway. However, some hurdles have to be overcome. The hospital is run by the Inel government and everyone wants to have a say and make their mark. Why? Bougainville wants to become independent. The fact that the civil war took place only a few years ago weighs heavily…

This includes, among other things, that the water must be tested on site. This is the only way the Trunz company can tell me what kind of system is even a possibility.

Fortunately, Prof. Niklaus (Nik) Friedrich from the Unispital Basel is currently there! He, along with Des Soares, trains physicians as orthopedic and trauma surgeons under PIOA . He will see to it that a water test is done on site. Anything else, like sending one of John Nell’s business agents there, is way too expensive. A flight from Port Moresby to Bougainville costs around 1000 AUD (Australian Dollar). Who pays for it? Neither Trunz nor anyone else. So we had to find another solution.

Philipp Stillhardt from the Cantonal Hospital in Chur was on assignment there in June/July. From him I get a few photos, so that everyone can get an impression, a picture of the hospital.

June 2019

Now the time has come – the preliminary work for the drinking water project for Buka General Hospital has begun!

It is about the hospital getting a solid drinking water supply. Why do I care? Because hospital management is not able to provide a clean drinking water supply to patients, relatives and employees.

ALL need clean drinking water! Once more the “global water politics” comes to my mind, read here in Wikepedia Water politics

Thanks to the detailed information provided by Dr. Haynes Raisin, I was able to create the draft project plan and a PowerPoint presentation.

Where is Bougaineville then, many surely ask themselves.

Bougainville is the border between PNG and Solomon Islands. From 1988-1998, the island was ravaged by a fierce civil war in which many people died. Toursites were not allowed on the island at that time. When I was in the Solomon Islands in 2000, there was no way for me to get to Bougainville. Firstly, because of a transport possibility and secondly, because it was still far too dangerous. At that time there was also a “civil war” between Guadacanal and Malaita, but not as bad as on Bougainville. Even today, Buka Hospital is guarded by Guardians!

Read more in Wikipedia