Status drinking water project
My expectations for the implementation of the drinking water project were totally exceeded.
On behalf of the people of the Solomon Islands, a big thank you goes to the patrons of the drinking water project.
While I was still in the Solomon Islands, initiatives were taken by my interlocutors there, new ideas were developed and offers were made from the official side for the affected hospitals and people.
All details can be read in the individual articles.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of the Solomon Islands, whose unshakeable trust in me gives me the motivation to continue every day.
I am happy about the e-mails reporting how grateful everyone is that not just one stone, but many stones have been set rolling.
Of course, there are also beautiful moments that I have captured on photos.
Dive with me into the island world of the South Seas.
Official meeting WHO Honiara
My meeting with Audrey Aumura exceeded all my modest expectations.
Audrey is downright overwhelmed with what has gotten rolling with the drinking water project.
With the documents on the technical details, I was able to explain to her in my own words how the system works for Gizo Hospital. She asked me if I had already submitted it to the Ministry - no, I don't know who.
Then, using the photos of Fiji, I explained to her how the Emergency Kit from Trunz works.
All of a sudden she was very excited and shouted: "That's it, that's what we need from the WHO for all the islands to alleviate the greatest drinking water emergency". I was then speechless. With the available fund, tens of such devices can be purchased.
But that's not all. I had taken a copy of my fictitious business case for malaria control, which I had created during my studies, to the meeting. Audrey was completely blown away. That would be the hammer and must be passed on immediately to the WHO and the Ministry. Again, she sees a solution for malaria control in the Solomon Islands.
I did not expect such a successful meeting.
I look forward to seeing more of "my" drinking water project and fictional business case soon.
Official Meeting Japanese Embassy Honiara
The conversation at the Japanese Embassy with Koji Yamaguchi and Keiko Nakamura was very satisfactory.
After all the pleasantries were exchanged, I explained the rationale behind the Gizo Hospital drinking water project. This was duly appreciated positively.
Unfortunately, no further funds can be released from the Grass-Root Project. Sanitation and clean drinking water must be organized throughout the Solomon Islands.
I described the situation with the missing toilets in an emergency and lo and behold - solution in sight. Bureaucracy must be maintained, so a brief project plan should be prepared and sent to Yamaguchi-san. In addition, he wants Chris Leve Head Infection Control at Gizo Hospital in the Grass-Root project.
Who would have thought that?
When the drinking water system is installed at Gizo Hospital, they both want to fly there and see everything on site.
Honiara 2 years after the natural disaster
On April 5, 2014, part of Honiara and surrounding regions were devastated by a massive spring tide, followed within 24 hours by an earthquake and tsunami.
Of the approximately 60,000 inhabitants, 200 people, including many children, lost their lives. According to official figures, this left 36,000 people homeless in one fell swoop.
International aid organizations are still taking care of these people today. Not all of them have their own homes again and have to continue living in emergency shelters.
In the post picture gallery Honiara some photos about it.
Preparations Official meetings in Honiara
Preparations for the official meetings have been completed.
Since Gregory Jilini Medical Director for Gizo is still on Gizo, the interview with him will take place on 12/1/16 at Gizo Hospital. He is my direct contact with Gizo and the staff at the hospital.
Thanks to Maxine Whittaker, Professor of International and Tropical Health and Co-Director WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Information Systems, I meet Audrey Aumua from WHO in Honiara on 1/20/16. Audrey works closely with the Ministry of Health on behalf of WHO. She is very interested in the Trunz drinking water system.
More information at the University of Queensland and WHO Western Pacific Region.
On January 20, I will be received at the Embassy of Japan by Koji Yamaguchi, Coordinator for Grant Assistance for Grass-Roots and Human Security Projects. I will tell him about the drinking water project that has come about thanks to patrons. Since he is responsible for a large project - Grant Assistance for Grassroots Projects - I very much hope that support will be promised from his side.
Drinking water project at Gizo Hospital
This mission, just like the 2014 one, is primarily titled "Humanitarian Mission", but the focus is on a drinking water facility for the hospital on Gizo. This includes teaching and coaching for hospital staff. Staff must be able to operate the drinking water system and train residents of Gizo and surrounding islands in its proper use. It is of no use if totally dirty liquid containers are brought along so that the clean drinking water can be filled into them..., it must be conveyed that these containers must be cleaned.
John Nell sent an email stating that a large brackish water (TBB) filtration system is certainly needed, see the PDF in the Trunz post. Independently of this, the primarily intended device TWM1 can already be installed from the donated money. For this purpose, a water pipe must be laid from the old kitchen at the hospital to the water supply of the new hospital.
The important thing now is that the water available for this system can be used from the analyses. Salty water cannot be filtered with the unit. It should be avoided that the device does not work properly and in the worst case breaks.
It should also be noted that this is the start of a pilot project, the success of which depends largely on the installation of further equipment on the Solomon Islands.
As soon as enough money is available for the brackish water system, work can begin to convert the water supply of Gizo and the hospital to the Trunz brackish water system.
The first installed device (TWM1) then serves as a backup.
For this reason, I will be having a conversation with John Nell in Sydney on 1/25/16. Once all ambiguities and possible risks have been cleared up, the device can be shipped by air freight from the Trunz company in Steinach/SG.
English is a foreign language, so all instructions should be translated from English into Pidgin English - this will ensure that there are no misunderstandings.
Humanitarian mission in the Solomon Islands
What does humanitarian intervention mean? There is only one sentence for this:
A humanitarian mission is concerned with alleviating human need.
Where are the Solomon Islands?
The Solomon Islands, or Solomon Islands, are one of the larger island states in the South Pacific with 992 islands, marked in red on the globe
Hospitals have been established on 4 major islands in the Solomon Islands.
Guadacanal - Honiara: National Referral Hospital (NRH) - 350 beds - main hospital of the Solomon Islands
Gizo - hospital with 150 beds
Munda - hospital with 40 beds
Malaita - hospital with 100 beds
In addition, on many small and small islands are established wards, which are cared for by one or more nurses independently.
Review
On April 5, 2014, a spring tide, earthquake, and tsunami severely devastated the capital city of Honiara (population about 60,000) within 24 hours.
Around 36,000 people were made homeless in one fell swoop, and more than 200 people, many of them children, lost their lives.
This natural disaster completely destroyed part of the hospital and the drinking water supply of Honiara, the capital of the Solomon Islands.
Diseases such as polio (polio), abdominal pyhus (cholera), leprosy and a measles epidemic broke out in the tent camps and emergency shelters set up for the homeless inhabitants after the disaster.
Cholera spread rapidly, so that even the hospital staff was not spared and the hospital in Honiara had to be closed for several months!
On the islands further away from Guadacanal, no one could know that there was a natural disaster - there is no telephone, radio or television. Thus, sick and injured islanders, who spent days or weeks traveling by canoe, faced a closed hospital.
A disaster for the population!
This was the deciding point for me to completely re-plan my 2014 vacation that I wanted to spend in Australia and fly to Honiara for a week during my stay in Australia. It certainly couldn't be worse than my first deployment, or so I thought.
My goal
Initiate a continuous drinking water supply for the hospitals and all islands.