From Patient to Volunteer
21 October 2026
In 2022, a teenage girl named Sarah arrived at the YWAM Medical Ships School Dental Program as a patient in the clinic. Four years later, she returned in a different role: as a volunteer school liaison, helping other students receive the care that had made a lasting impression on her.
Her first encounter with the program was during a week-long pilot at a primary school in Port Moresby. This first initiative with the dental trailer provided oral health screenings for 136 students and treatment for 86 patients. This pilot helped YWAM MS explore how the School Dental Program could develop to meet students’ needs.
Sarah smiling inside the Dental Trailer after receiving treatment.
The dentists found that Sarah had tooth decay, along with over 80% of her peers. The YWAM MS dental team treated her decay and taught her about nutrition and oral hygiene, giving her practical ways to look after her teeth and help prevent further problems.
For the team, it was an opportunity to provide care and education. For Sarah, it became an experience she would remember long after that initial visit.
When she returned in 2026, she wanted to contribute. Joining as a general volunteer, she helped with patient registration and oral health education, supporting the team as they welcomed students into the program.
Having once been a patient herself, she brought a personal understanding of what that care could mean. She now had the opportunity to pass on what she had learned and play a part in helping other young people care for their teeth.
Her next step is to enrol in a YWAM MS training course next year, where she hopes to learn more about making a difference in her community.
Her story offers a glimpse of the impact that can grow from a single encounter: a student receives care, remembers the kindness shown to her and returns to help others.
“I am grateful for the care that I received, and I want to be a part of creating a change,” she said.
YWAM MS is proudly supported by the PNG National Government, the Australian Government through the PNGAus Partnership, PNG Sustainable Development Program, Western Provincial Health Authority, Kumul Minerals, Kumul Consolidated Holdings, Henry Schein, NCDC, Hiri Koiari Open Electorate, ExxonMobil PNG, PNG Ports Corporation, Ok Tedi Mining, Colgate-Palmolive, Sir Brian Bell Foundation, Ela Motors, Julian Zahara Memorial Fund, Mills Dental, Mitsubishi Electric, Days for Girls, Pro-Ma Systems, Rotarians Against Malaria, AVIS, Coutts Redington, Mun, Pacific Marine Group, Medical Dental Solutions, Dawson & Associates, Hu-Friedy, Trukai, Wison/Ryan/Grose, World Vision, PwC, Septodont, Mocom Australia, PVW Partners, GE Healthcare, Austal, and Pacific Towing.