Townsville’s YWAM Medical Ship departs on Monday for five months of outreach in Papua New Guinea.
Townsville’s Medical Ship offers opportunities for volunteers with diverse backgrounds to serve, build, care, and connect with individuals and communities in remote regions of PNG. Over the past two years, YWAM has provided over 54,732 services in PNG with the support of the Townsville community.
The Port of Townsville has been very helpful, providing a berth in the new port precinct where maintenance and upgrades to the medical vessel have been taking place for the past number of months.
YWAM MSA CEO, Ken Mulligan said, “The new Port Precinct is beautiful. We’re really privileged to have been here for the past few months, and the Port of Townsville has been a wonderful support.”
In addition, the Port of Townsville has donated 50 new life jackets, which provide a valuable safety element in the rural waters the YWAM Medical Ship operates in. The need to replace the current ship’s lifejackets had become eminent, as they were nearing the end of their life cycle.
Capt. Jeremy Schierer said, “We’re grateful for these new life jackets, which will help maintain high safety standards for our international medical volunteers and crew. It was a practical partnership for the Port of Townsville to provide these lifejackets as they fully appreciate the inherent risks associated with working around water.”
Port of Townsville CEO Barry Holden, “The Port of Townsville has long and developing business ties with Papua New Guinea, and we are proud to support YWAM Medical Ships in delivering real health and community outcomes for our nearest international neighbour. We hope our latest contribution will make providing these services an even safer exercise for all involved.”
During the four-day sail to Port Moresby, YWAM will be transporting wheelchairs which the Townsville Chamber of Commerce has donated to a PNG-based NGO.
The Ship’s departure follows a well-attended breakfast where more than 50 local businesses and organisations showed their support for the medical ship. The Right Honourable Sir Rabbie Namaliu CSM KCMG, Former Prime Minister for Papua New Guinea was the key-note speaker and commended Townsville in their efforts to assist our near neighbours.
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