Hundreds of residents from the riverine community of Kwakwani, Upper Berbice River, on Saturday benefited from a medical outreached organised by Chinese logging company Rong-An Inc, in collaboration with the 14th Chinese Medical Brigade and the Kwakwani Neighbourhood Democratic Council.
A resident getting her blood sugar level tested
On hand to attend to the residents were the 14 specialists from the Chinese team, offering services in Ophthalmology, Internal Medicine, Gynaecology, Plastic Surgery, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. This is the third such outreach organised by the logging company for Kwakwani residents.
Some of the residents seeking to access the services of the medical team
NDC Chair Juanita Leacock said the NDC decided to collaborate with Rong-An Inc because they are aware of the plight of the residents. Most residents are at home with various illnesses which are being left untreated.
“Sometimes we get the problem with doctors; but right now we have the General Medicine Doctors, but we don’t have the equipment for the other services. In terms of giving of the service, they (the doctors) are limited to some (extent), and that forces persons to go out of Kwakwani to seek treatment in some specialised fields,” she explained.
“It is our hope, at the end of this event, that the residents here would go home satisfied with the service they received, and the treatment as well. We did this so that they can go home and rest assured that they got the specialised services then needed, as well as the care that is lacking,” Leacock added.
Of the 6000-plus residents of Kwakwani, over 250 of them packed the venue of the outreach to receive medical attention.
Captain of the Chinese Medical team, Dr Jiansong Shen, expressed gratitude to the residents of Kwakwani for allowing the medical team to provide service within their community. He said the team is committed to helping the residents of Guyana and improve the level of health care delivered.
The medical team also presented a number of medical supplies to the Kwakwani Hospital to aid improved service delivery.
Meanwhile, the assistant to Rong-An Inc’s Managing Director, Sara Huang, said the company is delighted to host the third of such outreaches. Explaining that it is a part of their corporate social responsibility, she said the company has a very close working relationship with the community, and for the past few years, has been working collaboratively on the development of Kwakwani.
“We have been conducting continuous maintenance and repairs on the 113km Unamco Road, which has brought convenience and contributed a lot, not only for the logging operations but also the various economic activities. We have assisted in building and repairing the Kwakwani Park Road for the community, and we donated to the various sporting and educational activities; so we also really appreciated the support from the community for the company,” Huang related.
She noted that the medical team is attached to the Georgetown Public Hospital, and its members would have committed to returning to the village to offer additional services and follow-up medication. The team members use their extra time to volunteer in various communities, offering various services to the residents.
Huang said that as a part of their CSRP, the company is committed to ensuring that Guyana is a better place.
Kwakwani residents expressed appreciation at being serviced by the medical specialists, since it is not quite often that these services are available within their community.
“I feel really good about it, because when you go to the hospital you really don’t get much help, because you don’t have that doctor for your problem. I have an ear problem, and they looked at it and give me some medication and then tell me to do an ear scan. I will have to do that, but I am happy with the service they provided. It was good,” resident Abiola Alphonso indicated.
Another resident, Natasha James, said her baby was running a fever, and he was able to be looked after by the pediatrician and given the treatment. She said she is grateful for the medical team’s visit, and urged them to visit more than once per year.
