MAMCI - News

MAMCI began to engage students on the 23rd of February this year to broaden its knowledge and experience base. Students that get involved with MAMCI will bring new views and approaches to tackling real world problems that effect so many lives.

Achi Kushnir and Tae won Kong attended a meeting with Mr. Paul E Nerau, the Consulate General of Papua New Guinea in Australia. The two MAMCI executives discussed important issues to encourage working together with the PNG government on this project. Issues such as collaboration with the PNG academic system, support from PNG government officials and visas were discussed.

Date 06 September 2007

A group of QUT engineering students got together last week to dismantle medical equipment donated by a Queensland hospital that will be shipped to needy communities in Papua New Guinea.

The students belong to the QUT chapter of Engineers Without Borders whose MAMCI (Medical Aid mission for communities in need) project is well underway to deliver the life-saving equipment to hospitals in the Papua New Guineas East Sepik province.

MAMCI project leader and QUT biomedical graduate Achi Kushnir visited PNG in June to discover the needs of villagers around the towns of Maprik and Wewak and was shocked at the lack of basic medical equipment.

"We realised there was a lot of redundant medical equipment in Queensland that could do a lot of good in the under-resourced clinics and hospitals," Achi said.

"Our project focuses not only on delivering the equipment but also training local health workers to use the equipment to its full potential and maintaining it.

"The students dismantled and packed 25 hospital beds, 20 hospital mattresses, six examination beds, three wheelchairs, two ambulance trolleys and a lot of other medical furniture that was donated by Greenslopes Private Hospital.

"We plan to ship the equipment to PNG and visit again in January to assemble it and train the staff there," Achi said.

Achi said the MAMCI team would welcome business, marketing, finance, film and television and IT students to participate and use their skills to support the project.

"It's not just for engineering students. It is such a large scale project it requires support from a lot of other disciplines," Achi said. "MAMCI is also looking for investors and sponsors who wish to come on board."