HUSBAND and wife Peter and Kerrie Clement have recently returned to the Valley
from a medical trip to the Solomon Islands.
After months of planning, research and fundraising, the local paramedic and his
wife – a health information manager at Grafton Base Hospital – travelled to deliver
health and education clinics to those in less fortunate areas.
“We travelled to remote villages in a small team of six across the open ocean in a
fibreglass canoe,” Mr Clement said.
The team shared their knowledge and gave first aid instructions and, using those
principles, tried to tap into the local knowledge to use the natural bush materials
that were available.
“We worked with them at their level to establish their needs and we were able help
them with such a wide spectrum of things,” Mr Clement said.
“We were able to show them how to make splints out of bark and bamboo and
different leaves that could be used to heal wounds.
“I saw some pretty horrific things. There are so many stories I could tell but the
sores on the little children were something that really stood out.
“My wife and I saw a similar clinic boat project at an expo and we decided that we
wanted to give back to the community what we had learnt in our medical skills and
training. It was something that we could do together.
“It was a journey that we got so much out of because we had so much to give.
“The people over here are so beautiful and humble. They are truly appreciative and
we would like to revisit.”
Mr Clement said there had been a lot of community interest in the project and he
intended to hold a presentation night to share photos and stories of the overseas
trip.
“We have some ongoing projects that we are trying to establish and we hope to
raise some awareness and funds so that we can continue to help and contribute
to the affected areas,” he said.
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