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J.
Michael Hakanson On July 14, 1999, Jamie and Jacque Spence, Don and Ruth Smith, Dr. George Guthrie and I sat down to a working lunch with the Tongan dignitaries in the Crown Plaza Hotel in Foster City, Calif. With U.S. Secret Service officers within earshot of our discussion, we met together with Dr. Taniela Palu, Tonga's Royal Physician, and Emelina Tuita, the Tongan Consul General to the United States. We were happy to learn that Dr. Palu had done research in diabetes prevention and is doing all he can to promote and implement programs of healthy living through a simple diet and exercise. Quite frankly, He was singing our song! Emelina Tuita, the Counsel General, was very supportive and a graciously energetic person who has vision and is willing to ask the hard questions right up front. We can tell that she will do great things for the Kingdom of Tonga. The level of understanding we have with the Tongan delegation now places us years ahead of where when we first began to enter other island nations. Canvasback is ready to invite a proposal from Tongan health officials. They now know our capabilities and will match them to the health goals they have. -J. Michael Hakanson, Tonga Project Director
Tonga Dental Needs Canvasback dentist Harold Lambeth served in Tonga during a recent fact-finding mission. Following are some of his observations about the dental needs in Tonga: "In Vava'u, there is no preventive dental care that I can see. One dental chair on the main island serves about 18,000 people. . . The dentist located at the hospital would like to get out into the island villages and educate the community as to proper oral hygiene and dental care, but he could neither handle the increased volume that dental check-ups would create, nor take the time away from his station. "Most people I have seen have had at least two teeth removed in their teens. I'm told that, much of the time, new permanent teeth in young children need to be removed due to the lack of oral hygiene."
2/16/99 Tonga trip a success! The Canvasback/Rotary team has returned to the U.S. with work accomplished and plans laid. It takes three days to travel from San Francisco to the Island group of Vava'u, the focus of the Canvasback/Rotary team. Vava'u is likely to be the base of operations for Canvasback's future endeavors in Tonga. It's amazing how the Prince Wellington Ngu Hospital can serve so many people with so little resources. Two doctors for 12,000 people. Before we arrived, the hospital had only one suction unit, with very low suction, as well as an EKG and a cauterizing machine that didn't work. The list of needs just went on and on. We were able to fix almost everything, as well as to distribute a container of medical supplies. Now they no only have lights in the operating room, they have spares to last the rest of the year. We watched a man use a wheelchair that we brought minutes after we uncrated it. Our lead shipment for the X-ray radiation barrier was delayed and then off loaded on the wrong island. We saw to it that it was rerouted and left an Australian contractor who was working in the area in charge of laying it in place. We prepared the surface, drilled out the block, laid out the design, and built a partition to protect the technician from radiation. The contractor figured another three hours of work, and it would be done. A special thank you to the Rotarians of the Mendocino, Fort Bragg and Nukul'ofa clubs for their involvement. Canvasback's Future in Tonga We now have the "waterway" paved for medical involvement. The minister of health, the head physician at the hospital and the governor of Vava'u have all pledged their support for our efforts. They have seen that we care and are hoping that we can meet some of their needs. -J. Michael Hakanson
From
left to right, Mike Hakanson, Miggi (hospital tech), Sonni
(X-ray tech), Barry Wiess (Mendocino Rotary Club technician)
and a floor nurse. |
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The Canvasback/Tonga Project Office in Fort Bragg.
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