Spectacles to head to PNG

Mission to Seafarers Chaplain Trevor Phillips with some of the glasses that have been donated to help restore sight in PNG.

Jen Tybell

UNWANTED spectacles will able to be loved and used again as hundreds will be handed over to a not-for-profit organisation this week.

A medical ship will dock in Gladstone this morning with an aim to recruit health professionals and volunteers for a Papua New Guinea mission later this year.

Youth With a Mission (YWAM) Australia and PNG's medical ship will be berthing in Gladstone Marina for a week, providing opportunities for locals to see what a medical ship looks like.

As part of the trip, hundreds of unwanted glasses will be donated to YWAM as an extension of the medical mission of the ship MV Pacific Link, which will be in Gladstone en route to Papua New Guinea.

Mission to Seafarers chaplain Trevor Phillips, a local committee member, said the ship's visit was part of an eastern seaboard tour of Australia, visiting many ports.

“It's just raising awareness about the needs, particularly in PNG,” he said.

“They (YWAM) are trying to raise the awareness among the medical professions to see if they will volunteer to go there.”

Mr Phillips said YWAM was also trying to raise awareness in local students and residents.

Local committee spokesperson Phil Adlam said the ship will spend several months in PNG administering medical and dental aid to local villagers, as well as providing optical care and distribution of the spectacles.

According to the Fred Hollows Foundation, 550,000 people in PNG have low vision that can be corrected with spectacles. However, there are only 10 optometrists in the entire nation – the equivalent of about 40 optometrists for the whole Australian population.

The spectacles will be presented to the YWAM crew tomorrow afternoon.