President-elect Jim Force served as Chair.
Announcements
1) George Pritchard is now preparing the duty roster for the
coming quarter. He asked for notification
from any member who will be absent for an extended period from April through
June.
2) Lorna Curtis reminded club members of the Mardi Gras party
at Jack Petrie’s on March 22nd.
3) Mary Canty reported on the health of the club.
Eugen Bannerman served as Celebrations Master. General fines were levied for coming late and
leaving early. Mary Canty, Wynn Taylor
and Rod Sim reported Happy and Sad dollars. Michelle LeSage won the draw.
 |
| President-Elect, Jim Force (left) with Sandy Currie (centre), and guest speaker Dr. David Clinton-Baker |
Guest Speaker
Sandy Currie introduced guest speaker, Dr. David
Clinton-Baker, a volunteer participant in the Victoria medical services project
in the south Pacific country of Vanuatu, specifically on the island of
Tanna. Though a small island only some
30 km. in length, there are seven functioning languages on the island. Since little English or French is spoken, to
do his work the speaker had to learn the local patois. He also emphasized the importance of facial
expression as a signalling device. His
base of operations is the hospital in the principal village of Lanakel where he
is provided with government housing. He
described the geography of the island including the active volcano on the east
side of the island, and the generally primitive transport infrastructure that
must be traversed in a ‘doctor’s truck’ to visit the six clinics interspersed
over the island, each staffed by a nurse.
The speaker gave examples of the kinds of cases dealt with
including septic infections, fungus, tuberculosis, and fishing injuries. He related the contrasts between western and
traditional medicine giving the example of how the latter quite successfully
treats a broken limb. The economy is
largely subsistence and the diet primarily vegetarian.
He emphasized that a
major issue now is how to constructively exit the project. There are currently two Fijian trained
physicians (a gynaecologist and an ophthalmologist) in residence at the hospital
in Lanakel. The intent is for locally
trained staff to assume responsibility.
There were a number of questions.
President Pete Lawrie thanked the speaker.
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