Moresby Centre

Helps Handicapped

Children

From SUSAN YOUNG, in Port Moresby Papua and New Guinea now ias its first centre for physically

landicapped children.

CHE centre, a Red Cross project, was officially opened recently by ady Casey, wife of Australia’s Gov rnor-General, Lord Casey.

The idea of building such a centre as born almost four years ago, when [r. Brian Hockings, then general jcretary of the P-NG Red Cross, icommended that a survey be made ) see how many physically handi ipped children there were who might mefit from skilled physiotherapy.

At first there were difficulties, be mse some villagers did not want i admit that they had handicapped lildren. But once their misgivings id been overcome it was established lat there were enough handicapped lildren to warrant the opening of pilot clinic within the Red Cross visional headquarters in Port loresby.

Word got around

So a room was specially adapted >r the purpose, help from the Port loresby Red Cross branch procured ic equipment and two voluntary lysiotherapists were found. The inic got under way in the middle I 1964. As word of it got around ie number of children being treated *ew rapidly.

The next big boost for the project ime early in 1965 when juniors of ie Australian Red Cross Society übbed together to buy a bus to ansport children to and from the entre. Next, the Australian olunteers Abroad organisation pro ded a physiotherapist (Miss Jan ogt is their latest worker in charge : the centre).

It was not long before 30 children week were being treated.

Since then, two Papuan women ive joined the clinic staff, and Red ross authorities say that the patient tention of these women has greatly ilped the successful treatment of the lildren.

The Red Cross began receiving

applications from all over the terri tory for children to be treated, and it was realised that more suitable premises were needed.

Lack of money held up this project, but eventually plans were drawn up by an honorary architect, Mr. J.

Wild; building began this March (the work was done at minimum cost by John Stubbs and Sons Ltd.) and re cently the centre was finished.

Children have helped

Appropriately, children have had a big hand in making the centre possible.

Australian schoolchildren contributed about $4,500 towards its cost, and a further $3,000 was collected by territory schoolchildren.

In recognition of this effort, the guard of honour drawn up to greet Lady Casey at the official opening was composed entirely of children—3oo of them—Representing all the schools in the Port Moresby area which con tributed to the centre’s cost.

Mr. Bob Clarke, the P-NG Red Cross general-secretary, who for much of the time has been the project’s organising power, working quietly in the background, estimates that the final cost of the clinic will be about $29,000. He hopes to go on to bigger things when funds permit. The Red Cross wants to make it into “a com plete welfare centre for handicapped people.”

Provision has been built into the design for two more buildings, which will house a centre for handicapped adults, plus a workshop.

The centre at a pinch could now step up its 30 children a week to 50.