Port community project completes one year

This morning a small ceremony was held commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Port Loyola Area Health and Development Project. News Five spoke to Port area representative Dolores Balderamos Garcia, who told us about the project and future plans for the area.

Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Area Rep., Port Loyola

“During that year the major accomplishments of the project have been public education in the health field. For example they have done seminars on HIV/AIDS prevention, high blood pressure prevention and diabetes prevention as well as domestic violence, sexuality and parenting skills. So that’s along the education lines. Now in terms of the infrastructure, with the big help from the Pan-American Health Organization and the World Health Organization, we have refurbished the bathrooms at the area schools, the community pre-school, Sister Clara Mohammed, and St. John Vianney. For example, at St. John Vianney we did the tank and the water pump for proper water distribution. At Sister Clara Mohammed, I’m very proud to say that the children now have a proper boys toilet and girls toilet as well as a separate bathroom for the teachers.”

Jose Sanchez

“With all that you’ve accomplished so far, what do you have planned for the coming year?”

Dolores Balderamos Garcia

“I’m glad you asked that. What we would like to do Jose, is to concentrate on the expansion of the health centre. As of December, with the assistance of the Ministry of Health, we will be putting in medicines and a pharmacist, so that area residents don’t have to go some place else. And in the new year we will be breaking ground for the new health centre.”

Balderamos-Garcia hopes that the new health centre will be built by the time the National Health Insurance Scheme comes online.