After a successful 2023 outreach, volunteer doctor/yogini Leena Zhou is bringing reinforcements and taking this year’s clinic to the next level!
This May, a team of 18 dedicated healthcare professionals will set up a mobile clinic in Nabila. Their mission is to treat, bring hope and provide health to our staff, their families, and dozens of other locals. Nabila, located on the West Coast of Fiji’s Viti Levu, is a place close to our hearts. Many of the Namotu and Tavarua staff including the world-famous Ulai (below), come from here, and we are committed to improving healthcare access for all.
The healthcare situation in Nabila is urgent. The village’s amenities are basic, and most locals have limited healthcare access and education. Many chronic and acute conditions are left untreated, either due to the difficulty of travelling to Nadi to seek help or the costs associated with it.
This is a call to action for all of us to come together and make a difference!
Limited Medical Access in Nabila
In Nabila, there is no doctor. An American charity donates some essential medications that are distributed by a local nurse. Unless an emergency dictates their need to be seen in a hospital, people put up with their health conditions, and frameworks of primary & secondary prevention are virtually non-existent. As Fiji moves away from its village roots, many are caught between a Western diet & lifestyle versus simple village life & traditional foods. The result is an increasing rate of Western societal chronic diseases such as diabetes, kidney failure and heart disease.
Common ailments treated by the medical outreach include poorly managed diabetes, heart disease, fungal infections, benign tumours, abscesses, school sores, scabies, and urgent / life-threatening illnesses. Some diseases such as staphylococcal infections have a simple cure, and an eradication regime to prevent its sequelae is a goal for this outreach. Chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease are more complex, and primary prevention through lifestyle education is the long-term answer.
Nabila is located on the west coast of Fiji’s mainland/Viti Levu and about an hour by car to Nadi.
Prevention is Better than a Cure
Leena’s clinic also covers health education, including diabetes & heart disease prevention. Spreading awareness is critical due to the lack of awareness in connecting diet and exercise with preventing disease. Meanwhile, we have implemented a year-long wellbeing program designed to combat these preventable conditions through education, motivation and improved food in our staff kitchen. Sadly, the rates of diabetes and high blood pressure amongst our staff are high. Namotu Island hopes to make a real difference in our part of Fiji through initiatives such as Leena’s Outreach, the Fiji DMF, and our ongoing Wellbeing Program.
2023 Clinic photos – just 3 doctors, a nurse and assistant were able to help dozens of people. Imagine what 18 can do!
How You Can Help
This year, Leena is bringing 18 volunteers to help out with the outreach from 5-12 May 2024. She is seeking donations to cover the medical supplies needed to run the clinic.
100% of the proceeds will go towards medical supplies for Nabila. Any excess funds from this year will support next year’s outreach. All the volunteers cover their own expenses, so your donation goes directly to the materials needed to treat patients.
We’d like to thank Byron Eyecare, Kingscliff Chempro, Kingscliff Health, Tweed Hospital & Latrobe Regional Hospital for their generous donations to date.
Dr Leena Zhou: General Practitioner and Yoga Instructor
About Leena Zhou
Leena Zhou is one of our valued volunteers on Namotu, who, after witnessing first-hand the nature of life in Fijian villages, decided to lend a hand. Formerly an Orthopaedic Surgeon in Melbourne, Leena fled the rat race for the sake of her own health. She focussed on yoga, learnt to surf and now lives in a seaside town where she practises as a General Practitioner, embracing holistic wellbeing. We are very grateful to have Leena as part of our Namotu family, where she brings her enormous skillset and kindness to guests and locals alike.