HIV testing at midnight.

Thanks to Digicel, the RAM Guyana team is giving residents in region nine one more reason to get a health check - a chance to win a touch screen smart phone with eight gigs if data storage. The promotion is running day and night at the annual Amerindian Heritage festival held this year in St. Ignatious village.

Pictured here are the three tented councilor stations in action - taking the services to the people. Every client tested, receives their results instantly in this confidential setting - and is enterred to win the fancy Nokia camera phone. The grand drawing will be held on October tenth after the completion of 'National Week of Testing' another annual event that this year falls adjacent to Heritage.

Special thanks to the Regional AIDS Action Comittee, GRCS, the Regional Administration and YCG for making these activities possible.

Non-medical volunteering

Not a Doctor, not a problem. Our volunteers are more often than not serving behind the scenes as critical support persons. For every doctor and dentist that treats a client in a remote village, there are many like Aaron Akbar - pictured here, keeping the equipment in order and preparing for the next expedition. Aaron is a motor bike enthusiast and technician who donated many grimy hours towards rehabilitating the RAM dirt bike.

Trash diggers

These young boys are seen on a Saturday afternoon hanging out at the overflowing Lethem dump site. The increasing development and commerce in the Central Rupununi, has created a growing waste disposal problem for the local government.

This one official site must be maintained to help prevent the countless illegal dumping grounds that litter the area. Additional signs will also be required as many cart-loads are clearly being dumped far short of their intended destination - in the savanna and gravel pit on the way to the site.

North Pakaraima Medivac.

A call from the Regional Health Services division of the Ministry of Health yesterday morning called the RAM aircraft into action once again. A resident of Tuseneng village in the heart of the Pakaraima Mountains had suffered a serious leg fracture.

In the dry season, the trail from this village to the nearest x-ray machine and doctor would take a few days at best. Those who have joined the annual 4x4 "Safari" would know first hand the challenges in the best of conditions. This time of year, however, a light aircraft is simply the only option.

Located between Monkey Mountain and Paramakatoi, Tuseneng is an indigenous Patamona village of less than 250 souls. The small, sloping dirt airstrip is maintained by village volunteers using hoes and machetes.

An eight year old from the South Rupununi with a badly fractured arm requiring surgery was also airlifted to the capitol city on the same trip.

Your continued support makes flights such as these possible to prevent crippling and life threatening injuries.

Bishaidrun Village Outreach

A RAM Airborne medical outreach in partnership with the Ministry of Health recently visited the remote village of Bishairdrun in the deep south of the Rupununi.  On board the Cessna was a Medex, Dentex, Malaria Microscopist, Environmental Health officer and HIV councilor and tester.  The combined team delivered 164 individual services including twenty one vaccinations.

A colaborative village project a few years ago to build and certify this new airstrip along the Brazil boarder miles west of Achiwib has allowed for emergency access and outreach activities.  Pictured here is Aishalton Dentex Nicolei Poon working to extract the painful tooth of a local resident. 

Following the outreach programme the same afternoon there was still enough daylight to pick up two 'medivac' patients with the RAM air-ambulance; one an obstetric emergency out of Annai airstrip.