Senior citizens benefiTted most from Cancer Society’s medical outreach at Batavia
Scenes from Batavia’s medical outreach
Kaieteur News – Senior citizens of Batavia Village, Region Seven capitalised on a two-day medical outreach to the village.
Batavia’s Toshao, Murphy Gomez
Murphy Gomez, the Toshao of Batavia Village in a recent interview with Kaieteur News related that the elderly residents benefitted the most from the outreach held there last weekend. The outreach was organised by the Guyana Cancer Society (GCS) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, the Guyana Medical Relief, the American Embassy, and the Global Medical Surgical and Support Group. It was held From July 13 to 14 and saw some 292 persons benefitting from 800 medical procedures which include dental, optometry, paediatric, general medicine among other key medical services.
Speaking with Kaieteur News at the end of the outreach, Gomez said it was the first time a medical outreach was held in the village. Asked how it benefitted the residents, Gomez responded: “Well it benefitted, especially the aged (elderly) ones”. He explained that although Batavia has a health centre, not all the medical services are available there and while many of the younger villagers can regularly travel via boat to Bartica for medical check-ups, it is still a difficult and fatiguing journey for the senior residents of the village. “The outreach benefitted them now because they just have to come here to do all the check-ups”, he said. Batavia is an Indigenous village with a population of 646 people located in the Cuyuni Mazaruni district that thrives on mining, logging and farming.
