WORK ON RECONSTRUCTION OF ATOIFI DENTAL CLINIC TO COMMENCE SOON

The reconstruction work for the Dental Clinic at Atoifi Adventist Hospital (AAH) in East Kwaio, Malaita Province, will resume soon.

This reconstruction work has resumed following the arrival of Dr. Genna Levitch in Honiara on Monday 24 June, accompanied by project builder Wilber Clarke, both have travelled to AAH on Thursday 27th June to revisit the proposed site of the dental clinic project.

The dental clinic project will be funded by Dr. Genna Levitch, a dentist by profession, and his son-in-law, Tim Edwards, from Australia.

Edwards won a prize at work and donated the money to fund the project, the funds have been channeled through ADRA Australia and will be administered by ADRA Solomon Islands for implementation.

Work on the dental clinic initially began in 2016 but was later halted, work would now resume to complete the dental clinic.

The staff house, funded under the project, has already been completed, the current phase of the project will now focus on finishing the dental clinic.

Dr. Genna Levitch and the builder visited Atoifi Hospital over the weekend to see logistics for the container they will send from Australia.

The container will contain building materials needed to finish the dental clinic, as well as dental equipment such as dental chairs, compressors, and suction motors, which will be transported to Atoifi.

“We are going to Atoifi to double-check how much of the dental clinic has been built. We need to make sure we have ordered all the building materials, electrical and plumbing supplies’’

‘’Also, it has been six years since we started, so I want to meet the current administration of the hospital which we did and re-establish our relationship as we are partnering with ADRA SI, SDA administration, and the Ministry of Health and Medical Services. We cannot do this on our own and rely on our contacts on the ground,” Mr. Levitch said.

Principal of Atoifi School of Nursing, Alwin Muse who was on the ground to assist them during their visit was grateful and excited about the project.

‘’I would like to thank donors of this project especially Dr. Genna Levitch for funding this project since he still has a heart to come and complete this project’’

‘’The dental clinic once completed would really helping us here especially when we have dental patient for referral to Kilifu and Honiara which very expensive for us. But having this dental clinic opened here would be a huge relief for us and for our student nurse who would like to become dentist as their profession in the future, ’Mr Muse said.

The dental clinic will feature two dental chairs, a reception area, a staff room, a lab, and a sterilizing room, it will be operated by Atoifi Hospital and will serve residents of the surrounding regions in East Kwaio and other parts of Malaita region.

Dr. Genna Levitch as part of his courtesy visit also met with Ivan Ghemu, the Director of Planning in the Ministry of Health and Medical Service (MHMS) and Chief Dental Officer Dr. Ellison Vale at the National Referral Hospital (NRH) and staff of Atoifi Hospital and School of Nursing informed them about the Dental Clinic Project.

Dr. Genna Levitch and project builder Wilber Clarke travelled to Atoifi on Thursday, June 27, and returned to Australia on Monday 1st of July 2024.

Work on the Dental Clinic project will start once the building materials needed to finish the dental clinic arrives in Atoifi in the coming months.

Ends//

-ADRA Communication