Elements of the SA Military Health Service (SAMHS) deployed for a major outreach initiative in the Eastern Cape province sprang into action on Tuesday after encountering a vehicle accident near Lusikisiki.
While en route to provide medical services to rural communities, a team from Project Owethu led by Medical Officer Colonel Portia Tseke and comprising clinicians and operational medics, encountered a serious accident near Lusikisiki. The collision involved two vehicles and resulted in multiple casualties, the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) reported.
The medical team immediately rendered emergency medical assistance to five casualties, two of whom sustained life-threatening injuries. “Using their advanced medical rescue skills, the South African Military Health Service personnel stabilised the injured on scene before arranging their transport to St Elizabeth Hospital for further treatment,” Captain Mamoserwa Molefe stated.
Project Owethu (“ours” or “our own” in isiXhosa, signifying a sense of belonging) according to a SAMHS statement aims “to reach the most marginalised communities in South Africa, often excluded from services the rest of the country takes for granted”.
It started on Friday 18 July and runs through to 1 August. In its initial stages, the project will be rolled out to the communities at Ingquza Hill and broader areas of the OR Tambo District Municipality. It follows a similar humanitarian outreach in KwaZulu-Natal coinciding with the last time Armed Forces Day in 2023.
With a guiding message of “changing the lives of people one community at a time” Owethu sees multi-disciplinary healthcare teams delivering medical, dental, psychological and ancillary health services to rural communities. It officially commenced in Flagstaff with Area Military Health Formation, General Officer Commanding (GOC), Brigadier General Mcebisi Mdutywa declaring it operational.
The one-star is reported as telling those present for the start of Owethu 2025, including Gift of the Givers founder, Imtiaz Sooliman, their presence in Flagstaff and the wider Eastern Cape was evidence of “a shared commitment to serve those in need”.
SAMHS is not alone in Owethu with the SA Air Force (SAAF) contributing a BK117 helicopter from 15 Squadron’s Charlie Flight based at Air Force Station (AFS) Gqeberha. The rotorcraft was called out for an emergency rescue on the weekend after reports were received of two men falling off a cliff while tracking missing livestock. The BK117 is assigned standby duties for the SAMHS outreach and uses 15 SA Infantry (SAI) Battalion in Mthatha as its base of operations for the duration of the tasking following an earlier tasking in support of search and rescue operations post flooding in June.
The post SAMHS humanitarian project in the Eastern Cape renders assistance to crash victims appeared first on defenceWeb.
