HUNDREDS of Lindeners benefitted from an outreach by the Overseas Medical Assistance Team (OMAT) Health Mission over the last two weeks.

The health mission was executed in Linden as a part of the Know Your Purpose 2018 series, under the theme ‘Stronger Together.’

The team of 12 included medical doctors, dentists, psychologists and surgeons from the USA with the support of overseas-based nurses, as well as nurses and other medical personnel from the Linden Hospital Complex.

Services given to Lindeners were OB/GYN screenings, blood pressure testing, eye testing, surgeries, dental cleaning and extractions, counselling amongst others.
The Overseas Medical Assistance Team is a nonprofit medical organisation which was formed in 1992 by Lindener, Dr Stephen Carryl, Chairman of Surgery at the Wyckoff Heights Hospital Center in Brooklyn, New York and President of OMAT. OMAT has since been providing care in health and education over the past twenty seven years in developing countries such as Guyana and Haiti.

In addition, the organisation is attempting to change the way persons may view medicine and is urging them to take care of their overall wellbeing.
Joanna Carryl, Secretary of OMAT stated “one of the things we really want to do is to change the way people view medicine, a lot of people have fear of going to the doctor, fear of seeing a dentist, fear of seeing a mental health professional and so we want to encourage people to take care of their mind, their body, just as they take care of their soul when they go to church or whatever. We want to urge them to take care of their whole body.”

Errol Liverpool, Clinical psychologist noted that it is very important for persons suffering from mental illness to know that they are not alone.

“It is very important that we remove the stigma, the negative feelings that are evoked when people are mentally ill. It is very important to make a distinction between insanity, what Guyanese would say is madness, it’s not the same as being mentally ill. Insanity is a person who says, ‘I don’t know my name, I don’t know who I am’ …but there are many mentally ill people who go to work every day and try to run families,” Liverpool said.
He added, “What we want to do is equip them with the kind of care that they just don’t go to work every day but they can be effective with what they do. What we hope is that in Guyana the stigma can be removed so that people can appreciate that I’m not alone.”
Dr. Liverpool believes that if the “stigma” is removed, the suicide rate will decrease in Guyana.

The Overseas Medical Assistance Team also donated US$5000 to the Linden Centre for Special Needs which will aid in the rehabilitation of their building as a part of their community project in Linden for the year.

Mayor of Linden, Waneka Arrindell expressed sincere gratitude to OMAT and is calling on other organisations to follow suit.