BY LORETTA B MANELE

Located far inwards of Wanderer Bay, West Guadalcanal is Wanderer Bay clinic built in 2017.

To get there requires a lengthy walk-through small streams, plants, trees and coconut trees with palms spread way up in the air swaying to the rhythm of the breeze on a sunny day.

Bendita Piri, a soft-spoken woman and wife of the Chief of St Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Community in Wanderer Bay in a sit-down interview with Island Sun in Wanderer Bay just last month spoke about the clinic.

Interestingly, she shares more than that.

Behind her kind eyes and calm smiles, since 1994, Piri has been helping women of Wanderer Bay community to deliver their babies right at home.

Piri says although the clinic is well equipped to cater to children, members of the community and pregnant women, the issue is the clinic not having a permanent nurse posted there.

She explained that there is usually only one nurse that is posted at the clinic for a period of time before being replaced by another nurse.

At one point, Piri said a nurse who was posted there left simply because some members of the community had caused problems for him or her.

She said the real challenge for Wanderer Bay is when the clinic is without a nurse.

In this circumstance, Piri says people would have to travel to Tanagarare, also in West Guadalcanal to access medical services and getting there means spending money on petrol at around $400 for both ways to travel by boat.

When asked about the situation of someone who needed to travel there but didn’t have money, she said the community usually steps in to help.

There is also an incomplete staff house near the clinic close to a small house built to accommodate whichever nurse is posted at the clinic.

Built in 2023, the supposed staff house only has posts standing to this day.

Piri says they want at least two nurses to be posted at their clinic because it is too much workload for just one nurse to handle.

She then spoke about her experience of helping women of Wanderer Bay to deliver their babies at home.

Piri lights up and smiles as she told her story.

Since 1994, she said she has been helping women deliver their babies at home especially during times when there wasn’t a clinic in Wanderer Bay and even up till now if there wasn’t a nurse stationed at the clinic.

“I have been helping women deliver their babies since 1994 up to today,” she said.

Piri said she would be approached at any time of the day, night or later hours of the night while asleep to go to a pregnant woman’s house to help her deliver her baby.

But at times when a nurse is present, she would accompany the pregnant woman to the clinic and assist the nurse.

“Sometimes after helping them at the clinic, I also travel with them all the way to the National Referral Hospital,” she added.

Confidently, Piri said in each of these cases she always places her faith in God and prayer for guidance to help the women.

Carol, a woman from Sughu community which is next door to Piri’s community also shared her story with Island Sun about her experience with Piri.

She said when she was pregnant Piri also came to see her and help with the delivery of her baby.

At the time, Carol said just by looking at her, Piri could tell when she would deliver her baby.

Prior to the delivery she said Piri in a soft-spoken manner would encourage her to stand and walk around so she could give birth to her baby quickly and avoid complication.

“And she could tell when I was about to deliver my baby.

“At that time, she told me to lay down and that I was going to deliver my baby soon which was what exactly happened next,” said Carol.

She happily expressed that at that time she felt comforted and safe to deliver her baby with Piri’s help.

“The tone of her voice is comforting and what she said made me feel safe to deliver my baby in the village.

“So, I wasn’t scared to deliver my baby at home,” said Carol.

Piri, apart from being wife of the Chief of her community, was her own person.

She was a happy, strong woman who spent her time willingly at any time of the day or night to help pregnant women of her community so they could safely deliver their babies.

Piri was and to this day, is a passionate community midwife to the women she has helped and to those she will help in Wanderer Bay, West Guadalcanal.

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