14-Year-old Mourine Kikisia from the remote Solomon Island of Vella Lavella has spent nearly twelve months in Randwick undergoing life saving medical treatment. Mourine had developed a large mass on her neck, the size of a small football and doctors in the Solomon Islands were unable to treat her. With the support of Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (ROMAC) and local Rotarians she was successfully treated at the Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick.Whilst the tumour was found to be benign, it was "strangling" other vital organs, and could well have proved fatal without treatment. It posed a significant challenge for the medical staff who liaised with international colleagues in search of a cure. With a maze of blood vessels and nerves throughout, there was a major risk of Mourine being permanently disabled or disfigured. After nearly six months of chemotheraphy to stop the growth of the mass, it was finally removed in a very successful nine-hour operation. Then followed several months of radiotheraphy to ensure removal of any remnants.
As a result of the embarrassing mass on her neck, coupled with the prior destruction of her school in an earthquake, Mourine had not attended school for nearly four years. Members of Rotary arranged for her enrolment at the Hospital School and its dedicated teachers worked with Mourine to lift her numeracy and literacy skills. Mourine was not only cured medically, but was able to reconnect with her education and returned home with a renewed zest for leaning and the standards necessary to enter High School.
Rotary has also supported Ronald McDonald House, where Mourine and her mum Ekila stayed whilst she was undergoing treatment.