Ken and Lisa Boone live in Goroka, in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. Ken is a doctor and surgeon of more than 40 years, running a private health practice from Klerht Cove Motel. He also operates at the local hospital when they call him in. A clinic consultation costs 50 kina. Many of his patients cannot afford to pay him a consultation fee, yet he sees them anyway. Many cannot afford the treatment medication, yet he gives it on credit. Much of the credit cannot be repaid. He effectively gives away $3000 USD of medication a month.

Lisa assists with the patients at the practice. She also runs the family's guesthouse and a small catering business alongside it. What they both earn goes towards the household and towards the work Ken does in the wider community.

Between them, they have put their four biological children through further education, and have 12 adopted children with four still in further education. Ken does community outreach in remote villages for free. For people living far from Goroka, that is often the only opportunity to see a doctor.

The vehicle he uses for it is a green pick-up the family calls The Frog, and after years on dirt roads it is close to the end of its working life. It was in for repairs this September and no longer starts reliably. A four-wheel drive is the only practical option in this province.

A second-hand four-wheel drive that will do the job costs 100,000 kina, roughly $25,000. Their income covers the household and the practice, and a purchase of that size sits well beyond it.

A replacement will keep the consultations in Goroka running and the villages within reach.

This fundraiser is organised by Indigo Earth Foundation. Its founder, Christopher Bartlett, has known Ken for 10 years, having used the Boones' guesthouse as a base for trips run in Papua New Guinea under the Best of PNG brand, part of Indigo Safaris. Ken keeps no record of what he gives away, because he does not do it for recognition, so the account of his practice above based on what Christopher has observed over the years.

Indigo Earth Foundation is matching every donation to this appeal, dollar for dollar, up to a total of $12,500. Each contribution therefore counts twice towards the vehicle, which is why the figure shown here is half the purchase price. 

Funds raised, together with the foundation’s matching contribution, will be handed to Ken so that he can make the purchase locally, where he is best placed to judge what will hold up on those roads.

Indigo Earth Foundation is not a registered charity yet, so donations are not tax-deductible. Photographs of the purchase and of the work it supports will be posted once the campaign has reached its target.