A team of international civic engineers is in Papua New Guinea undertaking construction projects at clinics and schools.
The engineers are in Port Moresby with the United States Navy Hospital ship, the USNS Mercy, which has a medical staff of 900.
The visit is part of the US Pacific Partnership 2008 mission to provide free medical care.
But the mission's public affairs officer, Lt Arwen Chisholm, says the engineers also provide much-needed help to local communities.
"We have twenty engineers on board. But we also have a contingency of forty engineers who are flying ahead to each mission site, that are also doing construction projects. And then we also have on board with us the partners from Australia and India who have contributed engineers: everything from renovating clinics and schools, we help with waste-water treatment... There's some hard-working engineers out there, doing a great job."
Lt Arwen Chisholm
