Joyce Giheno was inspired to pursue a career in paramedicine after seeing people in her country dying from preventable diseases.

In 2013, Joyce Giheno was living in her home country of Papua New Guinea when she witnessed an event that would change the direction of her life.

Giheno was a property manager, who often spent her days travelling in her Toyota Land Cruiser to and from her father's property in Henganofi District, to check on her family's coffee plantation.

"On my way back to town I would always help transport pregnant women, elderly people and those who were sick to the Goroka Base Hospital," Giheno said.

One day, Giheno found herself transporting a pregnant woman who had travelled in from a remote village to the hospital when disaster struck.

READ MORE:

* Community desperate for clean water in Papua New Guinea

* A day in the life of a St John paramedic

* Our aid efforts for our Pacific neighbours

"The woman haemorrhaged in the back of my car and I had no clinical training or any idea how to help her," Giheno said. "She'd had a two-day journey on foot just to get to town and I think that probably contributed to what happened to her."

Despite Giheno's best efforts, the woman and her unborn child died as a result of blood loss trauma.

"I decided on that day I would do anything in my power to help those less fortunate than me - the healthcare in Papua New Guinea is inadequate and it failed that young woman, people were dying of preventable and treatable illnesses."

STARTING A NEW LIFE

Supplied Joyce Giheno (right) often transported sick and elderly people to hospital in Papua New Guinea.

For the next two years Giheno looked into where she could study paramedicine. At the time, nowhere in Papua New Guinea offered the course so she decided to look further afield.

Giheno eventually secured a New Zealand Pacific scholarship to study paramedicine at Auckland University of Technology (AUT) in 2015, which she described as a "blessing".

"New Zealand is a beautiful place and has such a deep cultural heritage that appealed to me, I liked how the course was more collaborative and interactive."

Making the move to New Zealand by herself was "a big challenge" but Giheno said she knew it was the only way she could progress in her chosen career.

"It was a bit unnerving knowing I was about to embark on this big journey and a new career but I just kept reminding myself I was here to help make a difference, so next time I was faced with a life threatening situation, I would be trained and equipped to deal with it."

THE BUS CRASH

Supplied Giheno (second from right) with friends in Papua New Guinea.

The next life-threatening situation came a bit sooner than Giheno expected, when she and her friend Annie Finau came across a crash between a bus and an SUV in Papatoetoe, South Auckland in June.

Giheno and Finau were on their way home following a clinical exam when they ended up being first on the scene of the crash.

The pair ended up assessing and treating the 40 passengers before emergency services arrived.

"It was an intense experience but thanks to the training I'd received I was able to use my training in a time of need," Giheno said.

STUDYING IN AOTEAROA

Giheno, who is in her second year of AUT's bachelor of health science in paramedicine degree, she said she loves the practical aspects of the course, including doing shifts with St John.

"Being exposed to the frontline and getting to work with experienced paramedics and EMT's really enhances the overall experience, there's never a dull moment and every experience is exciting."

The hardest part of studying in New Zealand for Giheno came in early 2017 when her father John Giheno died.

"That was really tough, I had to take six months off from studying to be with my family in Papua New Guinea."

But she described her father as a "driving force" behind her decision to continue with her degree.

"My father was a member of the Papua New Guinean parliament and a leader of his people in the Henganofi District and he always instilled in me a love for my people and a will to serve others as he did, so I realised I needed to finish my studies and then return home to serve my country."

Supplied Joyce travelled to New Zealand in 2015.

Ministry of foreign affairs and trade spokesman, Matt Torbit, said there were currently 113 scholars from Papua New Guinea studying in New Zealand.

Almost half of those are on Ministry of Foreign Affairs tertiary scholarships, offered to students interested in studying subjects that can improve the social and economic development of the country.

"We help equip people with the skills and knowledge they need to directly benefit their home country. For example, areas of study currently include climate change, health, good governance and private sector development," Torbit said.

HEALTHCARE IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Supplied Giheno (second from left) said healthcare in Papua New Guinea was very different than New Zealand healthcare.

Emergency Medical Technician training was not available in Papua New Guinea until 2017 and Giheno said as far as she was aware, there were only a small number of Papua New Guinean paramedics in the country - and even fewer female ones.

Papua New Guinea is a developing country, with only around 6 per cent of the population living in urban areas and having access to adequate healthcare.

"Most people live in rural communities," Giheno said. "The landscape in Papua New Guinea is very rugged and it's difficult for basic health services to reach a lot of people."

Jason South Some people have to travel nearly a week to get to a hospital and the mortality rate can be high for those who risk the journey.

Giheno said while there were clinical aid posts in some remote places there weren't enough.

"The aid posts often don't have enough medicine and they lack properly trained health workers - people walk for days to get to these posts and some have to travel nearly a week to get to a hospital, the mortality rate is really high for those who risk the journey."

Head of paramedicine at AUT, Tony Ward, said health challenges in Papua New Guinea were very different from those in New Zealand.

"There's a lot of ongoing health challenges in Papua New Guinea and having Joyce here has helped her classmates gain a better understanding of the disparities and inequities that exist within healthcare in Australasia."

THE FUTURE

Supplied Giheno was able to study in New Zealand due to a scholarship she received through the New Zealand Aid Programme.

When asked where she saw herself in five years, Giheno said she hoped to have opened a training facility in her home country where she could teach others.

"I'd like to teach basic first aid, CPR and health promotion to women and children in my community. I believe in empowering people with the skills and knowledge they need to change their circumstances, so they can take care of their own family."

Giheno said she also planned to set up several pre-hospital or mobile clinics around the country to help those in need.

Ward said he was impressed with how well Giheno had integrated in New Zealand and he hoped her success would encourage others to take the journey as well.