A mission filled with love and healing

With a full force of 75 doctors and nurses from Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA), and 274 volunteers, Tzu Chi Philippines marked its 125th Medical Mission in the familiar grounds of Malanday, Marikina City on February 21, 2010.

Turning classrooms into temporary medical clinics to accommodate the patients, Tzu Chi Foundation was able to give its sincere love and care to a total of 1, 893 individuals in the fields of Ophthalmology (476), Dentistry (344), General Medicine (416), Pediatrics (518) and Minor Surgery (139).

Volunteers of Tzu Chi are no stranger in the mission site because only months ago, after Typhoon Ondoy battered Marikina in September 2009, Tzu Chi launched a rehabilitation program in the area to help in the clean-up of the community. Malanday National High School was one of the schools that benefited from Tzu Chi’s relief efforts that included the Cash-for-Work program whereby workers dug out mud that covered it, and prepared the said campus for the resumption of classes.

Joining the path of Tzu Chi in giving free medical service were five dentists and four dental technicians from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The AFP dental team has been joining civic groups and non-government organizations in providing free clinics to Filipinos. They however found in Tzu Chi a different kind of service that comes sincerely from the heart.

Meanwhile, patients awaiting their turn had the chance to listen to the volunteers sharing about the dreadful earthquake in Haiti and Tzu Chi’s immediate response to their need, which included the street donation campaign in Binondo, Manila last January.

Realizing their great blessings despite what they have been through during typhoon Ondoy, the patients took initiative of putting bills and coins to the donation box for Haiti along with a prayer for the victims that their suffering would end soon.

Always providing their best service to the people, awaiting patients are given cookies for snacks and juice drinks to quench their thirst. Patients who cannot take their lunch outside because they are afraid they might miss their turn, were also given Tzu Chi’s instant rice.

Seizing the moment to uphold Tzu Chi’s commitment to save the environment, the volunteers also set up a recycling station which attracted the patients to come to the mission site with their own recyclables.

Making the free clinic more unforgettable, Tzu Chi volunteers also gave “ang pao” or red packets to the volunteer doctors as a sign of gratitude and appreciation to the skills and time that they willingly offered to the patients.

Dental services in Laguna and Quezon

Tzu Chi Foundation’s Mobile Dental Service has reached out to the far-flung provinces as it offered tooth extraction, dental restoration, oral prophylaxis and even dentures at the foundation’s 124th Medical Mission in Calauan, Laguna, and Lucena, Quezon, from February 15 to 17, 2010.

The said undertaking was in response to the invitation sent by the Head of Tzu Chi’s Dentures Division, Dr. Cheung Lai Cheun’s classmates from University of the East (UE) College of Dentistry Batch 1979 to conduct a medical and dental mission in the aforementioned provinces.

Offering their efforts and support in carrying out the mission were the soldiers and 20 members of the AFP Dental Unit, as well as the local government units of Laguna and Quezon.

On February 15, a group of 21 Tzu Chi volunteers, TIMA volunteer dentists and staff embarked on the trip to Calauan, Laguna for the first day of the free clinic to be staged at the Main Health Center in Brgy. Kanluran.

For this mission, dentists from AFP and UE spearheaded the execution of tooth extraction, prophylaxis and restoration services. On the other hand, TIMA dentists Dr. Cheung, Dr. Drenan Uy, Dr. Carol Lam and Dr. Anna Oliva busied themselves in taking the gum impressions of the first 30 patients in need of dentures in the area.

Due to the far-off location of Calauan, Laguna, the TIMA dentists made a great effort to hasten the procurement of the patients’ teeth measurements and other needed imprints so that they can give the dentures as early as May 10 and bring the patients’ happiness as well.

The next day of February 16, the patients were called back for the pontic try-in wherein each of the patients’ ocr wax, which was already built with false teeth, was tried on accordingly for the TIMA dentists to see and check for further adjustments. The dentists from AFP and UE on the other hand continued to give extraction services for the 50 patients who signed up late in yesterday’s mission.

On the whole, the dental mission has served 548 patients, 392 of whom had free tooth extraction services; 64 individuals had teeth restoration; 62 had oral prophylaxis and 30 underwent denture procedure.

After serving hundreds of indigent residents in Calauan, Laguna, Tzu Chi headed straight to Barangay Ibabang Dupay in Lucena, Quezon on February 17 to primarily offer free dental services to the students and teachers.

While the mission progressed, the Tzu Chi volunteers took the chance to introduce the humble beginnings of Tzu Chi Foundation and its founder, Dharma Master Cheng Yen, who is also calling everybody to help the quake-stricken Haiti people. The Master’s call moved the students to quickly dig up coins from their pockets and wholeheartedly deposit them to the donation box passed on by a Tzu Chi volunteer.

As the dental mission in Lucena, Quezon came to a close, a total of 411 patients went home with happy smiles as 300 of them have had free tooth extraction service, 40 had dental restoration and 71 had oral prophylaxis.

Marikina locals get free skin diseases treatment at Tzu Chi’s 123rd medical mission

After taking part in the massive clean up operations that freed Marikina from garbage and mud brought by typhoon “Ondoy,” Tzu Chi Foundation continues to care for the residents of the said city especially those who acquired skin diseases from the recent flooding, through its 123rd Medical Mission last December 6, 2009.

Aptly dubbed as Tzu Chi’s Mobile Derma Service, the mission had traveled and set up clinic in Barangays Nangka, Tumana and Malanday to give free consultation and medicines to the affected residents.

Spearheaded by 18 Tzu Chi volunteers and four dermatology experts invited through the kindness of Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) member Dr. Antonio Say, the mission served a total of 154 patients with various skin diseases in the said barangays.

Volunteer dermatologist Dr. Daisy Ismael pointed out that the most common skin problems that they saw were scabies, allergies, fungal and bacterial infection. “There are cases of allergies because people apply different substances on their skin. Fungal infections and contact dermatitis also arise because their skin makes contact with dirty flood waters. When bacteria set in and they will keep on scratching their skin, they will develop bacterial infection. On the other hand, scabies spread because when a member of a family gets infected, they could not treat and stop it right away.”

With this, the volunteers gave the patients medicines, skin ointments, and even a bar of bath soap to a grandfather whose skin disease was aggravated by using laundry bar when taking a bath.

The clinic was concluded at about 3:00 in the afternoon, with the volunteers extending Tzu Chi’s plaque of appreciation to Dr. Ismael, Dr. Lina de Dios Torralba, and to Dr. Sharmaine Sun and Dr. Glennalyn Guitan, the two other dermatologists who offered their services to the residents of Marikina.

The locals of Marikina, who were happy and relieved that once more Tzu Chi has extended their helping hand and compassion towards them, did not let the day pass without their sincere expression of gratitude to the foundation.