Day 4, Part 2
2:30 PM – looks like we have a bit of downtime. We’ve pushed back our next clinic to around 4pm. Since it’s close by, we can host a clinic and still get home before it’s late in the afternoon. We’re opting to wait a bit for the heat to die down. The heat saps our energy quickly, so this is a good move.
3:00 PM – We’re boarding the bus to head to Barangay 70, the ship graveyard. It’s only a 15-minute drive away from the house.
I’ve been warned by one of the volunteers for Kusog Tacloban, the volunteer group who has helped us coordinate visits to the various towns, that Barangay 70 is a bit less safe than the other places that we have served. She insisted that we leave all valuables at home and be mindful of our purses and shoulder bags. This raises a couple of eyebrows, but admittedly we’re all just ready to work and help others. We somehow inherently know that we’re going to be safe.
This visit to Barangay 70 is very much a last-minute addition to our schedule. We were initially supposed to host a clinic at Sagkahan, but the leadership decided to just to give out gifts instead and host a clinic at Barangay 70. Sagkahan is close to a French clinic and already receives medical support from them on a semi-regular basis. The last medical group to visit Barangay 70 did so back in December of 2013. While Barangay 70 gets a lot of visitors to take photos of the ship graveyard, not much support is given. There are no “tourist dollars” received, just gawkers.
3:30 – We’ve arrived at Barangay 70 and assess the situation. It’s a rather unique setup. The doctors will see patients outside along the main (and only) road that runs through the Barangay. The dentist team will be in a small house that looks about the size of a bedroom. The pharmacy team will use a shack that sits across from the dentist office.
For coordinating this in very short order, everything is coming together really well. Local men have been recruited to help us move our supplies to the teams. People are orderly and lining up to be seen. We’re up and running within 15 minutes.
4:00 PM – Operations are going very smoothly, much to our delight. The town skews towards large in comparison to the other places that we’ve served, but because been in the groove and know how to handle most situations well, we’re able to plow through the lines very quickly. Even the long pediatrics line was close to done shortly after one hour of work.
5:00 PM – All of the stations are starting to wind down. The dental team is finishing up their work. All other available team members are helping to set up for gift giving.
We’re employing the same system we’ve used in the past. Kids and adults form their own lines. We pass out gifts to the kids first, and they are not to move from their spot once they’ve received their gift. Then we start passing out gifts to the adults. Same thing, they are not to move from their spot. Furthermore, we place the gift in their hand, but do so in a way that allows us to place the gift on the ground facing us. This helps us ensure that no one is gaming the system.
5:40 PM – We’ve passed out all of the gifts. As is always the case, we don’t have enough gifts for the adults. Mailinh is frantically warning each of the missionaries who are still towards the back of the line that they should be prepared to run because we’re running short on gifts. She’s deeply worried that there is going to be a mob running after us demanding gifts because they didn’t get theirs. Chau, our resident videographer and I aren’t convinced, as people seem very cheerful and respectful of how we’ve organized this. Granted people will be disappointed, surely there will not be a mob.
5:50 PM – We’re done handing out the gifts, and, as expected, there was no mob. No one even raised a fuss as far as we can tell. We did the best we could, and everyone thanked us for being there. In fact, this town has been the most extroverted and vocally thankful for our visit out of all the towns that we’ve served. That’s not to say that the others haven’t been thankful, but the townsfolk here have a bit of a charisma and charm to them.
I’m one of the last people walking back to the van, so I figured I’d take a few selfies with the townsfolk. They love it. It’s fun connecting with them like this.
6:00 PM – We’re back on the bus and ready to head home. A few of us are surprised at how quickly we were able to serve this town, but most of us are ready to jump in the pool, drink beers, eat dinner, and sleep.
Tomorrow is our last day. We’ve all been working hard for four days straight. When you add in jetlag and the heat, we’re tired and exhausted. Nonetheless, we’re all still very much happy to be here.
6:30 PM – We got an email from Mai Khanh, the pediatrics doctor who left us this morning. She told her medical team: “You are by far the best medical team I have worked with on all my trips. Despite being new at medical mission for some of you, you all are enthusiastic, hard-working, and flexible.” Mai Khanh has been on close to a hundred medical mission trips, so this is a very generous parting remark from someone with her experience.
We’re home. Our house finally has internet. People are swimming. I’m two beers in.
I was informed by the owner of the clubhouse dining hall that one of her customers insisted on paying for all of the beers for our group. He wanted to extend his appreciate for our service. As I made my way home, I stopped by to shake his hand and thank him for his generous offer. He was very grateful that we came.
We’re all happy with our day.
3:00 PM – We’re boarding the bus to head to Barangay 70, the ship graveyard. It’s only a 15-minute drive away from the house.
I’ve been warned by one of the volunteers for Kusog Tacloban, the volunteer group who has helped us coordinate visits to the various towns, that Barangay 70 is a bit less safe than the other places that we have served. She insisted that we leave all valuables at home and be mindful of our purses and shoulder bags. This raises a couple of eyebrows, but admittedly we’re all just ready to work and help others. We somehow inherently know that we’re going to be safe.
This visit to Barangay 70 is very much a last-minute addition to our schedule. We were initially supposed to host a clinic at Sagkahan, but the leadership decided to just to give out gifts instead and host a clinic at Barangay 70. Sagkahan is close to a French clinic and already receives medical support from them on a semi-regular basis. The last medical group to visit Barangay 70 did so back in December of 2013. While Barangay 70 gets a lot of visitors to take photos of the ship graveyard, not much support is given. There are no “tourist dollars” received, just gawkers.
For coordinating this in very short order, everything is coming together really well. Local men have been recruited to help us move our supplies to the teams. People are orderly and lining up to be seen. We’re up and running within 15 minutes.
4:00 PM – Operations are going very smoothly, much to our delight. The town skews towards large in comparison to the other places that we’ve served, but because been in the groove and know how to handle most situations well, we’re able to plow through the lines very quickly. Even the long pediatrics line was close to done shortly after one hour of work.
5:00 PM – All of the stations are starting to wind down. The dental team is finishing up their work. All other available team members are helping to set up for gift giving.
5:40 PM – We’ve passed out all of the gifts. As is always the case, we don’t have enough gifts for the adults. Mailinh is frantically warning each of the missionaries who are still towards the back of the line that they should be prepared to run because we’re running short on gifts. She’s deeply worried that there is going to be a mob running after us demanding gifts because they didn’t get theirs. Chau, our resident videographer and I aren’t convinced, as people seem very cheerful and respectful of how we’ve organized this. Granted people will be disappointed, surely there will not be a mob.
5:50 PM – We’re done handing out the gifts, and, as expected, there was no mob. No one even raised a fuss as far as we can tell. We did the best we could, and everyone thanked us for being there. In fact, this town has been the most extroverted and vocally thankful for our visit out of all the towns that we’ve served. That’s not to say that the others haven’t been thankful, but the townsfolk here have a bit of a charisma and charm to them.
6:00 PM – We’re back on the bus and ready to head home. A few of us are surprised at how quickly we were able to serve this town, but most of us are ready to jump in the pool, drink beers, eat dinner, and sleep.
Tomorrow is our last day. We’ve all been working hard for four days straight. When you add in jetlag and the heat, we’re tired and exhausted. Nonetheless, we’re all still very much happy to be here.
6:30 PM – We got an email from Mai Khanh, the pediatrics doctor who left us this morning. She told her medical team: “You are by far the best medical team I have worked with on all my trips. Despite being new at medical mission for some of you, you all are enthusiastic, hard-working, and flexible.” Mai Khanh has been on close to a hundred medical mission trips, so this is a very generous parting remark from someone with her experience.
We’re home. Our house finally has internet. People are swimming. I’m two beers in.
I was informed by the owner of the clubhouse dining hall that one of her customers insisted on paying for all of the beers for our group. He wanted to extend his appreciate for our service. As I made my way home, I stopped by to shake his hand and thank him for his generous offer. He was very grateful that we came.
We’re all happy with our day.
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