Medical mission to celebrate 30 years of work

Volunteers for the Aloha Medical Mission have enriched the lives of tens of thousands of patients who lack access to medical care in more than a dozen countries, and on Friday the organization will celebrate its 30th anniversary.

Since 1983, volunteer doctors, surgeons, nurses, medical students and others from Japan to the United Kingdom have traveled for the mission at their own expense to help provide free medical care for the poor.

"They have goodness in their hearts," said Dr. Ramon Sy, co-founder and past president of the organization.

Sy’s first mission was to Bicol, Philippines, with the late Dr. Ernesto Espaldon and his wife, Leticia, an anesthesiologist. Espaldon, a plastic surgeon, enticed Sy and other doctors with the Philippine Medical Association of Hawaii to travel to their native country to treat patients.

"He inspired all of us," Sy said.

For that initial mission, seven doctors spent two weeks in Bicol, where they saw about 2,000 patients. Some of the surgery performed involved hernias, cataracts, gall bladder removals, cleft palates and harelips.

Sy said the 1983 trip was life-changing for him, inspiring him to do more.

"This is the best thing I’ve done in my life," he said. "It changed my life completely."

After Bicol, a nonprofit organization was created to conduct more medical missions in the Philippines. Later, the missions were expanded to such countries as Nepal, Bangladesh, Laos, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea.

Because the first mission was called the Aloha Medical Mission, the organization took on the name formally.

The organization also opened a clinic in 1995 at the Institute for Human Services homeless shelter. The clinic was moved in 2002 to Palama Settlement, where it solely provides free dental care to residents who don’t have dental insurance. It’s the only free dental clinic in the state.

Dr. Carl Lum, a retired surgeon and 18-year volunteer with the medical mission, said his most memorable experience so far was in 2005 to Banda Aceh, Indonesia, after the devastating tsunami there killed 128,000 people.

"Everything was destroyed as far as you can see," he said. "There were dead bodies all over."

He and other volunteers spent two weeks treating many of those injured by the powerful waves that swept five to 10 miles inland.

The organization also responded to another natural disaster when Cyclone Nargis struck the Irrawaddy Delta at Myanmar (formerly Burma) in 2008.

At first, visas to enter the country were denied because of government restrictions. After Sitagu Sayadaw, a highly respected Buddhist monk, sponsored the organization, about 30 volunteers were allowed entry.

The Aloha Medical Mission worked on a "floating clinic," an old steamer that traveled up and down the Irrawaddy, stopping in every town to treat patients.

"The patients were so grateful because nobody was helping them," Lum said.

He added that it’s very satisfying to help people in need in overseas missions, He participates in four to five a year.

"There’s no financial remuneration," added Lum, 86. "It’s purely doing good for others."

He added with a laugh, "My wife keeps asking me when are you going to retire from mission work. I always tell her I will retire after my last mission. "I will always do it as long as I can, as long as my health keeps up."

Veterans of the medical mission are trying to recruit young doctors to volunteer, but say it’s been difficult because they are starting their own practices and raising families. Missions take a lot of time and effort, Lum said.

"A young doctor with a young family just can’t afford to go on such a mission."

But Dr. Bradley Wong, a retired surgeon and president of the organization, said he’s hopeful that a new generation of doctors will participate.

"Once they come, I think they would be just like myself, enraptured with the whole idea of helping people abroad," he said.

Wong first volunteered in 1988, and so far he’s been on 22 trips. When asked to describe his most memorable trip, Wong said, "It’s tough to find one. Every mission is just a miracle."

He added: "It’s rewarding to do something without expecting something in return. That’s why people (volunteers) keep coming back year after year."

Dr. Gloria Tumbaga, a surgery resident at Kaiser Medical Center Fontana and Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in California, is one of the dedicated volunteers.

On her first mission to the Philippines 13 years ago, she said she was touched by the local people of the country and how grateful they were.

She first volunteered as a medical student, then a nurse and now a surgery resident. In her latest mission to Talibon and Bacolod in the Philippines earlier this year, she volunteered as a resident surgeon for the first time under the direction of doctors, including Wong. Surgery to treat hernias and gallstones were some of the procedures she performed.

While there, she also visited an orphanage with 40 children, from toddlers to teenagers. She established a relationship and is working on projects to continue to help support the orphanage.

Recalling her own childhood and the adversity she faced, Tumbaga said she and her four siblings were raised by a single mother who received public assistance to help support the family. Living in Kalihi, they had no electricity, she recalled.

After her mother died of pneumonia when Tumbaga was 8, she said, she and her siblings were separated in foster care.

She overcame her obstacles with the support of Foster Family Programs of Hawaii, set a goal of a career in the medical field and was accepted to the University of Hawaii.

"Because I was able to overcome my poverty growing up and I know how it feels to be in this position, I want to help others overcome their challenges and the Aloha Medical Mission has allowed me to do that by helping to provide medical care in developing countries," she said. "Surgical residency can be mentally and physically exhausting. When I went on the (latest) mission, it rekindled my spirit and reminded me the exact reason why I decided to pursue surgery."

Friday’s celebration will be at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort.