Medical Mission experience benefits nurse, communities

The medical mission that I am involved in began when a group of Philippine doctors and nurses returned to the Philippines to give back to the people of that country. We were compelled to help by the disparity between our new world in the United States compared with the Filipino people who were very needy, especially the children.

In 1995, Dr. Tony Racela organized the medical missions foundation. The foundation provides aid to indigent people in developing and economically-depressed countries throughout the world. Our primary commitment is to provide reconstructive surgery for children to enhance each child’s opportunity for a better life. Secondly, we want to ensure ongoing medical care by teaching local health providers and providing medical equipment and supplies to each area served.

Our first official medical mission started in the Philippines in 1996. Since then, the mission group has grown in the number of dedicated and committed volunteers and donors. We now serve many countries beyond just the Philippines including Cuba, China, Croatia, Vietnam, Mexico, Guatemala, Panama, Mali, Africa and Romania.

I have joined mission trips twice a year as a volunteer and a coordinator. Each mission trip affects individual lives in ways that cannot be measured in statistics. When we provide surgeries that help children and adults lead a normal life or offer basic clinical care that is otherwise limited or unavailable, we create possibilities and hope for their future.

It personally touches my life too. I am forever touched by the smile of a reassured child, by a simple gesture of gratitude from a worried parent and by the hundreds of children and adults who patiently wait in line all day in uncomfortable conditions just to be seen by our missionaries. I am also touched by the resourcefulness of the local staff who even with their limited resources and medical supplies, still manage and conduct successful surgeries and clinics.

Our mission trip would not be possible without the cooperation of my employer, North Kansas City Hospital. I work in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit, and my manager allows me to regularly participate in mission trips. My coworkers cover my work shift while I am gone and for that I am grateful.

Despite the long trips, physical exhaustion, inclement weather and cultural differences, I still find medical missions rewarding and hope to continue in the future. I am encouraging other nurses also to be involved. As Anthropologist Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Corazon Zamora, RN, BSN, CCRN, works in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at North Kansas City Hospital.

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