Many years ago on a particular day, I was convicted to join a volunteer medical mission. After searching online for volunteer clinics, I discovered the existence of Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps (TRMPC). But since then, either because the sign up slots were full or I had to cancel due to some emergency, I was never able to attend. All my colleagues laughed at me, saying that I carried a curse, and jokingly asked me to stop registering lest I cause more harm to innocent people.
But I never gave up. Finally, I received a phone call one day, because one of the registered nurses could no longer attend, and I, who previously did not make the list, was selected as a substitute. I was grateful for nurse who had to cancel her registration, giving me the opportunity to join the May Kaohsiung Pingtung medical mission.
Although I’ve seen introductions of volunteer clinics online, actually joining one was still a remarkable experience. Just one mobile dentistry truck was enough for oral health treatments; just a couple equipment were enough for a multitude of examinations; just a few crates held enough pharmaceutical drugs for the trip; just a small group of people was enough to set up a small functioning clinic. Without personally participating on this medical mission trip, I would have never thought a small team could accomplish so much; indeed it was an eye-opening experience.
Initially, I was not too confident in my abilities as a nurse, and I was afraid that upon arriving I would not contribute much. But as I soon found out, I had worried unnecessarily. At the clinic site, diligence was the most important, not abilities. As for professional skills, everyone helped one another to learn and grow. Often there was a group of people discussing about a patient’s medical condition, sharing past experiences and clinical cases, or exchanging knowledge and expertise. I also discovered that if anyone ever needed help, everyone else was eager to fill in the spot to assist.
This cooperative atmosphere is quite touching; with such a supportive team, I did not have to worry and could just focus on finishing my assigned task. Here, I could see everyone’s selfless, soft heart and their dedication to make the clinic successful. Our priority was to provide the best health care services for patients; everything else was secondary.
Other than providing medical care, what made me the happiest was interacting with the adorable aboriginal elders and children. In these three days, we visited many villages, and I’ve discovered that the villagers’ unity was ironclad. Any activity involved the whole village, even if there weren’t that many people.
The people we met at the tribal village were all adorable and pure, elders and children alike. You could converse with them naturally, and vividly feel their passion and warmth. These interactions were drastically different from the coldness and isolation in the busy city. Under this welcoming atmosphere, I gradually became more relaxed and opened up more to the villagers. Although many people would think that we were really great and sacrificial for traveling to remote areas to help, but what really happened was that we learned and grew an unimaginable amount from them.
Throughout the whole medical mission, one task stood out for me, which was distributing clothes and resources during every clinic session. While the clothes were not new nor resources valuable, every time I brought them to the elderly's’ homes for the elderlies to pick, many of the elders were afraid too much in case someone else needed them more. How they valued the clothes and resources shocked me, making me realize just how little we appreciate what we have. Whenever free stuff is available, we would jump into a frenzy state and try to grab as much as possible, regardless of whether we need it. Seeing their selflessness, we were really ashamed of our wastefulness and greed.
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