距離上一次參加路竹會已經是兩年前的事情了，本以為因為時間距離太長，會有點生疏有點害怕，但其實是我自己多慮了，即使大家都不認識，但因為有共同的目標及信念，很快就能打成一片。

    對於南投的印象僅在於那些知名的觀光景點，這次要去的部落根本沒聽過，更不知道原來通往那些部落的路，竟是如此的困難艱辛。大部份的時間車子行駛在碎石頭路上，有時路就這麼剛剛好的只比車子的寬度多一點，又有時一邊是山壁，一邊則是幾近垂直的懸崖，再再都考驗著司機大哥們的開車技術，他們肩負著大家寶貴的生命，所以他們真的非常辛苦。

    印象最深刻的是在紅香部落義診時，遇到一位老奶奶，她拿著輔助器一步一步走進校園，一位很貼心的義工走向前去將她背在身上，行動不便的老奶奶便可以少走那幾個階梯。看到這一幕真的十分感動，他們素昧平生，只是因為體貼老奶奶的不方便，便主動前去協助，這不就是人生的真善美嗎？

義工將行動不便的老奶奶在身上  

    除此之外，我看到每個志工都以最真誠的態度去幫住每個前來求診的人：陪伴當地老人們聊天、幫忙挑選搭配合適的衣裳、親自彎下腰來幫忙老奶奶穿鞋、除了民眾主訴外仍主動檢查發現其他問題…。

    在義診我們要學的不是醫學或護理知識，應該學習的是放下身段，用不帶有「歧見」或著「可憐」的眼光去看待我們所要服務的民眾，我們大家應該都是平等的，只是他們居住較偏遠地區，就醫不方便，而我們，就是帶給他們「方便」。

    醫護人員站在幕前，而幕後最辛苦的便是每天辛苦料理美食的廚房志工們，他們帶給我們滿滿的活力，以迎接每一次義診。

    很開心自己又有機會跟著路竹會義診，也期待下一次與路竹會夥伴們見面！

 232th 文 / 倪百安

Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps (TRMPC) is a non-governmental organization committed to improving the livelihood of people all around the world by providing free medical care and health education. The organization was founded in 1995 by Dr. Chi-Chun Liu and is composed of a team of highly talented medical personnel and passionate volunteers.

On Saturday April 16^th and Sunday April 17^th the organization held activities for indigenous tribes living in the Nantou and Taizhong regions. I was fortunate enough to join the activities and was positioned with three other volunteers to help Dr. Qiu provide dental care. As a recent graduate looking to pursue a career in the medical field this was a unique and invaluable experience.

After a long early morning drive, we reached the village of Cifeng at 9:30 am. Volunteers, Doctors, Dentists, Nurses, Chefs, and TRMPC staff unloaded the trucks and prepared to give medical treatment to those indigenous villagers of Cifeng. Our dental care team only saw one patient: a middle aged man with an aching tooth. After a thorough inspection and teeth cleaning, Dr. Qiu recommended a cavity filling. After receiving the patient’s consent, Dr. Qiu provided an anesthetic shot and quickly filled the cavity. Since we only saw one patient there was plenty of time for conversation; I learned that in addition to coffee, tea and soda, soy-sauce is also a major contributor of stained teeth.

The next activity in Hongxiang was genuinely one of the most unique learning experiences of my life. We provided treatment for the entire two and half hours and saw a total of eight patients: two toddlers, three older children, a pair of adolescent sisters, and one mother. All of the children had a variety of problems with their teeth (not surprising since they were all sucking on lollipops just prior to the check-up); however, only two of the children allowed Dr. Qiu to provide the necessary dental care. The youngest toddler (two years old) kicked and screamed for nearly twenty minutes before Dr. Qiu decided to take the matter into his own hands. Dr. Qiu asked the child’s mother to walk away and then gave the child a firm warning; the child was instantly calm and obedient. I realized that if you truly want to help someone it is necessary to be firm at times and not always appease. You also need to recognize when there is a lost cause, as Dr. Qiu did with two of the older unwilling children.

Our next location was Cuiluan. We saw a total of six patients: two children and four adults. Dr. Qiu recommended a tooth pulling for a couple of the patients, but he did not want to do it himself at that time. He is opposed pulling teeth out at night because he doesn’t want the patient to experience any potentially dangerous mishaps during/just prior to sleep.

On our way to Huanshan the road conditions were so terrible that our four-wheel drive SUV was unable to make it up. After a few tries we decided to take an alternate path. We eventually made it to Huanshan (an hour later than expected) and began setting up for the final activity. The dental team saw eight patients, six adults and two children. Everyone received a basic check-up and/or teeth cleaning and one child had a tooth pulled. The child was completely calm and well-behaved the entire time. He was asked several times if he felt any pain and each time replied with a negative. To be able to directly view Dr. Qiu give an anesthetic and pull a tooth was another great learning opportunity.

I can tell you from direct experience that patience, focus and determination are three necessary traits needed to succeed in the health field. 

  On Saturday March 26^th the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps hosted another weekend-activity full of giving, friendship, respect and of course medical treatment! For a first-time volunteer it was quite an experience!

  A variety of volunteers –doctors, dentists, chefs, students, drivers, children, parents and the like –met at National Taiwan Normal University at 2:45 a.m. Despite the painfully early timing, everyone was in good spirits. We checked in, received name-tags and headed south towards Miao Li County.

  After a steep climb and a stop for breakfast, we finally made it to the mountain village of Tiangou at 8:00 am. The village was placed in a luscious backdrop and a chilling haze; seemingly feral cats and dogs wandered in search of food, birds and insects sang and the villagers welcomed us with a curious smile.

  We grabbed tables and chairs, boxes and bags, clothes and shoes and medicine and medical tools from one large storage truck and at nine o’clock began providing free medical treatment to the indigenous mountain villagers.

  After the villagers registered with the staff, our team of doctors and volunteers checked their blood pressure, height and weight and any illnesses/soreness they were dealing with at the time. After a thorough inspection the doctors prescribed an appropriate medication.  

  I was lucky enough to enjoy an extensive conversation with Dr. Sylvia Chen. We discussed a variety of topics including health-care in Taiwan, Chinese and Western Medicine, and volunteering in general. She had nothing but good things to say about the this activity;

This is the first time I joined the activity, actually I felt so happy. I really admire this group. They all showed their passion for helping people and cooperated so well, especially the people who helped us prepare the food.  It was so delicious and really touched my heart , the temperature is so low and we always have hot food, hot water and hot soup; I am really thankful… The activity also included some families and I thought this was a great opportunity for family to hang-out together, also a good opportunity to educate the children. (Sylvia Chen, April 9, 2010)

  Moreover, we were accompanied by a Dentist who was able to provide free dental care for those villagers that needed it most. After seeing the Dentist pull one child’s tooth, I asked her if there was anything strange or difficult about doing dental work in the middle of the mountains. She said, “no, not really…the organization has really great equipment, so they make it easy for me.”The equipment must be great because the child was all smiles afterwards!

  On top of providing free medical and dental care, we also gave out toys, clothes, shoes and food! After receiving treatment and grabbing their share of goods, the villagers were full of joy and content. We closed shop around 12:00 pm, and after a delicious home-cooked meal made our way from to Tiangou to Da An.

  We conducted similar activities in Da An, Zhumei, and Hua Yuan over a span of 2 days, and on Sunday afternoon headed back to Taipei. Although it wasn’t always easy, it was certainly a very enjoyable and worthwhile experience!

很多年前就一直想參加義診，總有許多的顧慮阻礙了我的行動：還在唸書、臨床經驗還不夠、上夜班沒有體力、沒有人陪伴……等，但那都只是藉口，真正的原因是我不夠勇敢。最近終於鼓起勇氣報名路竹會義診，確認參加梯次與時間後，心中的石頭好像輕了些！隨著日期的接近，由於同行的好友一直提醒「我們是婦產科的，去那裡會有用處嗎？」讓我心情從超興奮，慢慢變成超緊張，就這樣抱持著忐忑的心情，與好友璐敏在3月26日凌晨1時許，開車到竹北與車隊集合，出發到苗栗泰安鄉的天狗部落。

    每到達目的地後，大家井然有序地搬東西、佈置場地，準備就緒就開始看診，除菜鳥的我們，完全不需要人指揮！撤站時，每個人也是自動自發地幫忙，相當有默契！
    這次義診的地點是苗栗「天狗」、「大安」及新竹「竹林」、「花園」部落，前來看診的民眾大都以老人及小孩為主，主要的病症都是慢性病、感冒及牙齒等，也因此讓我有機會見識到牙醫及助理們的厲害，在沒有看診台及照明設備，只有簡易器械及手電筒等設備，他們依舊能幫許多病患處理好牙齒，真的超厲害！

使用簡易設備看牙的牙醫師們

可是在接受看診前，總會有人先詢問「需不需要健保卡」，確認不用健保卡後才放心看診，在看診後，不停對我們露出感激的笑容。當我看著那些老人及小孩，他們是如此地純真、可愛，但又讓人感到不捨。想不到台灣仍有這麼多無法接受完善醫療的人們，這是一直在醫院工作的我所不知、不解的世界。

    在此要大力讚嘆及感謝義工群：車隊大哥純熟的開車技術，讓我們可以放心地在車上補眠；尤其剛好遇到寒流來臨的天氣，廚房的主廚及義工們，努力地讓我們在下診後，吃到美味又暖暖的餐點。雖然只是短短的兩天，心裡的感觸卻很多，無以言表。

    我們希望把健康送到部落，同時卻把感動送進我們的心裡，我想我的下一次義診很快就會來臨。想參加的朋友，別想太多，只要你(妳)有心，不分科別、年紀，都可以幫上忙的！！

    真的很開心能夠參與此次的南非義診活動，這趟旅程學習到許多，並獲得不一樣的收穫。回想起參與動機，起源來自小時候看著香港電視劇《天涯俠醫》演著非洲義工的生活，及為當地人民盡心盡力的付出，讓我夢想著，哪天我也是其中一員，可以付出、幫助他們解決問題。

    參與義診的義工們，從陌生到熟悉、從安靜到熱熱鬧鬧的氣氛，由於大家的出發點都是一致的，因此做起事來大家都很俐落熟練，儘管在有限的資源與環境下，還是能將難題逐一解決。通常從事義診活動的義工們都是自掏腰包，且可能是自行請假或是使用特休參與，然而以上因素並不會影響義工想付出的心情，每個人依然很雀躍、面帶微笑，希望用自己的力量，幫助更多需要幫助的人。

    因為義診，而讓我學習到團隊精神（Team Work）的重要，彼此之間互相包容體諒及幫忙，一件事情便很快完成。在義診活動裡，我的工作內容為牙科助理，從旁協助醫生看診及器械遞予和清潔消毒，在這過程中，牙醫師們了解資源與環境的有限，會視情況調配人力休息與工作角色輪換，讓每個人有喘息的時間。

    更貼心的是，醫師們會因看診愛滋病患，而囑咐協助人員們需要做好完整得防護措施避免感染，有時甚至會獨立完成看診作業，讓人感動不已。

看完牙的小孩開心的與牙醫師合照

    在短短義診活動相處下，彼此的感情建立的很快，在返台的前一天，大家依依不捨的相擁而泣，並約定下次再一起出任務去幫助更多需要幫助的人，讓「心」繼續延續下去。

    此外，特別感謝單位護理長廖英純的協助幫忙、沈永釗督導與科主任陳進勛批准簽呈，讓我如期完成我的任務，滿載而歸。