Hello! Greetings from the lovely people of Essang, Talaud in North Sulewesi. I know I have been missing in action for a while. I was a medical mission with my MEDCAP as scheduled for 5 days. I am back on the ship with a plethora of stories and life-changing experiences that I hope to serialize and share with you in the next couple of days. At the risk of sounding trite I will once again go ahead and state that this mission have been magical, a thrill ride and a trip of a lifetime! Every week I have spent on this mission seems bring me experiences and stories that surpass the previous week's experience! I have heard stories, been touched by people and had experiences in the last three weeks that many people do not have the privilege of experiencing in their lifetime!   

DAY 1: 06/09/12

I woke up on this day at 0330 anxious and giddy about the mission we were about to embark on. I was a team member of the last MEDCAP on this mission in Indonesia visiting the remote Island of Essang, Talaud. Being that remote, it was decided that the most reliable way to get us there was by a helicopter. We therefore mustered and gathered as a team at 0445 in the early morning for a helo (helicopter) safety brief. This being my first ride on a helicopter, the safety brief did not help in calming my nerves as it mainly centered on what to do in case the helicopter crashed. I am however positive these are life-saving information we needed to know in case the unthinkable happened. We were then dismissed for breakfast and instructed to reconvene by the helicopter pad at 0645 for the beginning of the flight-ops (flight operations). We were transported in batches of eight with me being on the third batch of personnel to get on the helicopter. At 0730 we were fitted with safety helmets, goggles, floatation devices and ushered to the helicopter pad where got on the helicopter in the midst of ferocious winds from the blades of the helicopter. Once airborne, my anxiety evaporated and was replaced by pure euphoria at the beautiful spectacle of the calm blue sea, gently caressing this huge ship and the lush, green Islands that appeared on the horizon. The view from up there coupled with fresh breeze emanating from the opened doors of the helicopter made the ride magical and awe-inspiring. We landed after about 15 minutes in the air on a swampy field and were greeted by hundreds of cheering locals lined around this field who will not be deterred by the flying leaves and debris as a result of the ferocious winds churned out but the helicopter. Obviously our presence was a huge deal for them! They had never had a helicopter land on their Island and this was a show everybody out there wanted to see!

Essang, one of the Islands of Talaud in the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia is a small remote Island with a population of about 2000 people. It is mostly swampy with a green vegetation. Unlike residents in most parts of Indonesia who are Muslims, majority of the indigenes of North Sulawesi are practicing Christians. The people were very nice, welcoming and hugely appreciative of our presence. They gave us the royal treatment, with their main road adorned with flags and village folks cheering us and singing songs as we proceeded from the helicopter landing area to our mission’s base on the Island’s elementary school. The mayor of the Island, the resident doctor of the Island’s clinic, some medical personnel from the Island and other dignitaries met us at our base. We exchanged pleasantries and mingled with the locals who had gathered to greet us and acceded to numerous requests for photo-ops from the locals with their cell phones, which is turning out to be a constant fixture in the whole mission. There is always the constant refrain of “Mister, poto?” whenever we are with the people on this mission! We got together after all the team members, together with our gears and supplies were airlifted from the ship to our base on the Island and after a muster and a brief meeting begun the arduous tasking of setting up camp. We made a dumpster from the pallets that carried our supplies and put up some tents that would serve as our bathrooms. Those bathrooms were however not an option for me as the tents sat too low and the whole process involved in taking a bath in there and attending to natures call was too cumbersome for me to consider. The sweltering atmosphere that prevailed in these tents also contributed to its lack of appeal to the majority of the personnel on this mission. We then set up our sleeping cots with mosquito nets in one of the classrooms that housed our medications for the mission. This classroom also served as the pharmacy for the mission during the day. 

We were introduced to our Indonesian interpreters: Ray, Patrice and Mea when they got to the camp in the late afternoon. They were of immense help and taught us about the culture and some few Indonesian phrases. My favorite phrase to the patients was “segera sembuh“, meaning get well soon. It never failed to elicit smiles on the faces on the patients whenever I said that to them! I was drenched in sweat and was badly in need of a shower after we completed setting up camp and the pharmacy. I therefore contacted some of the locals living nearby, with the help of our interpreters about taking a bath in their bathroom. They readily obliged to this request to use their bathroom. The bathroom I was ushered to was a small tiled cubicle with a porcelain-decorated hole dug on the floor farther by the side. This hole served as the toilet. This space essentially serves a dual role of a shower cabinet and a toilet. There was neither a pipe nor a shower in this bathroom. They showed me a well nearby and offered to draw water from this well for my bath. Due to my eagerness to experience things for myself and not be treated like a royal, I insisted on drawing the water myself. It was tricky at first and the locals got a kick out of my initial struggles but I got the hang of it after a few tries. I drew my bucket of water and got my much-needed bath. We then got together as a team to have lunch, the ubiquitous MRE (Meals Ready to Eat), reflect on our progress and plan for the days ahead. We were dismissed after lunch to do a little bit of sightseeing, rest and prepare for the next day. In the evening, we feasted on a buffet of Indonesian cuisine prepared by a local family who were gracious enough to invite the whole team to their home for dinner. That was a really good dinner; I have fallen in love with Indonesian food! I went to bed early in the evening in my tiny sleeping cot nestled in the hot and humid classroom with the rather noisy chirping of the numerous crickets to boot but fully happy and content with the obvious ecstasy that our mission and presence have brought to these nice people…..