Assistant Principal, Ms. Francesca McAuliffe shares the news from sophomore, Anvi Garg, traveled with his family on a medical mission to Mindoro Philippines to help the tribal people of Mindoro called the Mangyans - https://www.changewillhappen.org/phillapines
There was a team of doctors and nurses, mostly from New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Anvi and brother were the youngest participants. Arihunt got to check patients' glucose levels this time. His energy and cheerful personality had everyone entertained. He even picked up a few words in Tagalog!
Anvi helped out in the makeshift OR. his job was to clean the site and assist the surgeon in cutting sutures. It was initially quite intimidating, but he got comfortable very soon. The surgeon, Dr. Jane, was marvelous with incredible stamina. She operated from 7 am to 7 pm every day, with only a small lunch break. I learned a lot this time.
Their team saw almost six hundred patients a day. By evening, they were tired, yet satiated and happy to have helped.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mangyan The Mangyans are extremely poor and don't even have access to basic medical care. They rely on small personal farms and hunting for food. Ash from the eruption of the Volcano Taal affected crops and their livestock. On top of that, the island of Mindoro is having a difficult time obtaining and distributing medication to its remote areas on the mountaintops, and we wanted to help them in this predicament. In this medical mission, we partnered with Mano-a-Mano, a USA based Filipino organization. To start off, my brother and I presented a Bollywood dance number at their fundraiser. We also did a few bake sales and collected enough pesos to hand out 100 meals to the Mangyans.
(photos courtesy of Anvi)
