Apr 10, 2019

Medical Trip to Timor Leste

My husband, Shing Chuan and I have been going to Timor Leste since 2005, initially twice and lately once a year. It has been our privilege to be a part of the work in Timor Leste and to witness her transformation from a war-torn nation to a young (albeit struggling) one full of hope and promise.

This year, together with a group of NUHS staff and students, we did 2 days of healthcare training at Liquica hospital on topics ranging from hypertension, ECG reading, stroke, to case discussions of skin conditions and sexually transmitted infections. It always encourages us to see the hunger of the young doctors and nurses to learn. This was followed by 2 days of mobile medical clinics in 2 villages. One was quite remote, requiring 2.5 hours of travel, often on dirt tracks. We saw a record 300 patients, a record number of teeth extractions within 2 days, in addition to checking and providing near vision glasses for the elderly.

We overcame the difficulties we faced on the trip like car breakdown, physical illnesses and visa issue. The finale was crystal clear, starry skies on two nights which allowed us to view the Milky Way with its galactic core! 

– Dr. Grace

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Empowering (S), Empowering (TL), Holistic (S), Holistic (TL), Innovative (S), Innovative (TL), Medical & Dental Missions, Singapore, Skill-based volunteering, Sustainable (S), Sustainable (TL), Timor Leste, Training