Reservists provide humanitarian aid in Chad

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Chance Babin
  • 926th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
CAMP LOUMIA, Chad (AFPN) --  Armed with sufficient medications, medical equipment and a surplus of enthusiasm and care, a team of Air Force Reserve Command medical professionals provided aid to the central African nation of Chad as part of a humanitarian effort July 1 to 15.

The 13-person medical team deployed with a Marine Corps training team here in southeastern Chad. The AFRC contingent was composed of volunteers from nine different units including dentistry, optometry and general medicine.

The Marines are training the Chadian military to maintain a rapid-reaction force.

“By doing the medical humanitarian mission simultaneously, we show them we aren’t just here for military training, but that we care about them,” said Maj. Tim Mitchell, a defense and Army attaché representing the U.S. Embassy in Chad.

Chad is one of the poorest nations in the world and has a struggling health-care system. People often die of preventable diseases caused by poor hygiene and a lack of basic medical care.

During their stay in Chad, the medical team provided medicine and treatment for 2,800 residents of 16 villages around Loumia. They also taught people how to maintain their health.

“It breaks your heart to see a baby dying from diarrhea knowing that proper feeding and hygiene would have given the infant an excellent chance to fight the disease,” said Capt. Andy Lobl, a physician with the 911th Air Wing in Pittsburgh.

Captain Lobl gave several preventative medicine lectures to mothers and village chiefs.

Aside from outreach education to villages, the medical mission’s main focus was manning a clinic here. There were numerous challenges to overcome including language barriers and getting necessary supplies.

“The Chadian army provided us with four interpreters, and we were able to recruit additional help from the family members that were more than willing to help us,” said Tech. Sgt. Rey Garcia, the noncommissioned officer in charge of international health specialists program for AFRC headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

The tricky part about translating in the region is that the local people either speak Arabic, French or a local tribal language. At times, it would take more than one translator to communicate between the different languages or dialects.

When performing missions in foreign countries, it is imperative to have people who know both the language and customs of the host nation, said Capt. Alvin Scott, a medical service corps officer from Hurlburt Field, Fla.

Captain Scott has specialized training in the African culture and was responsible for patient flow.

“The first day we tried (a) first-come, first-served (process), and it was chaos,” Captain Scott said. “We soon learned the best way to manage the situation was to work within the context of African culture. We began using the village chiefs to sort out who was to receive treatment from their village.”

While Captain Scott was ensuring appropriate patient flow, the doctors were quite busy seeing and treating patients with a variety of ailments.

“We saw a lot of malaria, which can be a lifetime disease,” said Maj. Mike Cooper, a physician assistant with the 445th Aerospace Medical Squadron at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. “On a few occasions, we were able to intervene in some life-threatening situations with small children by administering (intravenous fluids).”

During the course of treatment, Major Cooper and the doctors would talk to the patients about the simple things they could do to stay healthy like proper nutrition, clean water for cooking and cleaning, and food and water precautions to avoid disease.

“They seemed extremely grateful for our services and eager to hear our advice,” Major Cooper said.

One such patient was Dagay Martine, a resident of Trantrangalla who visited the clinic with her daughter.

“I appreciated the way they treated me,” Mrs. Martine said through a translator. “It’s the first time I’ve been treated so nicely in a long time. I could never pay for this nice medical care on my own.”

One of the most needed services provided by the clinic was an optometry stocked with 2,500 pair of eye glasses donated by the Wisconsin Lions Club.

Capt. (Dr.) Carl Boeck, a 452nd Aerospace Medical Squadron optometrist from March Air Reserve Base, Calif., said a 70-year-old man came in to have his eyes checked. He had undergone cataract surgery without implants and had been blind for 10 years.

“We just happened to have a pair of post-cataract glasses,” Dr. Boeck said. “Once he put them on, he just stood at the door for about three minutes looking around, because he hadn’t been able to see for 10 years. It was just amazing.”

The doctors also saw personal value in the mission.

“This humanitarian mission has been very rewarding,” said Col. (Dr.) Paul Skaggs, a 4th Air Force dental surgeon at March ARB. “It’s actually been one of the highlights of my military career. I (have not) done anything more physically challenging, yet so immensely rewarding.” (Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service)