(Gerald Flint) Gerald Flint bandages the leg of an Ethiopian man on his most recent trip to Africa with Volunteer Medics Worldwide. Healthcare in remote areas is mostly unavailable and very expensive for those who can even get to a medical center, said Flint, who founded the organization in 1991.
The Eyes of Ethiopia: Volunteers Deliver Medical Care to Needy
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MARCH 28, 2007
Nick Schaefer, HappyNews Citizen Journalist

It’s all in the eyes. Gerald Flint and Chris Hamel saw and experienced both exhilarating and heart wrenching events during their recent trip to Africa.
Both of these men, members of Volunteer Medics Worldwide (VMW) made the trip across the world to help others have the opportunity to improve or gain their sight.
VMW, a Kokomo, IN-based organization made up of more than 250 international volunteers that completes disaster relief missions around the United States and the world, chose Ethiopia as the latest mission because it is one of the world’s worst countries for eye disorders. Nearly one in three people in Ethiopia have some form of an eye disease— cataracts, trachoma and glaucoma.
The goals were simple on this nearly month long mission from Jan. 25-Feb. 28—bring much needed medical care, specifically eye disease treatment, to a region that desperately need it.
VMW, along with volunteers from Germany, France, Belgium and Africa, partnered with local groups in Ethiopia to deliver preventive medicine and diagnostic testing for eye disease and other medical conditions such as HIV, diabetes and hypertension.
Flint and Hamel, the lone VMW representatives on this mission, treated thousands of people with eye disease, including passing out thousands of eye glasses. They also treated people with respiratory illnesses, wounds, ear infections and other serious conditions.
Healthcare in these remote areas is mostly unavailable and very expensive for those who can even get to a medical center, said Flint, who founded the organization in 1991.
“There are massive amounts of needy and suffering people who so much want to improve their lives by getting some form of healthcare,” Flint added.
So, Flint chooses missions like Ethiopia to go on to bring medical aid to those who badly need it. VMW and the other volunteers served more than 3,000 Ethiopians during their visit.
However, the group didn’t accomplish their goals without some major hitches.
Trouble occurred after volunteers ran out of medicine and supplies at a day clinic. An unruly mob of approximately 300 people overran the clinic and began to riot. People threw stones and shoved their way past the Ethiopian military police and made their way inside the medical compound where Flint and Hamel were performing health exams.
“Violence broke out because folks who spent hours in the heat and sun were not able to be treated,” said Flint. “We were forced to evacuate to save ourselves. We decided to stop trying to do exams, packed our gear and made our escape.”
Finally, they were able to evacuate with the help of a riot police officer.
“I told him that he was our only chance of getting out of here without someone getting hurt,” Flint said. “I also stuck some cold hard cash in his hand to help him feed his family and to ensure his loyalty in our exodus.”
Despite these hardships, Flint believes the mission was a success.
“I was also very aware of how desperate people are in Ethiopia and Africa for health care,” said Flint, who traveled to the area in November 2006 to plan the mission. “Being able to help so many in Ethiopia was such a great heartfelt high and inspired me only to want to continue our work.”
One success story was helping a child who had trachoma, which is an eye disease that is caused by bacteria carrying flies and gnats. If left untreated it can lead to complete and painful blindness. VMW volunteers treated the child with tetracycline and saved the child from blindness.
“We did a lot of screening and treatment of life-and sight-threatening situations,” said Flint. “It is very important to those in Ethiopia and other underdeveloped nations, since most people don’t have the funds to get care or the places lack trained professionals to provide care.”
This wasn’t the first or last time Flint and other VMW members have risked their lives to help others. VMW has conducted more than 50 disaster relief missions. Besides numerous places in Africa, Flint has provided help in Sri Lanka and Thailand after the Indian Ocean tsunami hit in 2004, assisted in improving food and water distribution in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina, and also volunteered his services at the Pentagon and in New York City after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
“It is my love, my quest and my charged duty to be on this earth and do this type of work,” said Flint. “It is my deep, deep desire to be able to continue this type of humanitarian work around the world. I feel that is my reason of being here on Earth.”
To help VMW continue their humanitarian work by volunteering or to make a donation, visit www.volunteermedics.homestead.com.
“In the pond of effort even the smallest of pebbles cast creates a ripple,” said Flint.
On the Net:
www.inspiredcomfort.com
www.volunteermedics.homestead.com