Mission Completed…

Just back from our 2023 Mission to Vietnam, and we were touched again by the depth of relationships and impacts we are seeing in Vietnam over the last several mission efforts.

We had a smaller team than in years past, but our level of efficiency is high, and we were able to again reach a significant population of people with disabilities and those affected by exposure to Agent Orange. Returning to familiar locations provides its benefits, and our team quickly settled in, achieving our expected goals with ease. Each effort here yields tremendous impact on the lives of those we encounter, and it is exciting to come back, knowing the familiar faces we will see are excited to see us and anticipating our return.

Building on the foundation of past missions, we again were able to contribute to both the English language textbooks libraries in Hue and Da Nang and also contribute laptop computers to the learning lab established at each of the Universities.

Despite the smaller team numbers, we were still supported by over 55 second, third, and fourth-year medical students and reached 500 patients in five clinic days in Hue and Da Nang.

This year we were fortunate to conduct clinics at the Da Nang Medical and Technology Universities hospital located on campus in downtown Da Nang. This was an exciting opportunity to have greater student and staff participation, and the hospitality of the University was an outstanding end to our efforts in Da Nang. We also were able to partner with a new-to-us Da Nang-based Vietnamese NGO, Children of Vietnam. During just a single day of clinics in Da Nang, we were able to provide health checks and dental screenings to 100 students that are under COV’s umbrella of services for this population.

A smaller team means our funds remaining to support follow-up and support for patients identified in our clinics are smaller, but we implemented a more efficient method for follow-up that will benefit us greatly in mission efforts to come. Tracking follow-up patients with photographs and better documentation makes what money we did have remaining more efficient. Plus, being at a full-service hospital in Da Nang allowed us imaging and testing options we had missed in previous years when working at more remote locations outside town. We are encouraged by the new partnership with COV and access to the Da Nang Hospital, which will also help make our spending have a larger impact within their system.

We were excited to welcome two US medical students with us this year as well. It was encouraging to see a younger generation come and support us. Their enthusiasm, hard work, and curiosity for exploring a new culture were a welcome addition to our seasoned team. We look forward to continuing and building this medical student population in the coming year. If you know of a medical student who would be interested or would like to sponsor a student to join us, please let us know. This is our legacy, and finding a younger generation to join and learn from our team is a wonderful way to propagate our long-term impact here.

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to our partners: The Hue Union of Friendship Organization (HUEFO), The Da Nang Victims of Agent Orange (DAVA), The Hue University of Medicine and Pharmacy, The Da Nang University of Medical Technology and Pharmacy, The regional hospital and health center in Phu Vang, The Vietnam Education Foundation (VEF), and, of course, our primary contact and partner, Le Huong. Her support and guidance is the reason we are able to develop the quality and depth of relationship we so readily enjoy. Without her attention to all the nuances of cross cultural support our efforts would never reach the levels of success we have experienced the last five years.   

Overall, it was a tremendous effort this year again, and we want to thank all our supporters here in the US and the dedicated team of professionals that join us each year to reach those so desperately in need here. Congratulations to all the team members for a job well done, and we look forward to seeing you all again in 2024.

Steve Mason, Vietnam mission team leader
360-607-8400
masonimage@mac.com

Ed Atwell, M.D., Vietnam mission co-team leader
atwelle@gmail.com
770-655-5268
MOA President, Founder 

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