Numerous articles and stories have chronicled the heroic activities of medical professionals who volunteered their time and expertise to go to Haiti and assist with the enormous job of medical care for the victims of the January 12, 2010, earthquake. One of the medications provided, a large supply of albendazole, was particularly helpful in making an impact, successfully treating many of the children who suffered with intestinal worms.īACKGROUND ON MISSION WORK FOR THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE With very short notice, the Faith in Action Initiative helped fill the suitcases beyond airline weight baggage limits. One of my initial challenges was to fill two large suitcases, the maximum allowed by the Haitian Department of Customs, with the appropriate medical supplies and medications.

I was met with much enthusiasm from everyone, but little progress was made until I was directed to Don Sewell. For example, I made several inquiries to various departments about the possibility of obtaining donated medical supplies and medications for the trip to Haiti.

He has been asked to formalize the processes and strategy and have his department act as a hub of much of the charitable activity and volunteerism that has previously been less organized. The director of the program, Donald Sewell, previously worked for Texas Baptist Missions Foundation for 12 years. This department matches volunteers with various resources to help fill needs around the world and in the community. Joel Allison, president and chief executive officer of BHCS, having a desire to take the Christian ministry of Baylor to the next level, established this program to organize and direct the charitable donations provided by BHCS when needs arise similar to those of the recent Haitian earthquake. While preparing for this trip to Haiti, I became aware of a wonderful new resource here at Baylor Health Care System (BHCS) known as the Faith in Action Initiative. Often others express interest in medical mission work but relate that they do not know where to start or do not have the time to become involved. I would like to share a few stories about some of the people I met as a result of this particular trip. The motivation for this article is to encourage anyone who might consider volunteering for medical mission work. The experience was both challenging and rewarding. I recently had the privilege to participate in a medical mission trip to Haiti.

Medical mission trips