Indigent patients in an underserved Philippines province can now see clearly because of the work of a 12-member team of medical specialists and Rotarians from Michigan and Pennsylvania, USA, and their local counterparts. The group received a personal invitation from Borromeo Melchor, governor of Benguet Province, to perform free ophthalmic surgeries for poor residents of the province. For 10 days starting on 25 February, the volunteers performed corrective surgeries on 109 adult and child patients, 82 of them to remove cataracts and 27 to correct strabismus (crossed eyes), at the Benguet General Hospital in La Trinidad.

Dr. Emma Caligton, an anesthesiologist, and her husband, Cesar, were instrumental in connecting the U.S. Rotarians with the Rotary Club of La Trinidad. They and several other Filipino-Americans, including La Trinidad native Elvira Della, traveled on the eye mission co-sponsored by nonprofit organization World Blindness Outreach.

Founded by Dr. Albert Alley, a past district governor and ophthalmologist from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, World Blindness Outreach organizes eye missions every year.

The Rotary Foundation contributed toward a US$11,000 Matching Grant sponsored by the Rotary Club of Lebanon and District 7390 to purchase medical supplies for the Philippines mission. All volunteers paid their own travel costs.

La Trinidad club members provided logistical support, such as arranging for clearance of medical supplies at customs, transportation, and accommodations. Dr. Esteban Piok, a Rotarian and the administrator at the hospital, saw to it that hospital staff worked closely with the team.

Past RI Director Sabino "Benny" Santos Sr., an ophthalmologist and a member of the first World Blindness Outreach mission, welcomed the team at the airport in Manila. Although he was unable to accompany the group, his son, Sabino Santos Jr, also an eye doctor, traveled to La Trinidad.

Volunteering runs in the family, according to Santos Sr. His father had impressed on him that life is about sharing one's time, talents, and treasure with others. "To deny sharing our gifts with others is to begin to die," he said. "In our clinic, no one is refused our service just because the patient does not have money. This is our way of saying thank you to God for the many blessings we continuously receive from him."

The younger Santos explained that he went alone on his maiden medical mission in 1985. His father had sent him to Batana, an island province in northern Philippines, to perform cataract surgery on patients who were not treated from a previous clinic.

Santos Jr. said he admired the professionalism and thorough preparation of the Rotary team. "Everyone on the team knew his or her part and the work went smoothly and efficiently," he said.

He was equally impressed with the rapport that the team, bearing toys and candies for pediatric patients, quickly struck with the local community.

"The people of La Trinidad and the mission participants developed such tremendous goodwill among themselves that will remain all the days of their lives," he said. "This is the goal of Rotary — peace, goodwill, and understanding in this world."

According to Dr. Alley, Rotary received considerable public recognition from the mission. "On the final evening a banquet was held and the governor of the state, as well as several congressmen, the mayor of the city, and other public officials were in attendance," he said. "Rotary banners were placed through out the city and region advertising this program.