AMERICAN GIVING | Strengthening communities through generosity
01 December 2008
Doctors, Engineers Deliver Aid on Three-Month Tour in Americas
Mission brought sight, prescriptions, storm recovery and more
Washington — The USS Kearsarge has completed a swing through Latin America and the Caribbean during which it offered various types of humanitarian assistance, including an unanticipated stop in Haiti to provide relief after devastating storms swept through. (See “U.S. Provides $19.5 Million to Help Haiti Recover from Storms.”)
During the ship’s last stop, in Guyana, a Navy ophthalmologist operated aboard the ship on a 3-year-old girl who could barely see through fused eyelids. The operation gave the girl —Theresa Pasud — the gift of full sight, which was a joy for her and her family.
Through November, when the Kearsarge completed its mission, ophthalmologists were kept busy doing cataract surgery onboard and carrying out eye tests and providing eyeglasses ashore.
Dental cleaning and tooth repairs and extractions were also in great demand. The Guyana Ministry of Health helped identify the needs and priorities for care, and the Guyana Defense Force provided support.
Helicopters aboard the Kearsarge were able to fly medics and supplies deep into Guyana’s interior. One village chief told The Stabroek News she appreciated the medical help, which isn’t available in the immediate vicinity. Chief Genevieve Rufino said most of the people around her cannot afford to travel to the coast or to the capital to attend to their health care needs.
The Houston (Guyana) Community High School benefited from visiting engineers from the Kearsarge who renovated classrooms, staff rooms and the library.
The crew of the Kearsarge and other participants from Canada, Brazil, France, Colombia, Nicaragua, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, the Dominican Republic and the Netherlands worked together for the mission, known as “Continuing Promise 2008.”
Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo visited the Kearsarge during its two-week mission to his country. He expressed his gratitude for the health care his citizens received — the ship’s commander said 4,000 patients were treated in Guyana — and said he thought considerable training and collaboration occurred during the mission.
A transition occurred during the overall effort, Navy Commodore Fernandez “Frank” Ponds said. At first participants knew little about each other’s cultures and home countries, but later they came to know each other very well.
Guyana was only the last stop in the Kearsarge’s recent journey. Doctors carried out 221 surgeries, including one to correct the vision of twin boys from the Dominican Republic, and 198,000 medical, dental and eye checks. Over a 13-week period, the amphibious ship’s medical team treated 47,000 patients in the region and dispensed 81,300 prescriptions.
The animal kingdom was not left out during missions to Guyana, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, Nicaragua and Trinidad and Tobago: Veterinary care was provided to 5,600 animals.
Meanwhile, engineers built three schools during the Kearsarge tour and renovated 10 parks or community centers. They also conducted renovation projects at schools, clinics and hospitals and completed five infrastructure projects.
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During the five-nation visit, the Navy’s Project Handclasp distributed $275,000 worth of hospital furniture, medical supplies, books and clothing to the Guyana Ministry of Health.
During the ship’s stop in Nicaragua, surgeons from Operation Smile, an international nonprofit that helps children born with facial deformities, carried out nearly two dozen surgeries to correct cleft lips and cleft palates. (See “U.S.-Based Operation Smile Brings Hope to Children Around the World.”)
Ponds said his crew, the international military medical professionals and the specialists with organizations like Operation Smile and Project Hope broke many cultural, language and government barriers during their journey to reach out “to our neighbors in Central and South America and the Caribbean in a gesture of good will and friendship.”
The bonds formed during the multination voyage will grow stronger, he predicted, with future missions that will be based on initial lessons gained from this three-month-plus journey.
The pediatricians, surgeons, engineers, anesthesiologists, veterinarians and others may have represented different countries, branches of military service and charities, but Ponds said they worked together seamlessly, each providing a unique skill, “to make this deployment a tremendous success.”
The Kearsarge mission, which was under the operational command of the U.S. Fourth Fleet, is part of the Navy’s new maritime strategy to pursue projects of common interest. For more information about the mission, see “Humanitarian Mission Brings Health Care to Caribbean Countries.” A video clip of the crew’s work in Guyana is available on the U.S. Navy’s Web site.
The USS Boxer conducted a similar mission in the summer of 2008. See “U.S. Naval Ship Completes Humanitarian Mission to Three Countries.”
The USS Comfort traveled to the region in 2007. See “Panama’s Health Services Aided by U.S. Biomedical Technicians.”
