“A man cannot travel great distances without developing ideas.”

“Old Seeker”, encouragingyound Nxumalo,

The Convenant, p. 91,James A. Michener

Mission to HealThe January Series

Calvin College

Glenn W. Geelhoed January 13, 2011

“I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.”

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

“I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.”

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

• Simplicity

• ComplexityChaos

• Simplicity

“A mind stretched by a new idea can never go back to its original dimensions.”

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

“A mind stretched by a new idea can never go back to its original dimensions.”

- Oliver Wendell Holmes

Transformational Learning

We are all “on a mission.” www.MissionToHeal.org

Darfur/Chad

Refugee/IDPs

UN/NGO

The Healing Art Is a Nearly Ideal Transportable Skill Across All Artificial Human Barriers:

Geographic

Linguistic

Racial

Cultural

Religious

Political

Morbidity & Mortality

•Mortality: loss of years from life

•Morbidity: loss of life from years

•Leading causes of MORTALITY on the planet:• Diarrhea• Acute Respiratory Infections• Malnutrition• Malaria• Measles

Morbidity

• Infection vs Infestation• Burden of illness• Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs)• Soil Transmitted Helminths• Schistosomiasis• Lymphatic Filariasis• Trachoma

Living Beyond Borders

• Outside Borders• Political• Geographic• Cultural• Religious

Living Beyond Borders

• Inside boundaries• Socio-economic• Ethnic divides• Misunderstandings

Living Beyond Borders

• Have / Have Nots

Surgery in General

•A healing art in tandem with medical curative and prevention programs•Example: thyroidectomy• Simple process• Complex benefits

•Prevention programs• Public health• Nutrition• Development

Hypothyroidism

• Immediate response, for good or ill• Teachable techniques• Judgment: Cumulative & Adaptive

Surgical Skills

Consequences of Medical Intervention: Hypothyroidism

+ Cretinism+ Goiter+ Low Energy, Fertility

- Hunger- Competition for Resources- Population Explosion

So, you want to be Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

• To explore unknown territories

• To meet exotic peoples

• To have novel experiences

• To satisfy the inner adrenaline junkie

• To benefit those less fortunate

Kaposi’s/HIV

Africa

Medical Anthropology& Geography/”States”

Whenever mass diseaseoccurs, it is a result of ‘disturbance of human culture.’

- Rudolf Virchow, MD

Nigeria

Congo

Rwanda - Kigali

Rwanda - Gisenyi

Chad – N’djamena

Chad – Am Timan

Somaliland

Ethiopia

Sudan

Sudan

Malawi

Malawi

Tanzania

Haiti

Himalaya: On trek

Himalaya: Ladakh

Afghanistan: Kabul

Afghanistan: Hindu Kush

Philippines: Mindanao

Philippines: Bukidnon

Philippines: Palawan

Cambodia: Phnom Penh

New Orleans - Katrina

“Never Again” – Over again

Holocaust - Humanitarian Relief•Cambodia•Rwanda•Congo•Somaliland•Sudan

Wake-up Calls

• September 11, 2001• Tsunami• Earthquakes• SARS• Flu• Bioterrorism

Resources

• Motivation – BYO• Money• Resourcefulness•Flexibility•Ingenuity•Improvisation

Resource

Surgery and Healing in the Developing World

Available as a free download at:

LandesBioscience.com

Gifts From The Poor

Available as a pre-release after this presentation

Coping

Self Fulfilling Prophecy : “There is really nothing you can do for these people.”

Good Enough for African Standards

“We are doing good, so we do not have to do it very well”

“Teaching to Fish”

Indigenize Skills: Working our way out of a job

The “Other”

They are not “like” us…

They ARE us…

Who is my neighbor?

Who built the Fence?

Empowerment

“It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, That separates one person from another”

Nelson Mandela, 1995Long Walk to Freedom, p184

Healing…For Whom?

• Patients cared for• Trainees empowered• The care givers• Social and political isolation• Humanitarian, Ethical, Religious

The South Sudan Peace Initiative Model

Building a health bridge between competing cattle cultures

Healing and Health

Giving – The Gift

• Giving Back• Learning – Gifts from the poor• Options – Life: To spend or to give

Operation Giving Back

• To Live• To Learn• To Love• To Laugh• To Leave a Legacy