Headed by one of the founding members of the SPSA, Dr. Godofredo T. Ng M.D., FACS, and his wife Anita, the Carolina Medical Mission has been ministering to the health needs of Filipinos in the various rural towns in the Philippines since its inception in 1995 six to seven times a year. The CMM has a voluntary staff of about 60, half consisting physicians and dentists, 25% nurses and allied health professionals, and 25% lay volunteers. Dr. and Mrs. Ng joined the SPSA medical in Puerto Princesa, Palawan in December 2004. The group above shows the team in Miagao, Iloilo, in its 2005 mission.
Starting 2007, in addition to its regular general surgery program, CMM will be offering dedicated cleft surgery service, as a special project, through grants from SmileTrain Foundation of New York City and private benefactors. The first two venues for this new specialty service are Taguig, Rizal, Metro Manila, and Pinamalyan, Oriental Mindoro.
Pedro J. Obregon, M. D., FEU ’60, (second from left), originally from Iloilo City, Philippines, is East-West Medical Director of the Medical Ministry International, a humanitarian group that sponsors surgical missions around the world, several times a year since 1995. His wife, Judy, is his Co-Chair. Part of the 18-member surgical team led by Pete is pictured above. From left to right: Lydia (Ecuadorian), Recovery Room Nurse at Milagro Hospital in Milagro, Ecuador, Pete, Maria Flores (Ecuadorian), Head Nurse of the O.R., Dr. Luis Roman (Ecuadorian), general surgeon, Judy, Dr. Shelly Sethi (Baylor-trained Cardiothoracic Surgeon) from Mansfield, Ohio, and Armin Kellermeyer from the Netherlands, a general helper.
Countries they have served included: El Salvador, Mexico, Jamaica, Haiti, Honduras, China, Africa, Romania, Zimbabwe, New Guinea, Ukraine, Thailand, Nepal, Mozambique, Swaziland, Cambodia, Nicaragua, Mongolia, Madagascar, Burma, Tanzania, Ghana, and Bolivia. In the Philippines, the cities were Iloilo, Bulkidnon and S. Cotabato.
The other surgeons on this mission were: Drs. Rafael Zaragosa, Godofredo T. Ng, Bayani Ignacio, Manuel Roco, Jesse Corres, Rodolfo J. Canos, Jr., Pedo T. Simon, and Edgar O. Valle.