Posted December 10, 2006

Northwest Medical Teams Give “Real Life” around the World and at Home

Northwest Medical Teams respond to disasters all around the world. Now they are hoping people in the Portland area will respond to their Real.Life. exhibit to make a difference.

By Sherry Harbert

There is always an element of human tragedy which transcends the extensive preparation for each disaster response of Northwest Medical Teams (NWMTI). Whether the destruction comes from an earthquake, flood, hurricane or tsunami, or caused by war, disease or poverty, NWMTI volunteers step into a nightmare of destruction and human despair that require more than their supplies can give. It is their compassion and human contact that makes the difference. The images of those first moments and the many hours that follow are permanently imprinted into the memories of the medical staff as they provide urgent care. But it is the photographic images that convey the meaning of catastrophic events for those who may never step into such destruction. Now those images can be imprinted into the thoughts of people in the Portland area through the exhibit, Real.Life.

The concept for the exhibit began in 1999 when NWMTI volunteers wanted to express their experiences beyond their stories. It would take six years and dozens of disaster responses to culminate into the three-dimensional exhibit with eight vignettes that fill 10,000 square feet inside NWMTI’s headquarters in Tigard, Ore. The Real.Life. exhibit was opened permanently in September, but needs volunteers to offer tours for the public and schools.

While the exhibit directs visitors toward a sense that each individual can make a difference, the vignettes reveal the harsh reality faced by many people around the world. The exhibit guides visitors through a maze of destruction with vivid detail. A straw hut stands in memorial of the lives lost to AIDS in a Mozambique village. Remnants of a Romanian placement center for orphans and abandoned children reveal the faces of the smallest victims. And a 25-foot replica of a wave that victims saw in the last moments before their death in the December 2004 Indonesian tsunami towers above as if frozen in time. And most profoundly is the silence that is left behind. It is the images that remain that tell the story.

Real Commitment

More than 1,600 NWMTI volunteers have responded to natural and man-made disasters since the organization’s first work in Thailand in 1979. The volunteers have made Barbara Agnew’s job as public relation’s specialist easy in one sense. “NWMTI volunteers are top-notch professionals who have a sense of service,” said Agnew. “They won’t let it go. They speak, tell, present what they’ve experienced.” That level of commitment includes over 3,000 volunteers both in the medical fields and other areas. The huge warehouse is constantly busy with individuals packing supplies to send out to Uganda or fill a mobile dental van to serve the neediest in the Willamette Valley. Overhead hang the flags of over 100 countries served by NWMTI.

Response is implemented through medical teams or disaster relief teams. Agnew said there are about 250 medical volunteers on call for the international disaster response team. A three-person team left earlier this month for Lira and Apac, Uganda to provide direct medical services to people living in nine internally displaced people (IDP) camps. NWMTI founder Bas Vanderzalm recently returned from a personal visit to the country hit by ongoing fighting in a brutal civil war notorious for abducting children to use as soldiers or subjecting them to rape.

Uganda is one of the complex humanitarian relief missions of NWMTI. While the organization partners with many others to provide the most efficient and viable services in most parts of the world, Uganda represents a single venture for the past two years. The haunting images of the IDP camps in Uganda are one of the vignettes featured in the Real.Life. exhibit at NWMTI’s headquarters. The make-shift hut offers a look into the day-to-day survival of individuals forced from their homes with no means of returning or fending for themselves. The camps are the last refuge for more than 1.5 million IDPs in Uganda. Many of them are children that not only have to survive abduction and killing, but starvation and disease. The recent relief teams in Uganda are performing emergency health care in the camps, plus train local doctors to provide medical care when they leave.

Real Support

Support for NWMTI’s ongoing work is multi-faceted. Besides the volunteers, contributions and donations are vital. Grant money and partnerships help, but donations from individuals and businesses is what keeps the organization “nimble” as Agnew describes. It is an ongoing reality that all humanitarian organizations face. The organization earned top ratings for the fourth year from Charity Navigator, which reviews over 5,000 charities each year. Vanderzalm said their commitment to seeing 98 percent of contributions go directly to the people in need gives NWMTI the ability to provide care.

Some of NWMTI’s support comes from individuals in a more personal setting. A dinner and auction was held within the Real.Life. exhibit earlier this month to give donors a hands-on look at what the organization does, while raising their awareness of the needs around the world. Just last week, NWMTI benefited from the ninth annual quilt auction. The donations were personal, because each one was handmade. For more than a year a team of 18 men and women at the Port of Portland worked on one quilt during their lunch hours to complete their stunning gift to the auction.

Such hands-on work is what keeps NWMTI grounded in its disaster and medical responses for all the volunteers and staff. Agnew volunteered in New Orleans a year ago to help in the ongoing relief efforts after Hurricane Katrina. NWMTI’s efforts in the region will continue with a unique learning venture in Moss Point, Mississippi, this spring. NWMTI and Portland Community College are joining together to provide ongoing hope and help in the rebuilding after the devastation. The week-long course isn’t a field trip, but a real-life experience of what is needed in an area still trying to recover after the hurricane last year.

Though most of NWMTI’s on-going work is to relieve suffering, the organization also provides training and other services in a comprehensive response to larger issues facing people in the most vulnerable parts of the world.

Real Vision

Besides the ongoing missions, NWMTI is placing new emphasis on the AIDS crisis devastating Africa. Agnew said their efforts will include Uganda, Mozambique and Ethiopia. “AIDS is the silent disaster,” said Agnew who attended the World AIDS Conference, held in Toronto, Canada this summer.* NWMTI’s response will include healthcare, training and education in prevention of the disease that takes another life every 10 seconds. In its wake, it leaves behind the most vulnerable, the children to fend for themselves. Agnew said NWMTI is planning on using Medical Mobile Units to reach deep into the areas least able to get life-saving treatment and help.

Agnew said the AIDS crisis requires trainers who are culturally sensitive to the needs and people suffering from the devastating effects of AIDS. “Our attitude is incredibly respectful and aware of the cultural,” said Agnew. “We want to partner with them to help leverage with their systems and people.”

Awareness of the needs in each region is critical to making a difference. In Uzbekistan, NWMTI is one of the few organizations in the country and addresses the needs of orphans, along with granting micro-loans and environmental programs to build sustainable communities. But, all their efforts can be quenched when political upheaval creates severe risks or prevents them from providing needed services.

NWMTI was one of many agencies forced to leave Darfur one year ago when violence drastically increased in the region, but works with local agencies to continue to meet the ongoing humanitarian crisis. A recent grant will help provide training for local medical workers and for basic water serivces. In Darfur, NWMTI continues to partner with World Relief, MAP International, World Concern, Food for the Hungry and the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. The $1 million grant from the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance is one of the many ways NWMTI continues to offer help in the region. The organizaton continues to monitor Darfur through multiple channels, but can only ship supplies to designated camps at this point. Agnew said it is one of the most frustrating dilemmas. “How do you weigh the warfare that prevents a response, when the response is even more critical during the warfare?” asked Agnew.

NWMTI was able to respond with almost $100,000 in medicine and other critical supplies to Lebanon in August by partnering with the International Orthodox Christian Charity in Beirut. Partnering has been one way NWMTI provides the help and supplies needed to those most vulnerable. For it is those directly affected by disaster that NWMTI can directly benefit with help and hope.

Real.Life.

The purpose of NWMTI’s Real.Life. exhibit is to bring the reality of the world home where individuals can see some of the most severe living conditions around the world, but also see some of the hope that comes with helping others. As Agnew said, “Hope is huge.” During this season of giving, a special open house was offered Dec. 10 today to show what those around the world need. For more information on the Real.Life. exhibit, call Laurel Emory at 503-624-1000 (or 1-800-959-4325).

© 2006 Foreign Interest

*Correction: Laura van Vuuren, NWMTI’s HIV/AIDS Specialist, participated in the World AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada, this year. The author apologizes for the mistake. SH, Dec. 11, 2006.

For more information:

NWMTI: www.nwmedicalteams.org

Portland Community College: www.pcc.edu

Contact the author: sharbert@foreigninterest.com