Video: Mozambique Medical Mission: July-August 2010

As a nurse in the USAF Reserves, I was fortunate enough to be asked to go to Mozambique with a small contingent of medical personnel to offer clinics in three small villages this summer. Actually, our small medical group accompanied a very large deployment of marines, but that just added interest to our journey. We saw several thousand people and although we were far from equipped to be able to handle many of their problems, we were at least able to show many individuals that someone did care about them. Unfortunately, three weeks was obviously not long enough to solve any but the most elementary problems, such as glasses to help with vision or teeth pulling to help with pain or infection.

The impression I left Mozambique with was one of "likeness," as in, people in the States and the people of Mozambique are pretty much the same, as are people everywhere. We all have the same hopes and desires. We worry about education and wellness. We love our families and friends. And most of all, we want to live happily and in peace.

The people of Mozambique have been through a lot of pain due to war, but they are a strong, resilient and beautiful people. May God bless them, and may we, as human beings, find ways to bring this nation and their people up to the standards of living that we are so blessed to have.