February 2, 2016
Interplast volunteers finished 2015 and began 2016 without showing any signs of slowing down in their quest to change futures in the Asia Pacific region.
Two teams departed on the last weekend of January; one to Lae, in Papua New Guinea and the other to Masbate in the Philippines.
There was a flurry of activity in December too, though many people and businesses were winding down for the holiday season. Programs took place in Tonga, Kiribati and Samoa in the final weeks of 2015.
In Tonga, 71 patients were consulted and 49 procedures were performed – the majority to treat skin lesions and soft tissue deformities. In Kiribati, a nurse training program was delivered, summed up by local nurse Luisa as ‘very comprehensive but simple and clear to understand’.
In Samoa, the team met Olivian, pictured here. Two-year-old Olivian sustained hot water burns to her hands last year. Contractures caused three fingers on her right hand and two on her left to completely curl into her palm, making it impossible for her to grasp anything. Volunteers said she did enjoy clapping, though!
