Moses Lake Medical Team prepares for Nicaragua mission
Lateef Olaniyan, a founding member of the Moses Lake Medical Team, speaks to the 120 attendees Friday at the team's fundraiser for its upcoming mission trip to Nicaragua.
MOSES LAKE — Just weeks away from its departure for Nicaragua, the Moses Lake Medical Team gathered Friday evening with about 120 community members for a fundraiser banquet at Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center (CB Tech) to help fuel its upcoming mission trip.
A collection of volunteer medical professionals constitutes the team, which travels to developing countries to provide medical treatment and equipment, as well as medical education.
Friday’s fundraiser was aimed at bolstering the group’s financial means to assist people effectively in a number of villages and communities in Nicaragua. Kathy Jingling, who was the event’s master of ceremonies, said the money raised does not go toward paying for transportation expenses for the team — they pay their own way. Instead, the money will go toward medical supplies to help the Moses Lake Medical Team carry out their mission.
The group going to Nicaragua includes about 15 medical professionals with specialties in a variety of practices. Doctors, nurses, pharmacists, physical therapists and optometrists are among those going to volunteer their services and educate people in Nicaraguan communities.
The Moses Lake Medical Team departs Feb. 11 and will be in Nicaragua for about a week. In that time, the medical providers hope to serve about 100 patients per day in conjunction with another volunteer group from Boston, according to a previous Herald report.
Lateef Olaniyan, a Nigerian-born pharmacist and founder of the Moses Lake Medical Team, spoke to the crowd at Friday’s banquet. He said after he became a pharmacist, he went back to Nigeria in 2007 to see what it takes to become a pharmacist in his home country. What he observed was a staggering difference in pharmaceutical practices between U.S. and Nigeria.
“The next question was, ‘OK, what can I do to make a difference?’” Olaniyan said.
He spoke with a classmate of his, and together they decided to recruit a small group of medical professionals to go to Nigeria and “show them how to do it.”
“(We thought) maybe that will make a difference,” Olaniyan said. “Even if we save one life, that’s one life that is saved.”
When the group set out for its first trip to Nigeria in 2008, Olaniyan said the support from the people of Moses Lake was astounding. In addition to the medical providers that stepped forward to volunteer their time and money, others in the community put their best foot forward to help fuel the mission.
“The people here in Moses Lake are just wonderful,” Olaniyan said. “We are very, very, very appreciative of them.”
Olaniyan and Jingling told the attendees at Friday’s fundraiser that their presence at the event was help in itself. Tickets were $50 each and some made additional donations, which Jingling said is vital to the process.
“What you are doing is providing all the education and supplies and materials and the things that are needed to really minister to people,” Jingling said. “Your hands from Moses Lake are touching lives in Nicaragua in a unique way through these medical people.”
Olaniyan took time to thank the members of the Moses Lake Medical Team, many of whom have made numerous trips with the team to serve in a medical capacity. Jingling also thanked the many businesses and individuals who have been involved in any capacity, from donating funds to providing services in the planning process.
Guests at Friday’s fundraiser were treated to a Nicaraguan feast, courtesy of the students in CB Tech’s culinary program. They also enjoyed a short bout of Nicaraguan trivia before night’s end, and had the opportunity to sign sports equipment — soccer balls, baseballs and more — that were to be sent with the Medical Team for donation to children in the Nicaraguan communities.
The Moses Lake Medical Team’s previous missions have resulted in the service of between 8,000 and 35,000 patients, according to information provided by the team. The trip to Nicaragua is the first of two missions planned for 2016, with another planned for Nigeria in the fall.
For more information on the Moses Lake Medical Team or to donate to the cause, visit www.mlmtusa.org.