I have been to the Hohidiai base on the island of Halmahera many times. The base has changed from 75 acres of jungle to the life changing station with three children’s homes, a clinic, hospital, leper rehabilitation, HIV/AIDS residential treatment, T.B. patient housing, food services and children everywhere. It is a place that brings hope for those who come asking for help. The message of hope is clear–no one is turned away. The...

It is one of the saddest things to see–the suffering of an HIV/AIDS patient. I recently became acquainted with Paul Schneider Jr. who leads AID for Children. They have been working with AIDS affected children in Africa. His efforts have been recently studied in Kenya where 250 AIDS children were given a vitamin supplement that has shown positive results. The Health Department of Kenya partnered with Aid for Children in a blind study to...

Everyone reading this blog has faced challenges in their lives. Challenges come in many forms–some can be life changers others just ruin your day. A grandmother came to our clinic and asked for help for her and her granddaughter. When she told her story, she unfolded a story of the struggle to survive. She was poor–not U.S. poor. Her challenge was NOT about living with only one family car or having basic cable service. She could not...

In almost any sport there are those who stand out who are ‘just gifted’. In music there are prodigies and virtuosos. It takes a lot of natural talent and hard work to become one of these ‘best in your field’ stars. We all had the kid in college who walks into class on the first day, and everyone knows the grading curve just got harder. We have three stars that I want to highlight. They are all in medical training. Nius...

Dr. Chris is from a lazy country town about 60 miles east of Melbourne, Australia.  As an average kid he had searched for the spark in his life that would make him feel alive and valued.  At 15 years old , Chris’s parents wanted to widen his worldview and took him to the Hohidiai medical base in Northeast Indonesia on the island of Halmahera.  Chris got an eye full of the challenges faced by those living in poverty. He saw the medical...

Warm Waters of Kindness   The location was a small island with only one village off the remote island of Halmhera. The medical team of Hohidiai and the Western volunteers boarded three boats for the 20 minute boat ride to our destination. It was a hot day that had threatening rain clouds in the sky. An hour after we arrived on the island the rain came in buckets but by that time we were already seeing patients. This was a mobile clinic to...

More than eleven years have past since I first set foot in Indonesia. It was a life changing experience to walk in the refugee camps and witness the sad struggle of thousands of people. Now, a decade later, those memories set the direction of our work. We have a passion to serve the poorest-of-the-poor in the remote island of Halmahera. The challenges are always before us–funding–medical resources–training of...

They come asking for help. They are poor and in crisis. Their needs range from illness to injuries. The one common thing about all of those who come is they all believe our medical staff can help them. Recently a little girl was brought to the clinic for examination. She had a growth on the right side of her head, including her right ear and it wrapped around to cover her right eye. The concern is that she was allowed to get to this condition....

Cleft Lip Surgery — See our blog for a running commentary from team members.   http://medicalteamblog.wordpress.com The staff at the Hohidiai Clinic are looking forward to this Alaskan team from Fairbanks Memorial Hospital coming to provide cleft lip surgeries. The permits have been secured with the Department of Health for this team to bring hope to the poor that come for help. Those needing the cleft lip surgeries are now waiting for...

In Indonesia the word for teeth is gigi–so a dentist is Dr. Gigi. We had our own Dr. Gigi on the recent team. He came from the place on the planet that has had a record snowfall and now he is in the remote islands of Indonesia pulling and filling teeth. Dr. Paul (Dr. Gigi) was just been amazing as he patiently took a look at the dental needs of each person. He was also there to train the dental support staff. It was fascinating watching...