By Lee Cataluna
Advertiser Columnist

Dr. Jorge Camara is delighted by the idea that he is making himself dispensable.

"I think in life, we should try to do that," he says. "We should pass our skills on so that when we leave this earth, the work that we do will be carried on."

Camara opened his ophthalmology practice in Hawai'i in 1987. The same year, he signed on as a volunteer with the Aloha Medical Mission, a nonprofit agency that flies surgery teams into the poorest areas of Third World countries to provide medical missions of mercy.

He has restored sight to countless people who otherwise had no chance at a normal life: the poorest of the poor living in remote areas. When he talks about his trips abroad, he speaks of the work as though it has been a privilege.

"It's been such an inspiring thing," Camara says. "It really is what the work of a doctor is truly all about, being able to help people without any regard for any kind of reimbursement, really spending our time helping them and meeting people who truly need our help. I really think it embodies medicine in its true form."

Here at home, Camara made national news when he was the first physician to use telemedicine to conduct eye surgery. He has also developed tests and treatments for various eye ailments. In 2001, the Hawai'i Medical Association named Camara physician of the year.

But what gets him really excited is talking about teaching other doctors to do what he does. Whenever they're on a mission, his team makes sure to train doctors in that country on the latest techniques.

"We also teach ophthalmologists from the Philippines in a formal training program that is administered by the University of Hawai'i," Camara says. "So these ophthalmologists go back to the Philippines, we'll have 20 by the end of this year, and they're able to help with the work that we do, and they're able to take care of people much in the same way that we do.

"I've felt that the work that I've done here can be multiplied so many times over."

Tonight, Maryknoll School is presenting Camara with the Monsignor Charles A. Kekumano Award. The honor is named after the late Roman Catholic priest who devoted his life to serving the Hawai'i community. Both Camara and Kekumano, according to the Maryknoll service award committee, exemplified the schools' motto of "Noblesse Oblige": "To whom much is given, much is expected."

It's not the award that has Dr. Camara nervous about tonight's fancy $100-a-plate dinner at the Hilton Hawaiian Village (proceeds go to the Maryknoll Scholarship fund). What has him in knots is that he's part of the lineup of entertainment. "I have to play the piano in front of all those people!" he says. Though he used to give recitals as a kid, he gave up playing when he went to medical school. He's been practicing "very, very, very diligently" three of his favorite pieces.

"That's the main source of anxiety," he says. "But I think I'll make it."

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.