Posted on: Monday, January 24, 2005

Team leaves soon for Banda Aceh

Advertiser Staff

A team from the Aloha Medical Mission, the Honolulu-based charity organization providing free medical care to numerous countries in Southeast Asia, will leave Thursday on its first mission to help tsunami victims in Banda Aceh, Indonesia.

Dr. Carl Lum, a volunteer for the mission, returned on Thursday from a two-week tour of the area to lay the groundwork for the coming expedition.

The group set to depart on what is planned as the first in a series of missions comprises 10 doctors and nurses who are veterans from previous missions. Led by Dr. Vernon Ansdell and nurse Lolita Ching, the team will establish a base for future missions to Banda Aceh.

The group will collaborate with the Indonesian Medical Association, the Korean-American Food for the Hungry International, and the Yayasan Susila Dharma-Indonesia, an Indonesian nonprofit organization that provides free social-welfare and medical services nationally.

The board of the medical mission has pledged $10,000 of the organization's resources to establish a relief fund, and has received $20,000 from the HMSA Foundation and $7,000 in individual donations for the fund.

Individuals wishing to make tax-exempt donations to AMM's Tsunami Relief Fund may send checks, payable to Aloha Medical Mission to: 1314 S. King St., Suite 503, Honolulu, HI 96814. They also may call 593-9696 during business hours to charge a donation on their VISA or MasterCard.