Travel Tips | Roxie Strand, N.M.D.

As many of you know, I was recently in Ghana, West Africa as a part of a medical team with a local, grassroots organization called Peacework Medical Projects (www.peaceworkmedical.com). Our team offered general medical care, health education, and medications to the people of Ghana, many of whom had never seen a doctor before. The first week of our stay, we traveled to a different part of the capital city of Accra each day to set up our clinics . The second week, we stayed in a rural village called Bohenekrom and treated the people of that village and many of the surrounding villages.

Some of the clinics were outdoors, some were in abandoned buildings, and others were in local churches. No matter where our clinics were set up, the people lined up to be treated. None of us would leave the clinic for the day until we had treated at least 450 adults. In Africa, where there are 450 adults, there is at least that number of children as well. Over our 2 week visit, our team of 7 medical providers treated over 5000 patients! It was an incredibly rewarding experience, and I am planning on returning to Ghana in March 2008.

My next medical trip, however, is coming up in October, and I am again going back to Africa. This time I will be traveling to Mozambique on the southeastern coast of Africa. Two long-time patients of the Center for Natural Healing founded the Least of These Ministries, which has funded an orphanage in Turkey for many years. They have recently decided to expand their generosity and are building an orphanage in a small rural village in Mozambique. When they asked if I would be interested in providing the initial health assessments to the children that will be living in the orphanage, I was honored. I will keep you all informed of the developments and future donation opportunities.

I know many of you travel abroad as well. Whether it is for business or pleasure, there are a few items that I always recommend and never leave home without, while traveling outside of the US.