Devastated area in S. Leyte

A series of mudslides in February devastated the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines, causing widespread damage and loss of life. 

Barangay Guinsaugon, a municipality of Saint Bernard in Southern Leyte, was the hardest hit by mudslides caused by days of incessant rains that saturated the soil of surrounding mountainside.  Before the devastating mudslide, Barangay Guinsaugon was a farming community of 2,000 people.  The mudslides buried this quaint village in its entirety, sparing the lives of only a few hundred survivors. 

Dr. Vernon Ansdell examines a young child.

As part of the international community's relief response to the mudslide disaster, the Aloha Medical Mission (AMM) in cooperation with the Congress of Visayan Organizations (COVO) sent a team of 17 volunteers to provide medical care to the survivors of the Southern Leyte mudslide.  Included in this team were veteran AMM volunteers who also provided medical relief to the survivors of the tsunami that devastated Banda Aceh, Indonesia.
AMM volunteers, who included COVO representatives, left Honolulu on March 13, 2006.  Accompanying the AMM volunteers on the five-day mission were news reporter Diane Ako and cameraman Tim McRoberts from KHNL Channel 8, a Hawaii-based TV news station.  They provide excellent coverage of the team's work for a weeklong series of reports that culminated in a special half hour TV special report. 

Dr. Ansdell in the disaster area.

The team, led by veteran AMM volunteer Dr. Vernon Ansdell, was based in St. Bernard, about 8 miles from the mudslide site in Guinsaugon. COVO representatives were instrumental in coordinating the logistics for the team's work in St. Bernard. AMM volunteers provided medical care at the Rural Health Clinic to mudslide survivors and evacuees from nearby villages who were living in an evacuation center located in three elementary schools.  Medical care was provided to a total of 1,083 patients and 91 minor surgical procedures were performed.  Severe hypertension and thyroid disease were common amongst the population treated.  In addition, individual and group mental health sessions were provided to survivors and displaced people suffering from the lost of family or traumatized by the mudslide destruction.  
While in St. Bernard, AMM volunteers and representatives of St. Bernard's municipality government commemorated the mission with a visit to the mudslide site.  They planted coconut trees to celebrate life and symbolize a new beginning and hope for rebuilding the area.  The ceremony also signified AMM's commitment to future medical missions to Southern Leyte.

AMM Volunteers leading a group mental health session for survivors.

AMM is planning to return to Southern Leyte later this year to continue our support for the people impacted by the mudslide disaster.  A medical and surgical team, led by Dr. Bradley Wong, is tentatively scheduled for November 9 -19, 2006.  Dr. Vernon Ansdell is coordinating the medical team to develop a long-term program to address hypertension and thyroid disease.

Dr. Vernon Ansdell
Southern Leyte Mission Leader