A Natural Leader Who Has Shown A Will and A Way...We Thank You!

A great mission cannot be successful without a strong team leader! Our latest TWECS mission to the Philippines is indicative proof. The 13 team members ranging from ages 22 to 65, coming from a wide variety of backgrounds and areas throughout Canada were led by Dr. Marina Roma-March. Although we were all different in so many ways we all shared a common goal of providing eye care to the poorest of the poor. Marina's dedication and passion for this cause kept team spirits high while enduring pressure to get as much accomplished in spite of extreme difficulties.

Mission 2012 was difficult in several ways. Severe working conditions at the Smokey Mountain clinic, just steps away from Manila's infamous garbage dumps were a tough challenge as we worked with patients living in extreme poverty. One of the first residents I registered reported her occupation as "scavenger", digging through piles of rubbish to find whatever piece of trash may prove to be of any value to trade for a crumb of food. Marina informed everyone on the team about the risk of foreigners coming to this area and made the safety of her team a priority. She worked closely with the vice-mayor's office to secure the aid of an amazing group of volunteers who became a key part to the mission's success.

In addition, throughout the mission, Marina continued her work on the dream of her and husband Derrick to establish a permanent sustainable clinic in Manila so her cause will go on after missions are over and so many people in need are left behind. This clinic has come a few steps closer as Marina continues to nourish relationships with like-minded fellow Filipinos.

This amazing woman, wife, mother of twins, running her own optometry clinic in Vancouver, has dedicated her life to the work of TWECS, the charity she and Derrick first began in 1995. Marina captured the highest respect from all team members and volunteers, new and old who accompanied her on this amazing journey showing that a leader can be humble, passionate and sincere during the most trying moments with her never ending energy.

Thank you Marina for being our leader and our friend, an invaluable combination.

Brenda Tosoff
TWECS Director / Team Member

Thank you!!

Imagine putting a pair of glasses on a 7-year-old girl who had been forced to stop school because she could not see the blackboard. She has never worn glasses before and I held in my hand a pair of -8.50 (with a little bit of cylinder for astigmatism). I put the glasses on her face and first there was silence. She turned her head and looked around for what had seemed like a lifetime. She turned to her mother, and then she turned to me. I smiled at her, hoping that she would reciprocate, and slowly, her lips curled upwards; my heart melted. As we checked her visual acuity again with the glasses on, I gazed over to her mother, who looked like she was ready to cry. This little girl was now able to see, and she can return back to school.

That was my glory story on this trip, and that was the point where I fully understood why we were there. In my opinion, this trip was a success. I had laughed more in the past two and a half weeks than I normally would in two months. I would love to thank the entire team for being there for me throughout this life-changing trip. Most of all I would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Marina Roma-March for being the best leader I have ever worked with. Dr. Roma-March’s passion and dedication to TWECS cannot be described with words; we were all infected with her contagious compassion for the poorest of the poor. I will definitely be returning to future projects, as I am sitting here in Vancouver, having withdrawal symptoms already. Thank you again for all those who have followed the blog. I hope you got a taste of what we had experienced half way across the world, and hope that you can join the experience in future projects. 

Jessica Tu
TWECS Team Member

I will miss you all!

Arrival At Vancouver International Airport

Sunday, November 25th, the team returns home (or close to home), arriving at YVR or Vancouver International Airport.

 

Prior to our first clinic day, I will never forget Dr. Marina Roma-March letting us know that throughout the trip there will be numerous times that our patience and tolerance level will be tested which I now definitely agree with. Whether it was during the clinic days or even during the 5 rest and relaxation days we had, the most challenging part of this trip was coping with the various types of personalities, backgrounds, and living traditions.

 

HOWEVER, we were all aware of the purpose of this trip which was not to have a vacation and socialize but to spread our positive energies and our "fortune" to those who live their entire lives on survival mode, with occupations such as scavengers, housewives, drivers of tricycles, etc. I believe our team not only made a difference in the 5000+ patient's that we saw during our clinic days, but also within the towns that we set up the clinics in. I've learned in the Philippines that word spreads around very quickly as the communities and families are so attached to each other, so when one patient speaks of Canadian's being in their town, this resulted in 50 more patients for us and a whole bunch of "spectators" who stopped by our clinics merely to greet us and thank us for visiting them.

 

As unfortunate as the lives of the majority of the citizens of Philippines are, I believe us Canadians can also learn a very important rule of life from them. In the first world countries, we've been raised to honour money and wealth whereas in their community the one obvious or common quality was respect. There was respect for the elders of the community and there was respect for those poorer than yourself. Ultimately, I think the love and respect is what resulted in the thousands of thousands of smiles that I saw upon Filipino's faces, whether I was at the Mall of Asia, or the luxurious Makati City or Smokey Mountain in Tondo, where my bottle of Gatorade was kindly shared between 14 different children. THERE WERE SMILES EVERYWHERE!!!

 

Speaking on behalf of the TWECS 2012 team, I can safely say that we all learned a lot on this trip, and hopefully will be sharing our experiences with friends and family worldwide, and spreading the word about the good deeds of TWECS.  

 

Thanks for following our blog,

Tally Vatankhah