Charlestown
“No, no, no. I don’t want to go that far,” Caloras recalled telling Sam Kong, an Alstead, N.H., resident who is originally from the Southeast Asian country.
But Kong “kept egging me on to go,” and eventually he agreed, Caloras said. “I was ready to try a different place.”
A former interpreter for the United Nations in Cambodia, Kong said he was pleased to be able to do the medical mission there. “We are looking forward to doing more and more.”
And that will happen soon: Planning is underway for a second trip, scheduled for January 2018.
To get things rolling for the initial mission, Caloras contacted a Rotary club in Phnom Penh, and one of the members there created the itinerary.
When it came to fundraising, the mission was hard to sell “because we hadn’t been there yet,” but people were generous, said Caloras, a Springfield (Vt.) Hospital employee with an office in Charlestown.
He and Kong pitched the trip to Rotary clubs in the Twin States and other organizations, and also raised money online and through the hospital. A local dentist’s office provided several hundred fluoride treatments, and donations also flowed in from Rotary clubs across New England.
Finally, on Nov. 29, 18 months after they started planning, Caloras, Kong and seven other volunteers traveled to Cambodia with more than $100,000 in medicines and supplies.
The group, which included a dentist, physician assistant, and three nurses, paid for their own flights, room and board.
Most of the volunteers were “pretty savvy” and had done missions before, Caloras said.
In Takeo Province, an impoverished, rural area in southwestern Cambodia, they saw 1,500 people over the course of six days. Many were suffering from parasites, diarrhea, skin infections and untreated high blood pressure.
The dentist saw about 250 people and “pulled a lot of teeth,” Caloras said.
The volunteers also distributed the items they’d brought, including 2,000 bars of soap, 600 pairs of reading glasses and 600 pairs of flip-flops, which turned out to be “a godsend,” Caloras said. “A lot of (the people) are barefoot.”
As in the United States, ailments such as arthritis and heartburn were common among seniors. Also, many have TB, which was too expensive to treat.
“There’s just so much need,” Caloras said. But their efforts were appreciated.
“They’re poor. We touched their lives,” he said. “They’re amazed that we care about them.”
The mission included a daylong clinic in Kong’s hometown, and volunteers also established a fund that can be used to transport seriously ill patients to Phnom Penh, where they can receive medical care.
“It’s pretty hard, going once a year, to make a change,” Caloras said, so the broader aim includes encouraging young people to pursue careers in health care.
Throughout the trip, more than 20 Cambodian college students accompanied the volunteers and acted as interpreters. Their travel, room and board was paid for, as part of the mission.
A number of the young people want to go into health care, and for them the experience was “big,” Caloras said. “It inspired some of them.”
Since then, the students have been continuing the work, volunteering to transport patients to the capital, host them overnight with their families, and bring them back to their hometowns.
Looking ahead, Caloras is focusing on fundraising and recruitment for the second mission to Takeo, also co-sponsored by the Charlestown and Phnom Penh clubs.
So far, he’s recruited a nurse, two medical assistants, and at least one dentist, and is looking for a few more health care professionals, such as nurse practitioners or physician assistants.
Editor’s note: For more information, contact Caloras at 603-826-5711 or dcaloras@gmail.com.