I’ve been asked so many times: why did Canvasback choose to work in Micronesia? At first it was simple. During our seven years living aboard our 30 ft. sailing trimaran, Jamie and I had seen the Pacific’s medical needs first hand. We felt called to serve the islands. Once the Canvasback ship was built, we searched for where we could be most helpful. In the Marshalls we found tiny islands that could only be served by a boat—one with a shallow draft like ours. Little did I know how unique these islands and cultures were or how much I would grow to love them. The first island we worked was Airok in Maloelap, where we offered medical and dental clinics. On the last day, as we packed up our equipment, I saw a man standing in the corner with a rag over his mouth. When I went over to see what the matter was, I saw he had an abscess the size of a golf ball. For years, no treatment was available and, in that time, he had learned to live with it. He hadn’t even thought of it as a www.canvasback.org problem that could be solved by our teams. Through moments like these I became passionate about our work. We could be healers like Jesus! Over the years, our mission evolved to include ophthalmology, orthopedic, and other specialty care. One of the first islands that we took a cataract surgery team to was Weno in the Chuuk Islands of the Federated States of Micronesia. When a woman was led in, totally blind from cataracts, we did surgery on both her eyes. When the patches were removed, I will never forget the look of joy on her face as she pulled her arm away from her guide letting him know that she could walk on her own. Beaming, she said, “I feel like dancing!” The Secretary of Health said, “Thank you for giving our people sight, but thank you also for bringing the dead back to life, for you gave the blind a new life” We worked side by side with local health workers who made our service possible. Our guide Jeremiah, who Fall 2016 | 6
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