Three months after joining Taiwan's medical service mission in Malawi, surrounded constantly by patients infected with HIV, 24-year-old Philip Lo (羅一鈞) overcame his fear of the deadly disease and decided to devote himself to AIDS research after his two-year stay in Africa.
"After returning to Taiwan, I'd like to focus on AIDS research as few of my counterparts have had the unique experiences that I have," Lo said. Lo is one of 37 young men who have joined Taiwan's newly introduced diplomatic alternative service program.
Fresh from a degree in medicine from National Taiwan University, Lo found himself breaking out into a cold sweat during his initial visits to the medical ward at the Taiwan-financed Mzuzu Central Hospital in Malawi where 70 percent of the hospital's patients are infected with HIV.
"But after my constant contact with these AIDS patients, I no longer feel fearful of the disease. Instead, I abhor the deadly illness," Lo told the Taipei Times in a telephone interview.
"The disease easily invades a backward country, already infected with poverty, where expensive medical treatment for AIDS simply isn't affordable for locals, giving those infected no other option but to wait to die," Lo said.
"At least in my capacity as a doctor I can help them mitigate their pain," Lo said.
Lo chose to participate in the alternative diplomatic service program rather than serve his compulsory two years in the nation's armed services.
Lo joined 36 other young men in the new scheme which aims to boost Taiwan's overseas agricultural technical corps and medical teams.
Despite an early setback for the program when two men stationed in Gambia, Kao Su-bai (
Many like Lo have found their experiences to be meaningful not only because of the contributions they are making to the local community and to Taiwan's overseas teams but also because of their de facto roles as young diplomats.
"My work here is very diverse, and sometimes I feel as if I am working as a diplomat," said Lien Chia-en (
Lien was encouraged to establish contacts with international foreign aid groups stationed in the French-speaking African country.
When he found out that an orphanage founded by a Dutch group was facing a funding crisis, the enthusiastic young Christian contacted Christian charity groups in Taiwan looking for ways to offer financial aid to the institute.
When asked to describe one of his more memorable experiences in Burkina Faso, Lien told a story about a time he touched a patient during a clinical examination.
"He told me the white-skinned doctors do not normally touch their bodies ... and he said when the ethnic Chinese doctors touch their bodies, they feel as if their disease is cured," Lien said.
"The locals had greater trust in the yellow-skinned and dark-eyed doctors as they believed we were much more skillful," Lien said.
Kao was also confident about his contributions to the technical mission despite his brush with malaria in December.
"I believe I can contribute what I learned in school to the team. I have taken part in the supervision of our construction projects here although the pace of life can be very banal," Kao said.
RSS