The staff and volunteers at Medical Teams International are extremely proud to announce that Ian Yocum has been selected as a finalist for the Classy Awards, the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country.

Ian Yocum, a battalion chief with the Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, has been a Medical Teams International volunteer since 2004, when the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions of people. Since then, he has been on 7 missions to disaster-affected areas in Uganda, Sri Lanka and Japan.

When asked why he loves volunteering, Ian quickly responds: "It allows me to marry my three passions: my profession, my desire to help people and my love of travel. More importantly, it lets me teach my kids, Wyett (age 8) and Cooper (age 5), that the world is a big place and that we need to help each other. Volunteering gets your out of your usual ‘comfort zone’ and makes you become a more well-rounded person.”

Over the past 10 years, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue (TVF&R) firefighters have donated their time and money to help Medical Teams International provide assistance in countries around the world.

Please support the TVF&R volunteer team. Thank you!

Dr. Paul Neumann is in Uganda and wrote this blog post of his experiences there.

A day of service is over as I sit on the narrow concrete patio in front of my hotel room in Kisoro, Uganda. It has been raining. The normally smoky air is clearing and the bar across the street is revving up their sound system with a dense beat and unintelligible words. Rumbling overhead thunder belittles the distorted synthesized rhythm from the bar. Heavy woven baskets ride on thick haired women with bright dresses somehow moving elegantly through the mud.

A large, wet and irate bird preens itself suspiciously on the iron railing near me. A yellow beak pushes black and white oily feathers askew. His head cocks cruelly as he shuffles on dirty and surprisingly large claws. His black and very shiny eyes do not leave me. Startled, he flies to the north. His dark eyes will see something different there.

Five kilometers away, over ten thousand souls are wandering behind a wooden fence. They are in a transit center after fleeing from their homes.

A transit center is not a place to stay. It is limbo - not heaven and certainly closer to hell. You don't get to stay there. You are there but to be registered and moved somewhere else eventually. People mill about with swarms of children underfoot. An occasional goat or chicken protests and then moves loudly out of the way. The ground is rocky with sharp volcanic stone and few patches of trampled grass. The air is perfumed with feces, wood smoke and urine.

You sleep under plastic, crowded with other bodies. The crowded sleeping is good since the nights are cold. Last week, two babies rolled too far from their mothers and died from exposure without blankets.

During the day, we treat little bodies dry and depleted from days of diarrhea. Bodies with malnutrition, bullet holes, infections with viruses, bacteria and worms of unimaginable variety. Swollen bellies under thin arms and yellow eyes. Infants with limbs swollen with infection.

The transit center is a coarse mix of laughing children, broken bodies, broken souls and broken lives. Two meals of sorghum porridge a day and a crowded tent to share. A miserable place but better than where these Congolese are coming from. Daily, the families arrive. Over 16,000 refugees have been registered so far.

Read more about Dr. Neumann's experiences in his blog Nyakabande Transit Center Refugee Crisis

In KATU’s segment, Everyday Heroes, Steve Dunn reports “What if you didn’t go to the movies one night or skipped that latte for a couple of days? That money could actually save a life. That’s the message that a teenage girl wants to get out.

“Walking through Medical Teams International’s REAL. LIFE. Exhibit, 18 year-old Grace Altree stops to point out something to us.”

“That flashing light,” she said, “every time it goes off, another child has died from a preventable illness.”

Steve Dunn continues, “It is a staggering statistic. By the time you finish watching this story, more than 28 kids in Africa will die from a preventable disease, a disease like malaria.”

See how Grace Altree is raising money and helping save children’s lives in the video KATU’s Everyday Hero and learn more at Kids Fight Malaria.

Paul Wittkamp and Diane Meinholz volunteer to teach EMS skills to students in Uzbekistan. Here are their stories.

Paul writes:

I volunteer as an EMT one or two nights per week. A friend of mine and fellow EMT and crew-member, Diane Meinholz, has done trips with MTI in the past. She suggested I check out the MTI web site and monitor the volunteer opportunities. When I saw the Uzbekistan opportunity and saw how it really captured my skill set, I couldn't pass it by.  I knew this trip would be rewarding, but I had no idea it would be this good! 

What marvelous people to work with, including the staff. All of the students I was involved with really had a passion to learn and improve themselves so that they in turn could help others. I heard comments from the fire fighters we worked with about all of the situations they had seen and been involved with. They explained how it troubled them to not know how to properly care for their neighbors, the victims and patients. Now they feel they really have the ability to make that first positive impact. I think all of us are very gratified that we are blessed with the knowledge and skills that these responders need and were put in a position to be able to help. God's plan in action!

I was very honored by these students. Never having met a one of them in the past, we became part of their "family" after just a few days. The fire fighters started to call me "Brother Paul." I'm sure this is a title that is not given lightly. Even without a common language, it was obvious we were communicating through our common respect and bond.

Diane writes:

Going to Uzbekistan dispelled a lot of preconceived ideas.  I heard several times from very educated people how the firemen were "simple people".  At first that bothered me. I thought it was meant in a derogatory manner.  I also got the impression that a woman teaching firefighters seemed like a nontraditional role.  This bothered me for about 30 seconds as the firefighters wanted to know all there was to know to help others.  They were so eager to learn and try and do the tasks asked of them correctly.  I was very impressed with them.  Firefighters and first responders are a light when someone’s day goes dark with tragedy.  If that's makes them and myself "simple," then I'm very proud to be simple!

Since I've been back in the states and have told my stories to people, one question everyone inevitably asks, "Would you do it again?" The answer is a very resounding, "YES!  In a heartbeat.” 

I want to thank you and the Uzbekistan Medical Teams International and all the firefighters for giving me the opportunity to share my knowledge and experience.  I do hope one day to return.

A team of volunteers from Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, is in Haiti supporting the work of Haiti Advantage. The team, who call themselves Team Rehab, post regularly about their work and travels. A recent excerpt from their blog reads:

"Team Rehab, the third Project Haiti group, is leaving tomorrow on their ten day trip! Each team so far has had such a life changing experience and I can't wait to hear what is in store for this team. Team Rehab is delivering bags and parcels of donated equipment and supplies geared toward amputee care, pediatrics, and wound care. I am amazed at the amount of donations and equipment that is continuing to come in. Continue to keep this team in your prayers and thoughts as they travel..."

Read more on the Rehab Haite blog.

Donna Erickson is getting a pretty amazing gift. She gets to spend two weeks traveling with her daughter—to Haiti!

Donna is a busy nationally syndicated newspaper columnist, author, award-winning family lifestyle expert, and host of the television series Donna's Day on PBS. For more than 20 years, Donna has been nationally recognized for inspiring adults to connect with kids through her budget-minded recipes and activities, designed to develop lasting memories, strengthen family relationships and make the time spent with kids count.

And the time she’ll be spending with daughter Dr. Britt Erickson, an OB/GYN, will really be special. The two women will provide volunteer support to Medical Teams International’s various programs and clinics in Haiti including the Centre Medical Beraca in La Puente and the Haiti Advantage program in Port au Prince.

Donna hopes her trip will shine a light on the progress being made in Haiti and the work that Medical Teams International is doing to provide medical care and hope to Haitian families.

"It's a privilege to serve in Haiti this month with this fine and dedicated organization that not only sends doctors and nurses, but encourages non-medically trained professionals like myself to volunteer,” says Donna. “On a personal level, I’ll have the opportunity for the first time to see my daughter in action as an OB/GYN. I think of our teaming up as Take Your Mom to Work Day! --a unique Mother’s Day gift for 2012."

Donna's Twitter conversation about her trip is on our special Donna in Haiti page.

Also, make sure to follow Donna's travels in Haiti on Twitter @Donna_Erickson via #DonnaInHaiti or on Facebook at Donna's Day.