Student Travels to Philippines for Medical Mission

A tenth grade student was recently able to witness volunteerism and service in action. Anjali Shah ’26 traveled to a remote area of the Philippines (near the town of Calapan –  in the province of Oriental Mindoro) for ten days in February as part of a medical mission trip which included many Philadelphia and South Jersey physicians and medical staff, along with a contingent of Atlanta medical professionals. The region of the Philippines has a significant shortage of native doctors.

Anjali’s father, Samir, is an ear, nose, and throat physician who was a missioner. This was the fifth trip that a U.S. delegation has made (and the first since the COVID-19 Pandemic), all organized by alumni parent and former Virtua President Nin Saunders. Anjali’s sister, Priya ’21 (now a Cornell student), also was a missioner during her eighth grade year. Anjali excitedly accepted her father’s invitation to join this mission when the opportunity was presented.

According to Anjali, the delegation was separated into two groups – a medical group and a clinic. “The medical group performed about 100 surgeries in four days,” said Anjali. “The clinic served over approximately 350-400 patients a day, all in the back of a local church. Both he clinic and pharmacy had a constant line of 30-40 people waiting – everything was always so crowded because this area has such a lack of access to care and medicine.”

Anjali was on the front lines serving patients in many different ways. She worked with physical therapy patients, helped in the pharmacy, assisted in performing bloodwork, gained experience helping to administer electrocardiograms (EKGs), and more. She spent a full day observing her father perform surgeries. 

While medicine was always a thought in the back of Anjali’s mind, the trip confirmed for her an educational and career pursuit in the profession. “It’s one of the greatest experiences I’ve ever had,” she said. “The group was so amazing and so inspiring .The main goal of the mission was to see and assist as many people as possible. It made me want to have that mindset when I am older. They (the mission doctors and staff) didn’t care about anything other than helping people.”