Medical trip to Cambodia includes Springfield grad

Not many people dream of visiting a Third World country but for Sarah Vredenburgh, taking a medical mission to Cambodia in January was a dream come true.


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Medical trip to Cambodia includes Springfield grad By KATY SAVAGE ksavage@eagletimes.com trip Sarah Vredenburg works as the triage person on the Cambodia medical mission trip. COURTESY Sarah Vredenburgh takes a blood pressure reading during the Cambodia medical mission trip. COURTESY SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Not many people dream of visiting a Third World country but for Sarah Vredenburgh, taking a medical mission to Cambodia in January was a dream come true. Vredenburgh, a Springfield High School graduate who works as a medical assistant in Burlington, joined Dr. Daniel Caloras and about 14 volunteers on his yearly medical mission. Caloras, a family doctor at the Charlestown Health Center in Charlestown, New Hampshire, has been going on medical missions for the past decade. This was his third trip to Cambodia, a country in Southeast Asia. Caloras and other volunteers saw about 1,500 people during their weeklong stay. Many were elderly. Some had lice, dry skin and scabies. “They don’t have soap so they clean with laundry detergent sometimes,” said Caloras. Other common problems included cataracts and parasites. “Every other person will tell you they have stomach pain — a lot of it is from the (unclean) water,” Caloras said. The people there work in rice fields all day or they own farm stands where they sell drinks or knick- knacks. They lack health insurance because it’s too expensive. Vredenburgh, 25, heard about Caloras’ trip through an article in the Eagle Times. Vredenburgh, who had taken a community service trip to Thailand during high school, had long wanted to go on a medical mission. “I’m not happy unless other people are happy,” she said. Vredenburgh saw chickens and cows walking freely down the road in Cambodia. She saw tangled, low-hanging powerlines and trash “everywhere,” she said. “Their country is very third world,” Vredenburgh said. “It refueled my passion for helping people when they are in their most vulnerable state.” Vrendenburh said she and the volunteers took about 30 suitcases full of medical supplies with them to Cambodia. They also took 60 canes to give to elderly people along with ace bandages and antibiotics. Caloras and his team stayed at a hotel and ate what the locals ate — rice with chicken or pork for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They traveled to different towns each day and worked in pagodas — holy places of worship. The team treated up to 200 people a day, working rapidly to understand the medical issues through a translator. Caloras is already planning his trip to the area next year. He takes more and more volunteers each year he goes and he sees more and more people. “They are just so excited that we’re there and that we care,” said Caloras. “It’s touching their lives.”