I'm in London awaiting my flight to New Delhi. It has just been one week since I've returned from Haiti. Be assured that Haiti is not forgotten and plans are being made to return to continue our medical mission. MoM is dedicated and committed to Haiti and we are moving forward to make sure that Haiti is not forgotten.
But there are other places we need to go to. India has thousands of abandoned and forgotten children who MoM is responsible for and for whom Medical Mercy will care for their medical needs. I'm going to assess 4 projects in the slums of New Delhi. I'll be taking a team there the end of April to care for over 1000 children. A daunting task but one that Medical Mercy does time and again. For me it's about being part of something greater than myself. What we do is simply that which is needed and done without question. The time spent with those less fortunate make up large and defining moments in my life.
I'm on my way to India and expect to see squalor, filth, poverty, and suffering. Different than Haiti? I'm not so sure. The circumstances may be, but the end results are the same. My heart is still heavy from Haiti. I expect it to be so for a very long time. India, Cambodia, Swaziland, Egypt, Mozambique and all the countries we go to, weight heavy on my heart. I keep close to me a latin phrase that reads: "After the shadows I await the light". I trust that it will come soon.
In all things give thanks,
David
Our mission is to help The Forgotten Children reach their God-given potential by creating opportunities for spiritual, social, mental and emotional development, by ensuring that their physical well being is optimized. David H. Beyda, MD Medical Director, Medical Mercy
- David H. Beyda, M.D.
- Phoenix, Arizona
- I am a pediatric critical care specialist working at Phoenix Children's Hospital. I was the Medical Director and Division Chief of Pediatric Critical Care for 23 years, and stepped down to become Medical Director for Misson of Mercy.I am responsible for the medical care of 40,000 children that Misson of Mercy cares for in 22 countries. I grew up overseas (Africa, Southeast Asia) from the time I was 7 years old until I went to college. My father was a career US diplomat. I started my third world medical involvement when I was 15 years old working with medical groups in Laos, and learned to fly riding with Air America pilots in Laos and have been a pilot for over 30 years. My first formal medical mission as a doctor was in 1979 when I served as director of pediatrics in a refugee camp on the Thailand-Cambodia boarder (Khao I Dang) at the age of 27 years old, still in my pedicatric residency. My heart is in third world countries caring for the Forgotten Children.