Changing the life of another changes one's own

The Oregonian

Posted by Davin Mao
November 26, 2008

Editor's note: Davin Mao wrote this last spring, as a Sunset High School junior.

As a junior at Sunset High School, my life didn't consist of much more than homework, homework and more homework. With one exception: I was an active member in the Cambodian-American Community of Oregon (CACO), serving as the group's youth president.

When the opportunity came for me to spend 15 days in Cambodia with Medical Teams International earlier this year, I saw it as a reprieve from the monotony of high school life. Little did I know that it would prove to be a life-changing experience.

The humanitarians of Medical Teams International, led by Dr. Dale Canfield, traveled at their own expense to Cambodia to offer their dental services to orphans, many of whom have never received dental care in their lives. I went with them, one of two ordinary high school students with extraordinary dreams of aiding people in their ancestral land.

CACO has a project called BOBism, which extends compassion "Beyond Ordinary Borders" to Cambodia. We raised more than $700 for BOBism, $200 approved by the CACO board and the rest from community contributions.

That money would eventually purchase 200 Hacky Sacks, 12 badminton sets, 15 soccer balls, a curry dinner and much more. These items may be ordinary novelties to us, but to the Cambodian children they were luxuries otherwise beyond reach.

As a high school student traveling with seasoned medical professionals, I expected to be in the way, but under the expert guidance of Canfield and the rest of the team, I was soon able to assimilate the procedures of a crude yet effective dental clinic. By the end of the experience, I felt more at home in the assistant's chair than any other.

Traveling to Cambodia to help orphans would have been gratifying to many. But for a Cambodian American teen who has never seen the hardships of Cambodian life, it was an epiphany. It has given me not only a sense of identity, but also a steadfast motivation to extend the luxuries I enjoy every day to parts of the world that lack even the basic necessities.

My thanks go out to Medical Teams International, Foursquare Children of Promise in Cambodia, Canfield and his medical team, and the Cambodian-American Community of Oregon. All of them played a vital role in bringing care to the more than 200 patients we treated. Last but not least, my thanks to my parents for making it possible for me to be on this trip.

The final message I wish to extend to all youths, or even adults, who read this is: You can do more than you think you can. I know I did. Changing the life of another is a life-changing opportunity in itself, so seize every opportunity as it arises.