On the 12th of July 2010, the Church of The Foursquare Gospel in collaboration with the Agapao Foundation and the Ministry of Health put on a free Medical Camp in the Vanni District. The purpose of the Camp was to be able to bring free healthcare services to people who had been recently resettled from the IDP camps. Overcoming all odds, including no visas for international team members till hours before their flight, unforeseen government objections, and missing luggage, the teams from Los Angeles, Switzerland, Australia and Canada finally arrived.

The camp proved to be the true definition of the word unity, as International and local, Christian and non-Christian, doctors came together to serve our brothers and sisters in the North.  A team of local doctors joined together with a team of international doctors from the USA, Canada, Australia and Switzerland to serve the people in the North of the Island. 

What unfolded over the two weeks was truly unbelievable. As we entered into areas that have long been closed off to the general public and foreign agencies, we were uncertain as to what to expect. To our delight, we received a warm reception from the army, who worked alongside us and showed true compassion to the people. The army paved the way for us by distributing handbills, as well as putting up banners and posters promoting the medical camp.

The camp was held over the span of 2 weeks from the 12th-24th of July in 7 different locations in the Vanni area - Mallavi, Nedunkeni, Oddusuddan, Puyilankulam, Pooneryn,Naddankandal and Pandivirichchan. We travelled for 2 hours everyday from our base camp in Vavuniya to each of the aforementioned areas and were at each location for a period of 2 days.

Since we were serving people in these remote areas, we hired buses to transport the people from neighbouring villages and schools to come to the campsites. We wanted to be able to serve the maximum amount of people within the short period of time that was available to us.

At the campsite once the people arrived they were led through the triage area, where their various medical conditions were written down. While they waited to be seen by a doctor, the people were entertained by volunteers who performed skits, sang songs and played games. The waiting crowd also received refreshments and lunch that was provided by the Army.

For the duration of the camp our team of doctors and nurses saw an average of 900 people a day and encountered diseases such as diabetes, infections, skin conditions, malnutrition and severe war wounds, including broken bones.

Some of the more remarkable stories from the camp: a lady who continued to live despite a bullet lodged in her brain with only complaints of frequent headaches, and an army officer who suffered a sniper shooting through the left side of his chest only to find that his heart was actually located on the right side of his body. 

As the camp drew to a close, we had Rs. 10 million worth of medicines remaining that we planned to donate to 5 local hospitals in some of the areas we served in. We were able to officially hand over the medicines to the staff of each of the 5  hospitals on August 13th, 2010.

Overall, the Medical Camp was successful event where we were able to serve close to 11,000 people over the span of 12 days.