The SFEF Thailand team wanted to do an outreach focusing on the slums, homeless people, and prostitutes in the city of Chiang Mai. However, the city was struck by the worst flood in a century, leaving the team with a tough decision: should they proceed with the outreach or postpone and return home? Despite the overwhelming circumstances, they decided together to continue their mission and stay to treat those around them.
Their first challenge was securing a vehicle or boat tall enough to transport the team out of the hotel. All the military vehicles they asked about were not large enough for their needs. They also needed something big enough to transport patients at the hospital to safety. In the end, some of the team had to walk through the water carrying equipment, while others were assisted by a local NGO team and taken out to the treatment area.
Due to all the difficulties, they arrived at the treatment point six hours later, where patients were already waiting for them. One of them had tears in his eyes and said, “Thank you to the dental team who came to help us in the most hopeless time in our lives, while there was a big flood in Chiang Mai, and everyone fled this area. But there is a group of people, who were willing to go through the hardships of flooding to provide us treatment without charge. You are a light in the darkness that brings joy to the community.”
Remarkably, the team was able to treat 257 people that day. We are so grateful for SFEF Thailand’s resilience and compassion to serve the people of Chiang Mai in their darkest hours.