August 20, 2025
Fellowship and appreciation at thanksgiving dinner for 283rd medical mission
By Joy Rojas
In the busyness of Tzu Chi’s 283rd medical mission in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay, organizers and partners of the three-day outreach made time for fellowship and appreciation in a thanksgiving dinner held on August 15 at the provincial capitol.
Singing, dancing, and celebrating the efforts of hundreds of volunteers from near and far filled the evening.
Anyone who has been part of Tzu Chi’s medical missions since its first in Baguio in 1995 will tell you that the foundation’s large-scale multi-day event has come a long way. Despite minimal funding, volunteer doctors relied on innovation and resourcefulness to bring free quality healthcare to the poorest of the poor. Medical equipment was either borrowed or bought secondhand, and classrooms in remote areas were converted into operating rooms. Clotheslines were used to hang dextrose bags and folding bonbon beds became stretchers.
Yet for all the support Tzu Chi now receives from local governments, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and private individuals to mount its medical missions, some things stay the same.
“Everybody asks me, ‘This is already your 30th year of doing medical missions. Why do you keep doing it?’ Because it feels good to help, especially those who are underprivileged,” says Dr. Josefino “Jo” Qua, the co-founding member of Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) responsible for pulling off Tzu Chi’s earliest medical missions on a shoestring budget.
“After this mission, everybody’s happy,” he notes. “But the happiest of all are the doctors and nurses. [Medical missions] are a chance for us, after what we got in our profession, to give back.”
Money certainly can’t buy what he and the hundreds of medical mission volunteers get in return. “Our best moments are when we see patients' faces changing from worry to relief. From hopelessness to a bright new smile,” says Woon Ng, deputy CEO of Tzu Chi Philippines and project coordinator of the 283rd medical mission. “That's when we know every effort, every long hour, every drop of sweat was truly, truly worth it.
“In Tzu Chi, we believe in healing both the body and the heart. And here in Ipil, that's exactly what we have done together. As our Master Cheng Yen reminded us, caring for life is not only treating illness. It is also nurturing love and strength to keep us going.”
Zamboanga Sibugay has experienced Tzu Chi’s brand of compassion and relief before. In 2008, it provided Jaipur prosthesis to indigent amputees in a foot camp organized under the term of Dr. George T. Hofer, the province’s founding father and its first governor. A second foot camp was held in 2023, this time with Dr. Ann K. Hofer, incumbent governor (and daughter of the late governor) at the helm.
“Your third mission is the biggest, widest, and most impactful,” she says. “The mission is a strong boost to our administration's continuing efforts to provide accessible healthcare and wellness for our people. And more importantly, it has restored hope, dignity, and relief to those who need it most.
“Thank you for always keeping Zamboanga Sibugay in mind, and for being instrumental in bringing this incredible outreach program here. Your hearts truly beat for the Sibugaynons.”
Zamboanga Sibugay Governor Dr. Ann Hofer, Tzu Chi Zamboanga OIC and Deputy CEO Dr. Anton Mari Lim, and Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) co-founding member Dr. Josefino “Jo” Qua join Tzu Chi Youth from Taiwan in a dance to the song “Beautiful Morning Light.”
After two full days of serving patients, volunteer doctors from Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) spend a relaxing evening at the thanksgiving dinner.
Tzu Chi volunteers give thumbs up and finger heart signs following the long weeks of planning, preparation, and execution of the 283rd medical mission.
“Why do we keep doing medical missions? Because it feels good to help, especially those who are underprivileged,” says Dr. Josefino “Jo” Qua, co-founding member of Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA).
“In Tzu Chi, we believe in healing both the body and the heart. And here in Ipil, that's exactly what we have done together,” says Woon Ng, Tzu Chi Philippines deputy CEO and project coordinator of the 283rd medical mission.
For the 283rd medical mission, Tzu Chi Zamboanga OIC and Deputy CEO Dr. Anton Mari Lim got the ball rolling by initiating talks with Provincial Governor Dr. Ann K. Hofer.
Tzu Chi volunteers receive tokens of appreciation and a miniature marker of the Province of Zamboanga Sibugay (held by Dr. Josefino “Jo” Qua, third from left) from Provincial Governor Dr. Ann K. Hofer (third from right).
Key representatives from the local government of Zamboanga Sibugay and other partners of the 283rd medical mission were also honored during the thanksgiving dinner.
Tzu Chi Youth invite medical mission volunteers to join in the spirited song and dance.