Project Showcase: An Overview of GSMDM

By Ben Khuc -

The Good Samaritan Medical and Dental Mission is a non-profit  Christian organization based out of Riverside, CA.  We originally started as a project of the Youth and Young Adult fellowship of the United Methodist Church, but since then, we have diverged and expanded into a free-standing organization that goes to Vietnam every summer to provide medical and dental care.  We are unique from many other organizations in that we provide a full spectrum of health care to the under served populations of Vietnam.  Our full medical capabilities is one of the things we are most proud in.   Some of out services include (but not limited to): medical imaging (ultrasound, xray, and EKG), a full surgical team, a full dental team, a full optometry team, a mobile pharmacy with a full spectrum of pharmaceuticals, a full team of primary care physicians, a full lab time with state of the art equipment, and a team that works with the local church.  Another aspect we our very proud is the transparency of our actions.  When entering Vietnam, we have all the full licenses, paperwork, and permission to do all the procedures we do.   We absolutely do not affiliate ourselves with non-legitimate actions, such as bribing airport security for the entering of materials.  By doing this, we bring honor to our name, to the name of the United States, and to the name of our Jesus Christ.

Being a Christian mission, we heavily depend on our Lord to be the driving force of this mission.  With His grace, we are allowed have the last 10 years full of growth and impact in Vietnam.   In addition of being a Christian mission, we are a medical mission.  This is our main function in Vietnam: to provide medical and dental care to the people of Vietnam.  We are not evangelists, and this is for many reasons.  The biggest reason is, the communist government of Vietnam is still hesitant of the protestant church, and still restricts many our many rights.  Therefore, if we worked under the umbrella of evangelism, we could never enter the borders of Vietnam.   Despite not spreading the Gospel overtly, we have indeed made a big impact for Christianity through our actions.  By affiliating ourselves with the local churches in Vietnam, we are building up the credibility and trust.   Also, by wearing our logo that has a cross on it, we instigate many questions from our patients for our motives in Vietnam.  Only then are we allowed to share that we are here through God’s love.  As a result of these small but important battles, we have begun to change the government’s view on Christianity in general.

There are many testaments in the progress that we have been making in Vietnam through the last 10 years.  For example. for the past few years we have been invited to the the Hue Medical College to create a medical residency for Emergency Medicine.  This was after gaining the trust of the local government and the Ministry of Health after years of doing such great medical work in Vietnam.  So every spring, our mission sends a group of professors from various universities such as UCSF, UCLA, UC Davis, Loma Linda have collaborated in creating a residency program in Vietnam using the the latest techniques and theory of our time.   Another victory that we have achieved happened after the summer of 2008, when we were broadcasted in a special 1-hour documentary on Vietnam’s premier television network, HTV.  In the documentary, the writers wrote about how a group of selfless student volunteers, with the partnership of a large team of medical professionals, has showed Vietnam so much genuine love through their actions.   Lastly, we are currently putting our plans into action to build The Good Samaritan Medical and Dental Institute–a state of the art medical center that will be built in Nha Trang Vietnam.  This Institute will be a beacon of light in Vietnam, providing free medical care to those who can not afford it.  The plans have materialized in full swing already.  As of summer 2008, we have enlisted a group of contractors, architectures, and medical professionals who will be helping us make this dream a reality.

All of these victories have not been possible without great help, and a series of miracles.  First and foremost, we owe all our success to our Father in heaven–without him, we would just be another “good idea.”  Also I would like to credit the founder of this mission, Dr. Vien Doan and his family.  There are many dreamers in the world, but few materialize their dreams into reality–Dr. Vien is certainly the latter.  Another person who gets much credit is Dr. John Branch, who has also been with the mission from the beginning.  Dr. Branch is currently serving as the medical director for GSMDM.   Last but not least, a great part of the success of the mission lies in the selfless loving hearts of the student medical volunteers that come to Vietnam every year.  It is though their sacrifices (money, time, and strength) that this mission still is what it is today.

The future of the mission is bright.  Over the years we have treated tens of thousands of patients in Vietnam, and have operated a great deal too.  However, there is still more to be done.  There are still thousands  of more of sick people and hundreds of more persecuted of the churches.  I just want to take a minute to ask that you the reader would join our cause.  Prayer is one of the most important things you can do for us.  Also, donations go a long way.  I just received our annual report a few weeks ago.  It turns out that only 3% of our budget goes to overhead costs–the rest goes to the patient in Vietnam.  This is an astonishing low statistic, and it proves that out heart is for the people in VIetnam.  We have sponsored many heart surgeries in Vietnam, which is only about $2,000 USD.  Where can you get a heart surgery for that low of a price in the U.S.?  If you feel compelled to be a part of this mission please click on the link provided below, and it will redirect you to our home page.   Thank you for your time, and God bless.

“Changing Lives, one at a time”

Ben Khuc

GSMDM, Secretary

http://gsmedicalministry.org/