A Ventura pediatrician goes to Africa medical mission by way of carousing in Italy

BANJUL, THE GAMBIA -- From Southern Italy to California to West Africa, Dr. Kevin White's participation on the Lighthouse Medical Mission is as improbable as it is unusual.

On March 31, Dr. White, a cardiologist and two nurse practitioners attended to 300 patients here on April 1, kicking off a clinic that is likely to grow in numbers and seriousness of cases as the week progresses.

A pediatrician from Ventura, Dr. White was a chef carousing in Naples in 1985 when he woke up on a park bench to see an Anglican Church. Surprised to see such a thing in the land of Catholicism and wanting to hear some English, he stumbled in -- to find his life totally change through Jesus.

Now instead of serving alcohol, he wanted to serve humanity, so he studied dietetics on the American East Coast, then medicine. When he diagnosed an old missionary from Africa with malaria, the patient told Dr. White that God wanted him in Africa.

So Dr. White set up practice in Southern California with the exclusive purpose of raising money to fund his twice-yearly forays into the Dark Continent. He leads teams from his church. Now, two-thirds of his family is in The Gambia with him -- as is two-thirds of his office.

"This is the week I go broke," quipped Dr. White, who left only one doctor behind manning his office. He now is attending three times as many patients as his busiest day is America -- 100 patients a day. The need is critical, and West Africans don't have access or finances for quality medical attention.

On Monday, there were patients with pain, a snake bite, and a keloid. Though the Lighthouse Medical Missions coordinates logistics with local churches, all are welcome to the free clinics. Gambia's huge majority is Muslim.

I came to observe and report on their activities. I'm impressed with the level of compassion in every team member's heart. After a breakneck pace for eight hours, the nurses, high school students, nursing students, a retiree and others were still smiling.

On these trips, medical practitioners are a premium, but no one is useless. At the first hour, I was packing pills. Later I was praying for patients and then sweeping up. It seems not too many of our patients and a few of our volunteers didn't understand the concept of a trash can.

I'm no stranger to the Third World. I was a missionary in Guatemala for 16 years. But even I had trouble plugging in the fan that didn't have a plug; it was just two wires that were stuck into the outlet.

Try as I might, I couldn't get them to stick, and the fan kept shutting off.That's when Dr. White surprised me giving me the tip: Stuff two plastic ear speculas in with the wires to wedge them in. It worked, and doctor and patients enjoyed the breeze.

Yeah, he's been to 17 Africa week-long trips since he started in 2004. But I was a missionary full time for 16 years in a developing nation. How does he know more than me?I guess Dr. White's a certified intrepid medical missionary.

If you would like to help pay for volunteers or medicines, or fund a water project, your tax deductible donation can be made at www.lighthousemedicalmissions.com 


This is entry #7 in my chronicles of an African medical mission. It was originally posted wrongly as a note. I have deleted the note and reposted it as an article with a headline.

To read entry #8, click here.

Or if you would like to start from the beginning, here's entry #1.