A non-government Taiwanese medical team that provided free medical services
to some 5,000 people during a just concluded two-week mission to Kenya returned
to Taiwan Friday.

The team, composed of 27 medical personnel from various medical centers, as well
as volunteers, was organized by the Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps (TRMPC),
a private non-profit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life through
the provision of medical services at home and abroad.

The team arrived in Kenya late January, when the African country was plagued
by massive food shortages due to a prolonged drought, according to TRMPC
President Liu Chi-chun.

The team held 10 free clinics in several towns near Lake Victoria, where there
are large numbers of AIDS patients, orphans and starving people, according to Liu.

Liu recalled that when an overturned gasoline tanker exploded in the town of Molo
Feb. 1, leaving 113 dead and about 200 injured, his team, despite being nearby,
was unable to provide aid as it was unaware of the accident.

The TRMPC has rich experience in extending emergency medical relief, such as
providing post-war aid in Kosovo, providing medical treatment for victims of the
South Asia tsunami and the Indonesia earthquake, Liu said, adding that if the team
had learned about the explosion, it could have provided humanitarian relief.

Since February 2000, the TRMPC has arranged medical missions every year to
African countries during the Chinese New Year holiday. It has provided services
in Swaziland, Malawi, Ghana, Senegal, Gambia, Liberia and Somalia.
(By Y.L. Kao) ENDITEM/J