News Center



Home News Center News

BiMBA Gannan Tour—A Journey towards A Bright Future

Apr 18-2013   



 

In early August, 2009, at the invitation of Gannan Autonomous State, the Gannan Cataract Surgery Charity Team, consisting of 2004EMBA alumni, ophthalmologists from major hospitals in Shanghai, entrepreneurs and other philanthropists, launched the BiMBA Gannan Tour. The tour was dedicated to providing local residents in Gannan with free cataract surgery services. Located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Gannan lies on a high altitude, and is well-known for its strong ultraviolet radiation, as a result of which cataracts are quite common among the local residents.

The surgeons of the team are senior ophthalmologists and professors from major hospitals across Shanghai, all of them are highly qualified and experienced. During the tour, local patients were treated with phacoemulsification and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, one of the most advanced ophthalmic surgery techniques available in the world today. All of the artificial lenses used for the operations were foldable IOLs imported from overseas, and the operations were performed totally free of charge. The team, all volunteers, mainly consisted of the 2004EMBA alumni of BiMBA, who were fully trained to provide the doctors with necessary assistance in medical treatment. This ranged from patient registration, eyesight tests and disinfection, to gauze removal and medicine distribution.

 


The BiMBA Gannan Tour has come to a close, and has proven to be a great success. Many thanks go to our student Li Wen and the local government for their support and help during the event. Wholehearted thanks also go to the ophthalmologists from Shanghai and the alumni of BiMBA for their professionalism and dedication to the cause. Equipments worth RMB1.5 million, and surgery materials worth around RMB500,000 were used for the tour, during which a total of 115 ophthalmic operations were performed, including 109 cataract operations and 6 other types of ophthalmic operations, e.g. glaucoma. Two examinations were carried out afterwards, but no complications were discovered.

In the evening of Lanzhou, Mr. Hao Yuan, vice-governor of Gansu Province, Mr. Gao Jianbang, deputy head of Gansu Department of Public Health, Mr. Zhou Shouke and Chen Mingzhi from Gannan Party Committee and Bureau of Public Health attended the launch ceremony of the BiMBA Gannan Tour. Delighted and excited, old and new members of the team took photos at Mother Statue beside the Yellow River. Despite the fact that it was already 11pm, members of the team were still busy preparing for the operations in the conference room of the hotel.

Starting from Lanzhou, the team drove for five hours, from the Loess Plateau all the way through the rolling mountains to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, finally arriving at Hezuo City, Gannan, which is approximately 3,000 meters in altitude. There were already clusters of patients waiting outside the entrance of the Prefecture Hospital. Doctors and volunteers started working straight away, preparing outpatient services, wards and operations. Yu Ying, Zhou Xue, and a number of other team members suffered from altitude sickness, with typical symptoms ranging from headaches and dizziness to nausea. Beds were bought from local markets to solve the shortage in the hospital. Outpatient services were provided in several makeshift clinics adapted from vacant rooms. Only a couple of chairs and desks were found, so the team members used beds instead of medicine collection counters, covering them with the BiMBA flag. All the members of the team worked tirelessly in spite of altitude sickness, regardless of their positions.

Sweating heavily, Chen Yu, Zheng Ting and Tie Yi carried operation materials. Lao Xia and Han Chao were responsible for patient registration, and had to maintain order amidst large crowds of patients. Mr. Xing, Liu Xiaofeng, Liu Ben and Liu Sizhuang worked on shift to perform eyesight tests for the patients. Visual impairments of the patients were drastically different, and the local accent was difficult to understand, making the tests a challenging task for them. Mr. Yin was responsible for inpatients census and arrangements. Mr. Hu Dayuan was responsible for medicine distribution, as well as guiding the patients and carrying operations materials. Si Zhuang and Zhong Kai were among the youngest of the team, but worked as conscientiously as everyone else. They ran all over the hospital to make admission arrangements for inpatients.

Led by Doctor Zhang Weiying and Xu Fang, Jing Lian and Liu Chang worked very hard. Their job included giving the patents eye drops, distributing medicine and preparing for the operations. Besides, they also managed to restore order in the overcrowded rooms. The corridor was soon packed with new beds brought from the local market.

 


The nurses worked from dawn to dusk and were joined by Doctor Wang Meifen, Wang Huiying and Li Qingsong. The doctors worked on shift. In particular, Doctor Hai Dong alternated between PHACO+IOC and ECCE+IOL operations nonstop, and did nearly 40 cataract operations in just two and a half days all by himself. Volunteers working in the operation rooms included Zhao Zhiling, Chen Yu, Deng Ting, Zhou Xue and Zhou Ping. Their work mainly involved changing the patients into the operation outfit, sending them to the operation room, advising them on what to do after the operation and sending them back to the wards after the operation.

Cui Yonglong and Yu Junjie were the only two technicians in the team and had to deal with all technical problems all by themselves. They worked day in day out throughout the tour preparing the equipments for the operations, sometimes even without the time to have meals. Yu Junjie got two swollen hands badly burnt by a high-temperature stick.

Ming Qing, Zong Shi and Cao Yang shuttled back and forth between the clinic and the wards carrying messages, and they also recorded all of the touching moments during the BiMBA Gannan Tour. Qu Fei and Dong Ping worked for logistic support and were responsible for making accommodation, catering and transport arrangements for the whole team. They did not complain at all despite the extremely heavy workloads.

The most tireless worker was president Zhang Xingru, organizer and conductor of the tour. From medical issues to logistic support, Zhang was actively involved in all aspects of the organization of the tour, from initial preparations to the actual implementation process, setting a good example for the team members.

 
During the tour, Veolia Water representative Mr. Huang Xiaojun—a former student of BiMBA and a volunteer of Gannan Cataract Surgery Charity Team—donated teaching materials worth around RMB30,000 to the Kajiaman Township Central Primary School, Hezuo City, which was illustrative of the devotion of BiMBA alumni to primary education in rural areas.
 
The tour ended. The past several days had been hectic for all of the team members, and they finally had the time to enjoy the natural beauty of Gannan. The team visited the former residence of Chairman Mao at Cirina, and, at the Lazikou Battle heritage site, they were given a graphic account of what happened there in the past by Mr. Hu Dayuan.

 
 
During the summary report meeting, members of the team shared their experience and thoughts about the tour. They hope that BiMBA Charity Tour would become more successful in the future. From Ganzi to Qinghe in Xinjiang Autonomous Region and Gannan in Gansu Province this year, BiMBA has organized three charity tours thus far, and the team is planning to visit the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and Yunan Province in the next two years. We hope that more people will start contributing to the cause and join us in our charity tours in the future.

BiMBA Gannan Tour—A Journey towards A Bright Future

Apr 18-2013   



 

In early August, 2009, at the invitation of Gannan Autonomous State, the Gannan Cataract Surgery Charity Team, consisting of 2004EMBA alumni, ophthalmologists from major hospitals in Shanghai, entrepreneurs and other philanthropists, launched the BiMBA Gannan Tour. The tour was dedicated to providing local residents in Gannan with free cataract surgery services. Located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Gannan lies on a high altitude, and is well-known for its strong ultraviolet radiation, as a result of which cataracts are quite common among the local residents.

The surgeons of the team are senior ophthalmologists and professors from major hospitals across Shanghai, all of them are highly qualified and experienced. During the tour, local patients were treated with phacoemulsification and intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, one of the most advanced ophthalmic surgery techniques available in the world today. All of the artificial lenses used for the operations were foldable IOLs imported from overseas, and the operations were performed totally free of charge. The team, all volunteers, mainly consisted of the 2004EMBA alumni of BiMBA, who were fully trained to provide the doctors with necessary assistance in medical treatment. This ranged from patient registration, eyesight tests and disinfection, to gauze removal and medicine distribution.

 


The BiMBA Gannan Tour has come to a close, and has proven to be a great success. Many thanks go to our student Li Wen and the local government for their support and help during the event. Wholehearted thanks also go to the ophthalmologists from Shanghai and the alumni of BiMBA for their professionalism and dedication to the cause. Equipments worth RMB1.5 million, and surgery materials worth around RMB500,000 were used for the tour, during which a total of 115 ophthalmic operations were performed, including 109 cataract operations and 6 other types of ophthalmic operations, e.g. glaucoma. Two examinations were carried out afterwards, but no complications were discovered.

In the evening of Lanzhou, Mr. Hao Yuan, vice-governor of Gansu Province, Mr. Gao Jianbang, deputy head of Gansu Department of Public Health, Mr. Zhou Shouke and Chen Mingzhi from Gannan Party Committee and Bureau of Public Health attended the launch ceremony of the BiMBA Gannan Tour. Delighted and excited, old and new members of the team took photos at Mother Statue beside the Yellow River. Despite the fact that it was already 11pm, members of the team were still busy preparing for the operations in the conference room of the hotel.

Starting from Lanzhou, the team drove for five hours, from the Loess Plateau all the way through the rolling mountains to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, finally arriving at Hezuo City, Gannan, which is approximately 3,000 meters in altitude. There were already clusters of patients waiting outside the entrance of the Prefecture Hospital. Doctors and volunteers started working straight away, preparing outpatient services, wards and operations. Yu Ying, Zhou Xue, and a number of other team members suffered from altitude sickness, with typical symptoms ranging from headaches and dizziness to nausea. Beds were bought from local markets to solve the shortage in the hospital. Outpatient services were provided in several makeshift clinics adapted from vacant rooms. Only a couple of chairs and desks were found, so the team members used beds instead of medicine collection counters, covering them with the BiMBA flag. All the members of the team worked tirelessly in spite of altitude sickness, regardless of their positions.

Sweating heavily, Chen Yu, Zheng Ting and Tie Yi carried operation materials. Lao Xia and Han Chao were responsible for patient registration, and had to maintain order amidst large crowds of patients. Mr. Xing, Liu Xiaofeng, Liu Ben and Liu Sizhuang worked on shift to perform eyesight tests for the patients. Visual impairments of the patients were drastically different, and the local accent was difficult to understand, making the tests a challenging task for them. Mr. Yin was responsible for inpatients census and arrangements. Mr. Hu Dayuan was responsible for medicine distribution, as well as guiding the patients and carrying operations materials. Si Zhuang and Zhong Kai were among the youngest of the team, but worked as conscientiously as everyone else. They ran all over the hospital to make admission arrangements for inpatients.

Led by Doctor Zhang Weiying and Xu Fang, Jing Lian and Liu Chang worked very hard. Their job included giving the patents eye drops, distributing medicine and preparing for the operations. Besides, they also managed to restore order in the overcrowded rooms. The corridor was soon packed with new beds brought from the local market.

 


The nurses worked from dawn to dusk and were joined by Doctor Wang Meifen, Wang Huiying and Li Qingsong. The doctors worked on shift. In particular, Doctor Hai Dong alternated between PHACO+IOC and ECCE+IOL operations nonstop, and did nearly 40 cataract operations in just two and a half days all by himself. Volunteers working in the operation rooms included Zhao Zhiling, Chen Yu, Deng Ting, Zhou Xue and Zhou Ping. Their work mainly involved changing the patients into the operation outfit, sending them to the operation room, advising them on what to do after the operation and sending them back to the wards after the operation.

Cui Yonglong and Yu Junjie were the only two technicians in the team and had to deal with all technical problems all by themselves. They worked day in day out throughout the tour preparing the equipments for the operations, sometimes even without the time to have meals. Yu Junjie got two swollen hands badly burnt by a high-temperature stick.

Ming Qing, Zong Shi and Cao Yang shuttled back and forth between the clinic and the wards carrying messages, and they also recorded all of the touching moments during the BiMBA Gannan Tour. Qu Fei and Dong Ping worked for logistic support and were responsible for making accommodation, catering and transport arrangements for the whole team. They did not complain at all despite the extremely heavy workloads.

The most tireless worker was president Zhang Xingru, organizer and conductor of the tour. From medical issues to logistic support, Zhang was actively involved in all aspects of the organization of the tour, from initial preparations to the actual implementation process, setting a good example for the team members.

 
During the tour, Veolia Water representative Mr. Huang Xiaojun—a former student of BiMBA and a volunteer of Gannan Cataract Surgery Charity Team—donated teaching materials worth around RMB30,000 to the Kajiaman Township Central Primary School, Hezuo City, which was illustrative of the devotion of BiMBA alumni to primary education in rural areas.
 
The tour ended. The past several days had been hectic for all of the team members, and they finally had the time to enjoy the natural beauty of Gannan. The team visited the former residence of Chairman Mao at Cirina, and, at the Lazikou Battle heritage site, they were given a graphic account of what happened there in the past by Mr. Hu Dayuan.

 
 
During the summary report meeting, members of the team shared their experience and thoughts about the tour. They hope that BiMBA Charity Tour would become more successful in the future. From Ganzi to Qinghe in Xinjiang Autonomous Region and Gannan in Gansu Province this year, BiMBA has organized three charity tours thus far, and the team is planning to visit the grasslands of Inner Mongolia and Yunan Province in the next two years. We hope that more people will start contributing to the cause and join us in our charity tours in the future.