email for next available dates:         
mercymissions@gmail.com

Midwifery Seminar

During the seven day seminar you will spend time learning about maternal/child health issues in the third world, and what you can do to change the current high rate of maternal and newborn deaths. The focus will be on new and challenging research in the field of midwifery as it pertains to the current global health crisis. In addition to the lectures, you have the option of be on night-shift call for births, assisting with prenatal clinic, and hiking up the mountain to meet rural traditional midwives.You will be taught by American and Filipina Licensed midwives while residing on a beautiful tropical island in a guest house by the sea. A few hours a day will be set aside for fun such as hiking to a waterfall, swimming or snorkeling in the ocean, or just watching a sunset and drinking a mango shake. This training is ideal for midwives, doulas, or childbirth educators who need continuing education, or anyone who is interested in birth practices in other cultures and the issues of maternity care in settings of poverty. You can apply as an individual or with a group for the seminar.

Primary Health Care Seminar

During the seven day seminar you will spend time learning about children's health, the common diseases of depravation that plague people of the third world, and how to communicate health issues cross-culturally using non-verbal means. Interspersed with the lectures will be plenty of hands-on practical experience such as a night-shift emergency call with a rural health clinic, helping with a prenatal clinic, and hiking into a primitive tribal village to give medical assistance to people who rarely see a doctor. You will be taught by medics, doctors and midwives, while residing on a beautiful tropical island in a guest house by the sea. A few hours a day will be set aside for fun such as hiking to a waterfall, swimming or snorkeling in the ocean, or just watching a sunset and drinking a mango shake. This training is ideal for health professionals who want to be informed on the unique aspects of health in settings of poverty, or for anyone who is interested in traveling with short -term missions or living overseas. You can apply as an individual or with a group for the seminar.

One week Seminar including room and board -
cost is $1,200 United States dollars.

If a spouse accompanies you, it will be an additional $50 per day for their room and board.   If you would like to stay on for vacation time after the seminar, or become dive certified while here, write to us and we can help you arrange that.

Details for Seminar

Send in your application:
You may now apply by email. Go to the application page and click, copy and paste those questions into the body of an email, and fill it out and email it in.  If you are applying as a group, each member and the leader need to fill out a separate application, which the team leader will send to us all at once.

Receive your acceptance by email and make plans to attend the next session that has a space open for you or your group.

Pay your fees within 6 weeks of receiving your acceptance letter.
You can pay on-line by going to the Donation page on the home page of our web site:
CLICK HERE TO PAY

Or you can pay by check or money order in US dollars and mail to our USA headquarters:

Mercy In Action
PO Box 2777
Paso Robles, CA 93447 USA

Get a passport  if you do not already have one that is good for at least 6 months past your planned travel time. You can get your first passport or renew your old one by going to a post office or going on line at : http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

Purchase a ticket to fly into Manila, Philippines. Many airlines fly into Manila, you can ask your travel agent, or use our Mercy In Action travel agent:
Barbara Lambert at Bon Voyage Travel:
Phone :800-800-8511
E-mail: barbara@bonvoyagetravelintl.com

Bring money to exchange at the airport when you depart for your international flight. At most airports that have international flights  there is a booth to change your money into Philippine pesos. Bring enough for eating out occasionally and the wonderful native baskets, jewelry, sarongs, and other souvenirs you can buy inexpensively here. You may also want to pay for activities on our fun days, such as boating, snorkeling,  diving, or jet skiing in the ocean, or enjoying a massage on the beach.  We have friends who provide all these activities as their businesses. If you are unable to change money before leaving North America, we can help you exchange it here, but it is better and easier to have pesos you can use right when you arrive.

Pack light, you must be able to carry all your own luggage without assistance. The only exception is if you bring donated supplies with you we will pay for a porter to help you. (see below). All the clothes you need will fit in a back-back. Bring a few sets of tee shirts and shorts, (or tank tops and skirts for the ladies) and a swim suit. Pack some mosquito spray and sunscreen, and any prescription medicines you are taking. Throw in a pair of sandals, and wear a pair of tennis shoes or hiking boots. Bring one sweater or light jacket for on the plane (probably the coldest you will be!).

Bring medical donations in your luggage to bless the mission of Mercy In Action. The items we need most are gloves, both sterile and non-sterile, gauze pads, band-aids, chux underpads, adult or child disposable diapers, individual packets of alcohol wipes, K-Y jelly, antibiotic ointments like Neosporin, hydrocortisone creams, and ointments for burns. All of these can be bought at Wal-mart or any drug store, (cheap there, especially if you buy generic versions--but very expensive and hard to find here!) or you may be able to ask your doctor or dentist for donations, especially medical gloves, absorbable sutures, 1cc and 3cc syringes, and IV needles.