CARE Team Medical Missions
Direct care & provider training — Line Islands, Republic of Kiribati
$80,000 fully funds a week-long medical mission: volunteer travel, supplies, equipment and logistics for communities where our first mission reached nearly one in five residents.
The Need
The Line Islands are among the world’s most medically underserved inhabited places. Kiritimati has no resident dentist, optometrist or specialist physician; Fanning and Washington have no doctor. Specialist care is more than 2,000 miles away on South Tarawa, leaving many treatable conditions unmanaged.
In April 2026, seven care providers and four support staff worked alongside local health personnel to treat nearly 900 patients. Care included general exams, vision screening and roughly 75 eyeglass prescriptions, about 12 laser eye surgeries, 130+ dental extractions, wound care, breast exams, asthma and diabetes management, and treatment of conditions including mycetoma. Demand still exceeded capacity.
The Program
Oceans of Gratitude is building toward three missions a year, each shaped around local priorities such as dental care, maternal health, immunization and chronic disease. Local provider training is built into every mission so skills, equipment and continuity grow over time.
December 2026
Dedicated dental mission: extractions, restorative and preventive care, with a longer-term goal of a denture program.
2027
Two broad-based missions in April and August covering primary care, chronic disease, women’s and children’s health, immunizations, dermatology and provider training.
Mission Funding
Transport drives the budget: moving people and equipment across 2,000+ miles of ocean. Donated and surplus medical supplies help keep the cost of care unusually low.
- ~$35,000April 2026 actual — volunteers self-funded travel
- ~$80,000Lean model — travel, lodging, shipping and logistics covered
- ~$150,000Fully funded — expanded supplies, specialized equipment, shipping and local training
Ways to Help
- ~$90Sponsor one patient’s care
- ~$11,500Sponsor a full mission day
- $80,000+Fund an entire mission
To direct your gift to this program, note the program name with your donation.
April 2026 — First mission complete. Nearly 900 patients treated in three days on Kiritimati.