Next year on the 5th of February, the Moose Jaw International Medical Mission will be taking the skills of many of our local health professionals to rural areas in Guatemala. The yearly event is a charity and requires large amounts of funding every year in order to afford transportation, equipment, food, residence and medical supplies for the team.

A spokesperson for the event, Jackie Wilson, explains what the missions look like.

"We take a team of Doctors, Nurses, we went down and did a week of surgery, we usually do about 40-50 cases in the operating room during our week there."

The team is comprised of general practitioners, surgeons, gynaecologists, anesthesiologists, and nurses, with last year's team including 27 people in total. Every surgery done, including all other patients seen, requires large amounts of medical supplies, which brings a large price tag to the mission, not including residence and travel costs for the team. Because of this, the MJIMM will be holding many fundraisers, as explained by Wilson.

"We do lots of fundraising throughout the year, so we have an axe-throwing thing happening here in September, there's a pizza and pasta buffet night happening in Regina, also in September, and we are hosting here in Moose Jaw a trivia night at the Crushed Can in October," said Wilson, who went on to explain the funds needed, and ways that people can get involved beyond just donating to the team's expenses.

"Another way people can get involved is by sponsoring a home kit, for $300 we can install a stove and water filters in a home."

The MJIMM will be fundraising up until when they leave in February for their mission, and you can find out more, and how to donate at their facebook page.