By Susan C. Moeller
Senior Reporter
RUTHERFORD (July 2, 2009) — A glance around Robert Purnell’s optometry office at 31 Park Ave. in Rutherford turns up the usual items — advertisements for glasses and contacts, the ubiquitous rack of magazines.
A second look gives clues to the bigger picture of Purnell’s life and work: certificates of recognition for public service in his hometown of Montville and commendations for civic volunteer work.
But it’s the framed pictures of people and wildlife in Africa that tell the biggest story. Those pictures aren’t just mementos of interesting vacations. Purnell’s trips to Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania are more a reflection of calling and mission than they are of recreation. During time away from his local practice, Purnell travels with medical professionals, treating people who ordinarily have no access to health care.
This spring, Purnell took his eighth trip with Team Health Care, a group sponsored by a Protestant Church in Lincoln Park.
The team, including Purnell’s wife, who is an emergency medical technician, two medical doctors, a dentist, nurses and Bible teachers, visited impoverished communities in Kenya and Tanzania.
On a typical day, the group, accompanied by local translators and missionaries, travel into the bush to set up makeshift medical clinics. The dentist, for example, rigs up a collapsible chair that can be carried in a suitcase and set up on site.
Usually 10 or 15 hopeful patients are waiting. But, those numbers quickly increase. By the end of the day, Purnell said, there are “hundreds and hundreds and hundreds” of people standing around.
In addition to the need for care, a visit from Americans is a “happening,” Purnell explained. “We’re totally different, especially the blonde nurses with the blue eyes. They’ve just never seen anything like that before.”
Purnell has dabbled in the local language. “I try and speak in Swahili, but that’s a tough one,” Purnell said, noting that he has purchased the Rosetta Stone language program in an attempt to gain proficiency.
But, the scope of the trip is more than a cultural exchange. During a day’s work at the clinic, Purnell treats 60 or 70 patients. The largest need isn’t glasses, because with a life expectancy of 37-39, most people don’t live long enough to need them, Purnell said. And without many formal school opportunities, children’s need for glasses isn’t as great either.
Dry eyes that have been pitted from blowing sand are a common complaint, Purnell said. And, on one trip, his team was able to save the sight of a man who had been spit at by a venomous cobra.
His work in Africa is a far cry from Rutherford. The people Purnell treats on his international trips lack adequate water, food and clothing. “They have nothing in life,” Purnell said. “They live in mud huts with thatched roofs. There is no electricity. There is no running water ... If they eat once every two days they feel fortunate.”
The team brings clothes and water to distribute. In a climate with little rainfall, clean water is “like gold.” The Dojo, a local business in Rutherford, joined Purnell’s effort, collecting hats and soccer balls for the team to give away.
The patients aren’t the only ones to be helped. Purnell said the people he treats have offered him something important — a lesson in the value of being happy with what you have. “They have this wonderful joy about them,” and interacting with his African patients has been transformational. “I came back changed,” he said. “You have a different perspective on life.”
Purnell’s goal is to serve God and people. The team lets people know of its belief that God loves them, while caring for numerous physical problems. It’s an overwhelming task.
“The need is so great,” Purnell said. At the end of the day, it’s necessary to lovingly turn away those who can’t be treated. Still, some patients aren’t easily deterred. Purnell recalled three people who were waiting to see the dentist at one location on his most recent trip. But, there was no electricity, and it was too dark to treat them. Those three walked 35 miles to the next clinic, and lined up for care the next morning.
What keeps him motivated in the face of such need? Faith in God, and a sense that he can help “a little bit,” Purnell said.
One of Purnell’s success stories is that of a girl with congenital cataracts who was able to regain her sight after Purnell arranged for her treatment north of Nairobi. With stories like that, it’s hard not to think of those “little bits” as making a big difference.
