They've been offered a fish, cow and even wives on previous trips, but the only compensation members of the Project Bangladesh medical team are after is the satisfaction of helping others.

The eight−member team of medical personnel from several Peninsula hospitals, led by Hampton surgeon Ajmal Sobhan, is scheduled to depart Saturday for its fourth medical mission in the past decade. Project Bangladesh was established by physicians in the area who have emigrated from Bangladesh and are now American citizens. The charity created and funds a clinic in Bangladesh that has been in operation for 15 years. The clinic employs three salaried physicians who treat indigent and poor patients, the majority of whom are women and children. 

The medical missions offer another avenue of hope to the Third World nation, where health care is often substandard.

"The equipment over there is 25, 30 years old − stuff you would never find in use in the United States," said Joseph Yungbluth, a nurse anesthetist from Newport News who will be traveling to Bangladesh for the second time.

"Bangladesh is running about 35 years behind America in the area of sterilization," said Sharon Greene−Golden, surgical technician and manager in charge of sterile processing at Mary Immaculate Hospital in Newport News. Greene−Golden has accompanied Sobhan on each Project Bangladesh trip. 

In Bangladesh, many facilities use boiling pots to sterilize instruments, Greene−Golden said. Other times, they use hand soap, which is detrimental to stainless steel instruments.

On a previous trip, Greene−Golden's efforts at sterilization were inadvertently thwarted by Bangladeshi medical workers. Anxious to conserve time and energy, they were turning the boiling pots off as soon as they bubbled; however, instruments must boil a full 10 minutes to become sterile, she said.

She used the situation as an opportunity to teach a class on sterilization techniques.

"It's an avenue to do a lot of teaching to a group of people that are sponges, willing to soak up whatever you're putting out there," she said.

Although English is spoken, a language barrier still exists, said Herbert Cooke, a staff nurse at Hampton's Sentara Careplex Hospital. Communication and cultural differences made teaching a challenge during his first trip in 2001. This time, Cooke feels better prepared to share the expertise he's gained as a nurse educator and staff developer at Sentara.

The experience is interesting from a cultural as well as a healthcare standpoint, say members of Project Bangladesh. 

"The first year it wasn't easy because they didn't believe that Americans were coming to do anything for free," said Greene−Golden.

Sobhan agrees: "In this day and age it is very important for us to learn different cultures. I find it important that we interchange cultures because that's how you know people. Otherwise the ignorance keeps you apart. Each time Americans interact with these people, it breaks the ice."

Sobhan, a native of Bangladesh, is grateful for his 35 years in America.

"I know for a fact that Americans are very charitable, very giving," he said. It bothers him when Americans are seen in a bad light.

"I want to improve that," he said. Sobhan said he feels a responsibility to his homeland.

"America has given me so much," he said. "I feel it is important to give back."

Although his background facilitates understanding between Bangladeshis and his American team, Sobhan is quick to give credit to friends who live in Bangladesh for helping them, too.

His in−country contacts also monitor safety concerns, such as the nation's recent political unrest. Although their passports are in order and flight tickets purchased, team members will remain in close communication with their Bangladeshi contacts until their departure.

Confidence in their Bangladeshi colleagues helps the team members remain focused on their work. During their two−week stay, they'll perform 25−40 surgeries over about nine days. The cases are diverse, and conditions vary with each facility.

Some hospitals are set up in private homes; others are larger and partially subsidized by the government. 

Due to the uncertain conditions, Sobhan's team must pack everything they will use. Greene−Golden coordinates supplies, such as the 50 pounds of medications donated by Hampton physician Steven Green. Yungbluth's wife, Susan, has coordinated the fundraising efforts for the trip. She says she is eager to forge more relationships between the community and Project Bangladesh.

She'd love for an obstetrician−gynecologist or a plastic surgeon to go on a future trip, or for someone with fundraising experience to come on board. Fundraising efforts have netted double the funds needed for this trip, and the surplus will support the clinic.

This will be Susan Yungbluth's first time traveling to Bangladesh, but she hopes ongoing fundraising efforts will enable teams to make more frequent trips. They also envision converting the clinic into a small hospital. Because patients can't afford to pay more than 25 cents for an office visit, the hospital will never be self−sustaining. But patients gladly pay the clinic fee − and offer unexpected gifts to the mission team.