MOSES LAKE - Sixteen people from Moses Lake head to Nigeria Friday to provide free medical care.

The Moses Lake Medical Team was founded in 2008 and takes annual trips to Nigeria to provide medical care to low-income residents, said pharmacist Lateef Olaniyan, one of the organization's founders.

The basic objective of the organization is to help low-income people who don't have insurance or access to medical care, he said. The team performs minor surgeries, including surgeries on cleft palates, distributes eye glasses and prescribes medication, he said. A general practitioner will examine patients and distribute drugs as appropriate, he said.

The team leaves Friday and returns to the U.S. Nov. 19.

Team members include people from Moses Lake, Wenatchee, Houston, Philadelphia, Florida, Canada and Nicaragua, said Olaniyan. In all, 28 people will participate.

Olaniyan, who grew up in Nigeria, returned to his home country for a five-week program that allowed him to work as a pharmacist there. He met Ken George, a Houston man who was also from Nigeria.

The duo observed the difference between life in Nigeria and life in the U.S. and wondered what they could do to help, said Olaniyan. Rich Nigerians could afford to travel to other countries for medical care, but the poor languished without access to proper medical care. There was not enough medication to go around and much of the medication that was available was low quality, he said.

They talked to a Nigerian government official, who suggested they could best help by bringing practitioners from the U.S. to provide medication and medical care.

Olaniyan started by contacting doctors at Samaritan Hospital, and began gathering health care professionals to participate, he said.

They made their first trip in 2008. They saw about 10,000 patients and brought along 1,600 pairs of eye glasses donated by the Lions Club to give away, said Olaniyan. Both the Lions Club and the Rotary Club have been instrumental in donating money, he said.

For information on the Moses Lake Medical Team, visit www.mlmt.org.