Oregon Public Broadcasting

A small band of volunteers from ‘Medical Teams International’ is leaving Portland for the Democratic Republic of Congo Friday. Kristian Foden-Vencil reports.

A doctor and a physical therapist from Portland, plus a nurse from Camas, will spend the next 10 days providing triage and emergency care for thousands of refugees.

Physical therapist Kathi McCoy says Medical Teams International is trying to help refugees build their own community -- so they can dig themselves out of poverty.

Kathi McCoy: "They've built community centers, they've built hospitals, they've helped with housing, they've disseminated medical cares, they trained medical workers."

The Congo's long-standing conflict, which revolves around resources and ethnic rivalries, is considered the world's deadliest dispute since World War II.

An estimated 5.5 million people have died over the last decade -- nearly half of them children.