TAIPEI: They call him "Uncle witch doctor" at Nanhe Primary School in Laiyi township, Pingtung county. His ability to cure a toothache indeed seems little short of magic. His arrival at the school stirs excitement that the children at the school can barely contain, as they prepare for their first dental appointment ever.

Sagigi is a Paiwan Tribe aborigine. He is also a dentist.

Sagigi opened his clinic in March, in Kulanao, the administrative center of Laiyi.

Since then he has been visiting every village nearby. When that is accomplished, he plans a trek into the mountains, taking his mobile dental clinic into even more remote settlements.

The 34-year-old dentist could easily find a position in a city. But he chose to return to his hometown to serve the aboriginal people there: "Dentists are badly needed in the remote areas. In Pingtung county, there are no dentists in the government clinics."

Sagigi graduated from Kaohsiung Medical University as a so-called "government-supported student". Because the government paid his tuition, Sagigi was obliged to complete a term, working in a government designated clinic. Sagigi chose Green Island as the place where he would fulfill his two-and-a-half year obligation.

Like Sagigi's hometown, people on the island in the eastern Taiwan have no local dentists. The nearest dentists are one hour away, by ferry, in Taitung.

Sagigi's arrival came as a great relief to island residents, especially children and the elderly. Many people typically ignored minor dental problems that turned into major problems accompanied by painful toothaches.

Every time he took a holiday, he would return to work to find a queue outside his door, he said.

Green Island firmed his resolve to serve where people needed him most. Taking his leave from Green Island, he headed back home to open his own clinic in Laiyi, where he was proven right in his estimation of the need for his services.

He hasn't had a day off since the day he opened.

One villager suffering excruciating pain from a toothache hiked over a mountain path at night to visit Sagigi.

Having a day off would be a welcome break but as Sagigi observed, "I don't want patients coming to the clinic only to find I'm not in."

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 06/17/2009 page2)