Our Stories
Tonga – The Biro Case
A life saved through connection and care
In a small Tongan hospital, a young boy’s life hung in the balance after a biro pen cap became lodged in his lung. His breathing grew shallow as pneumonia set in. With no local ENT surgeon or equipment, the situation was desperate and he was too sick to be transferred off the island.
An urgent call for help
Doctors reached out to colleagues through the ENT Pacifika network, a DREAMIN-supported program connecting Pacific medical professionals. Within hours, the message reached Dr Joe Pei in Fiji, an ENT graduate from the program.
Armed with training, confidence, and a set of donated surgical instruments, Dr Pei flew to Tonga immediately. It was a race against time.
The operation
Working with the local team, he performed a delicate bronchoscopy to extract the biro tip lodged deep in the child’s airway — a procedure that, only years earlier, would have required transfer to Australia or New Zealand.
When the obstruction finally came free, the child began to breathe again. The room erupted in tears and applause.
“I didn’t just save a child that day — I saw the impact of what DREAMIN’s training truly means. It gave us the skills, the confidence, and the connection to act when it mattered most.”
— Dr Joe Pei, Paediatric ENT Surgeon
A ripple of hope
This single event captured the essence of DREAMIN’s mission. Just years earlier, such a case would have ended in tragedy. But through education, mentorship, and equipment support, local doctors now had the tools to save lives themselves.
Today, the boy is thriving — a living testament to what can happen when compassion meets training. The biro case became a story told across the Pacific, reminding communities that education doesn’t just build capacity; it saves lives.
