Fresno event draws 1,051 adults and children for examinations, prescriptions, dental cleanings.
By Barbara Anderson

Monique Washington of Clovis didn't expect to see eight gowned and masked dentists bent over patients at the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu-Chi Free Clinic in Fresno.
"I thought there would just be tables with health information," said Washington, 24, who got in line for an exam Sunday at the Boys and Girls Club on Augusta Street.
Free dental care was only one of the services Valley residents took advantage of at the first Tzu-Chi health fair in Fresno. Pharmacists handed out medications, acupuncturists positioned tiny needles on pressure points, and doctors peered into eyes and ears.
James Peterson, 63, of Fresno waited patiently, prescription in hand, to see a pharmacist and get a free supply of medicine for his diabetes.
A glucose test showed his blood sugar was dangerously high.
"I ran out of medicine this morning," Peterson said.
The examination at the clinic was his first check-up in about six years.
"I don't have nothing," he said of money to pay to see a doctor.
By 9 a.m., the Boys and Girls Club was crowded with people waiting for a doctor to check their blood pressure, get a blood test, obtain a vision screening or have their teeth cleaned.
Parents used the time between exams to rummage through dresses, shirts and pants, looking for back-to-school clothes among stacks of donated clothing arranged on pool tables.
Others got a free haircut or picked up bags with laundry detergent, shampoo, pasta and beans.
By the end of the health fair, 1,051 adults and children had been seen by doctors and dentists.
"That number just indicates there's a huge need in this community" for free medical service, said Debra Boudreaux, executive administrator of the Buddhist Tzu-Chi Free Clinic.
Tzu-Chi will be back, Boudreaux said. But the clinic may move to a rural part of Fresno County to reach people who were unable to attend the health fair in Fresno.
Community advocates were already working Sunday to lay the groundwork for another Tzu-Chi clinic in the Central Valley.
"This is just the first time, but it's not the last time," said Enrique Reade, who helped find a place for the health fair in Fresno.
Helping people who don't have medical insurance and are needy is the goal of the Buddhist charity, which was founded in 1966 by a Buddhist nun and Taiwanese homemakers.
Free medical care is a way "to give love to the needy people to improve the whole society," said Peter Chang, a Los Angeles postal employee and Tzu-Chi volunteer who came to Fresno to help with the clinic.
Volunteers make the work possible, Chang said.
In Fresno, 30 medical professionals donated their time.
"The clinic is a way to serve the community," said Dr. Chun C. Chan, a Madera pediatrician, who volunteered to examine children at the Fresno clinic.
Chan has participated at Tzu-Chi clinics in Delano, McFarland, Bakersfield and San Francisco.
Maria Soberanis, 40, of Fresno is attending school to improve her English proficiency. Her husband works at a ranch, but there is no health insurance for the family. She was grateful for the free medical care.
She sat motionless in a chair, shiny pins jutting out of her right wrist and thigh.
A friend suggested she try acupuncture for her arm and leg pain.
"She said it is very good and I'll feel better."