The first thing Butler resident Carol Wood noticed when she arrived in Tanzania last June was the smell.

"It was really pleasurable, a new kind of different smell. I noticed it as soon as I got off the plane," Wood said.

What she didn't expect was the extreme level of poverty.

"It was just kind of a cultural shock," she said. "And to actually see the poverty where people live … you can't describe it."

But Wood wasn't there to smell fresh air or see the sights. The Butler Memorial Hospital nursing assistant was there to work, and the work she did was more satisfying than she ever imagined.

As an assistant in the surgery room, Wood went to Tanzania with SurgiCorps International, a volunteer organization based in Pittsburgh. The group is dedicated to providing reconstructive surgery for children in developing countries.

She spent nine days in the St. Lutheran's Hospital operating room. Each day began at 7 a.m. She took only a small amount of time out of the day to eat, and she quit each night only after the sun went down. In all, the team treated more than two dozen children.

And still she wanted more.

"I wish I could have stayed longer. It wasn't enough time for me," she said.

Among the problems she saw were cleft palettes, deformities stemming from mothers' malnutrition, and the aftermath of untreated burns.Wood said what are often simple problems for us, easily remedied when we are infants, are major conditions for those who live in extreme poverty in Tanzania.In fact, she said, burns are among the most common problem there because fire is still used for cooking. Many fall into the fire, and because health care is limited or non-existent, burns are left untreated.As the burned skin heals itself, it often fuses with other parts of the body, so it would not be unusual to see the remnant of a burned arm fused to the body.

As part of their work, SurgiCorps staff and doctors, including Dr. Jack Demos and his physician's assistant, Bonnie Scavo, work to free the fused limbs and repair damaged skin. The work is arduous, but for Wood it was life-changing."(The trip) changed my life. It has changed the way I feel about everything. Nothing is crucial to me as far as problems. I look at every single day as 'I'm glad I live here. I'm glad I was born in America,'" she said.More than anything, it satisfied her hungering heart."It's almost like a part of your heart is never fulfilled until you've helped somebody that you know needs your help," she said.Now Wood is on a mission. She is hoping to return to Tanzania when SurgiCorps sponsors another mission of mercy in March. The cost is extreme: $5,000.

To fund her last trip, Wood asked for money from businesses, car dealerships, doctors, Butler Memorial Hospital, friends and family - anyone she could think of who might be interested in the work. She's grateful for their help in getting there."I want to really thank, from the bottom of my heart, all the people that sponsored me," she said. "Their donations gave me a different outlook on my own life and helped fill an emptiness in my heart."Scavo, who worked with Wood on her last trip, said Wood was more than an assistant."She did a wonderful job. She is a great volunteer. She is a humanitarian," Scavo said. "It helped us because every pair of hands is important, and she was more than a pair of hands. She was just a wonderful, wonderful help."Anyone interested in donating to Wood's trip can send a check to SurgiCorps International, 2 Allegheny Centre, Suite 530, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. Put "Carol Wood" on the memo line.For information on SurgiCorps, visit its Web site, www.surgicorps.org.