At the end of 2021, Dr. Luan Guangyi, an acupuncture specialist, was scheduled to return to China after a service mission in Gambia, West Africa. But the magical effects of his work had been so remarkable that he was moved to volunteer for another year.

One of his patients is 24-year-old Hardy Maimu, who had been afflicted by facial paralysis. Worse, he had been shamed by neighbors, who saw his abnormal features and whispered that he was "possessed by black magic".

Maimu turned to Luan for acupuncture according to traditional Chinese medicine. That decision changed his life for the better.

Luan, a doctor in the fifth group of China (Liaoning) medical aid team to Gambia, volunteered in 2020 for humanitarian work in Gambia, one of the world's least developed countries. When he arrived, few African patients believed in him or in TCM, and not many were willing to try acupuncture.

But Luan won them over. His skilled treatments and successful outcomes far exceeded their expectations, and increasing numbers of people sought him out.

Shike Nbye, 60, has been bedridden with hemiplegia — paralysis of one side of his body — before Luan's acupuncture treatments offered a chance for a new life.

Paralysis is difficult to deal with in Gambia, and Luan's arrival brought new hope. Those slender acupuncture needles were magical in the doctor's hands, as they accurately stimulated Nbye's body, allowing his shriveled muscles to move and prevent his joints from freezing up.

Many more Gambian patients have turned to TCM acupuncture since then. Even Luan's local medical colleague, doctor Marttar Kah, tried it himself and now touts its benefits. Kah often recommends Luan to his patients for joint treatments.

While big challenges confront Gambia's people — poor sanitation, primitive medical facilities and huge language differences — these never caused Luan to retreat.

"A doctor," he said, "must not be constantly looking left and right, worrying about personal gains and losses or concerned about his own life. He must regard the suffering of others as his own. He must think only of helping the ill and not of enhancing his own reputation."

Luan often uses words from his TCM training to motivate himself to overcome all kinds of difficulties.

"I am not a superhero, just a normal doctor," he said. "Viruses and epidemics have no borders or race. What I want to do is just heal the sick and rescue the dying with my needles. This makes me feel happy and satisfied."

Qian Yizhu and Randy Wright contributed to this story.