Winter Smile news
Welcome to the Winter issue of Smile News, bringing you the latest heart-warming stories from our life-changing work around the globe.
Dilan’s story
Following her pregnancy, Sandy from Guatemala City was looking forward to meeting her baby. But, joy turned to despair when Dilan was born with a unilateral cleft lip.
Both Sandy’s mother and her doctors reassured her that surgery to help repair Dilan’s lip was possible, and Sandy remembered meeting a mother whose child also had a cleft and he was treated for free by Operation Smile Guatemala. Feeling more positive about Dilan’s future, Sandy attended two different short term surgical programmes hosted by Operation Smile in Guatemala. Sadly on both occasions, Dilan was too ill to qualify for surgery – it would have been too dangerous for his health. Then, during this worrying time, the unthinkable happened, and COVID-19 meant surgical programmes were cancelled.
As time passed, Dilan was beginning to realise he was different to other children in his community. Children with cleft lip or cleft palate are often subjected to severe social stigma and isolation, so surgery to repair Dilan’s cleft couldn’t come soon enough.
Sandy received the call she had been waiting for in December 2020, and on this 3rd attempt, Dilan was finally healthy enough to receive surgery.
Sandy was extremely grateful to Operation Smile Guatemala, who made her feel welcome and part of a community, she said, ‘They have love for my child, and made me feel good about myself’. Thanks to your kind support, Dilan can now enjoy a life free from social stigma.
To ensure our hospital
partnerships deliver the very best
care for our patients, we’ve set
the following five commitments:
1. Quality
The quality of our care comes first. We
enforce our standards of care so we can improve the quality of care around the world.
2. Safety
We work together to expand the health system’s reach and ability to provide safe care.
3. Collaboration
We engage and co-create programmes with local medical leaders and support the country’s national health care plans and priorities.
4. Capacity Building
We empower the hospital’s medical professionals with enhanced skills and resources.
5. Equity
We allow for the delivery of more and safer care in under-resourced areas.
Your wonderful support at work
Inspiring female leaders
In September, we launched the first Women in Medicine surgical programme in Sub-Saharan Africa. The programme was hosted at Kamuzu Central hospital in Lilongwe, Malawi, and it changed the lives and futures of 84 families, including siblings Elisi and Lackson.
The female-led team of surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, dentists and many more, carried out comprehensive health screening for the many anxious patients and families who had travelled to reach the programme in Lilongwe. They also took part in mentorship and training sessions to share skills and learn new techniques. Among the participants was Dr Wone Banda, the only female plastic surgeon in Malawi, she said, “Medicine and surgery in particular is a field that has for a long time been dominated by males. I endeavour to contribute to change that. I want to be the reason more women join the field as they will have someone to look up to as a role model and mentor. Female patients deserve to have adequate representation in the medical fi eld too to push for equitable distribution of care and resources.”
Volunteer focus
First female plastic surgeon in Rwanda shares hopes for her country
Francoise Mukagaju from Rwanda has just completed the first Operation Smile plastic surgery training programme, making her the first female plastic surgeon in the country.
She tells us more about what inspired her to become a plastic surgeon and her hopes to improve access to safe surgery for her fellow Rwandans.
Why did you choose plastic surgery as a discipline?
“My dream was always to become a plastic surgeon, but in Rwanda there was no training programme to support this. I decided to train in general surgery while waiting for an opportunity to do plastic surgery. While I was training, I worked with Dr. Charles Furuha who was the first Rwandan plastic surgeon. I liked how what he was doing was showing the outcome. Someone comes with a problem and he repairs it, you see the immediate change.”
Do you consider yourself a role model for girls in Rwanda who are dreaming of becoming a surgeon or plastic surgeon? What barriers do you think women face when thinking about a career in medicine?
“There are not many in surgery compared to our male colleagues. I wish that I become an inspiration to other women so that more of them become general or plastic surgeons.
The first barrier is the mindset. We’ve been used to the fact that surgery is for men. You must be in the hospital most of the time, waking up in the night and going to the hospital, this is considered to be a job of men. Women have to deal with work at home, sometimes we think that men have more time to do that than women.
But, when you do what you like, you always find time to do it! I’m a woman, I have a family, husband, kids, but I still manage to do what I love and have time for them.”
What are your aspirations for the future?
“I plan to go back to my hospital and serve my people. There is really a lot of need, a lot of cases are pending. People don’t access plastic surgery easily, so I think first work, and maybe think of further training later.”
How has Operation Smile supported you during your training?
“Operation Smile contributed a lot to make our dream come true. We only had two plastic surgeons, though they taught us a lot, we also needed further exposure from other surgeons. Operation Smile has been there for us with equipment and financial help to make our training successful. I would like to say thank you, to my trainers who accepted us onto the programme, and a big thank you to Operation Smile!”
Expanding cleft care in Ghana
Volunteer reconstructive plastic surgeon Dr Opoku Ware Ampomah knows only too well the positive impact cleft surgery can have on a patient’s life.
He has seen firsthand the joy on the faces of parents whose children’s smiles and lives have been transformed – and this has been his motivation to offer his surgical expertise to Operation Smile for almost a decade.
Dr Ampomah has taken part in over 25 surgical programmes, but importantly he has also been instrumental in building local surgical capacity in Ghana, training other surgeons and healthcare staff to address the need for plastic and reconstructive surgery in the country. The ultimate aim of this work is to bring affordable cleft care, closer to those who need it most with a hub and spoke model of care.
When Dr Ampomah first found out about Operation Smile back in 2011, there were only a couple of hospitals able to provide reconstructive surgery, and cleft surgery was just one in a long list of other conditions requiring this specialty. As a result, resources were stretched to breaking point and very few patients were able to either afford or access the treatment they needed. In addition to these barriers, geography was a challenge too – in a country the size of Ghana – how could cleft care be brought within reach of those whose nearest hospital may be many hours away?
He explains, “Operation Smile came in at a good time to help us providing surgery to people living with untreated cleft conditions. Seeing my first patient for Operation Smile, I knew that this was something impactful to the families, and I saw the kind of gratitude that patients expressed. Also, a lot of these patients were people who, given the kind of conditions that existed at that time, they would not have been able to access care because there was a huge
financial gap.”
“When I came on board, what we did was to try and build local capacity in terms of cleft care. Initially, I was just the main surgeon for Ghana. Now we have about five or six surgeons who have been trained through the Operation Smile system.”
Our Operation Smile family
26 miles brings more new smiles
Ben and Harriet Pinnington were two of the fantastic team of runners who supported Operation Smile in this year’s TCS London Marathon.
They told us, “The 2nd October 2022 will always be etched into our memory as one of the most challenging, unforgettable and uplifting days of our entire lives. Being constantly cheered on by thousands of spectators from mile 0.1 to mile 26.2 was an incredible feeling – hearing shouts of ‘Go Ben!’ and ‘Go Harriet!’ from total strangers really pushed us through our toughest moments!”
“Of course, being able to run the marathon is one thing; being able to run on behalf of a brilliant charity makes it all the more rewarding. Raising a combined amount of nearly £7,500 for this wonderful cause is something we are immensely proud of, and has certainly made all the pain of training worthwhile!”
The Operation Smile cheering squad were only too pleased to be at mile 11 on the day and cheer Ben and Harriet on. They were in great form as they ran past, and still managed big smiles and hand waves to the supporting crowd. Many thanks to Ben and Harriet, and all of our 11 runners who took part that day. Their heroic efforts raised over £40,000 – that’s enough to give life-changing cleft surgery to 266 children!
No mountain too high for Jasdeep
Jasdeep Kandola has successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, raising almost £8,000 for Operation Smile UK. She shares our vision that safe cleft care should be accessible to all, and so became part of one of the first exclusively south Asian women’s group setting out to tackle the world’s tallest free-standing mountain.
The group’s adventure will be made into a feature film by an award-winning film crew who have documented the group from their training in the UK through to the climb in Tanzania.
Jasdeep has followed Operation Smile closely since her undergraduate elective research project on the optimal timings of cleft lip and palate repair. She said, “It is easy to take for granted the surgical care we have available. But for too many people safe surgery is not an option. Thank you for helping me raise funds to restore the smiles and lives of patients across the globe.”
Smile heroes like you
New smiles bring light in dark times
You could be forgiven for thinking, with so much tragedy and turmoil, 2022 was a year best forgotten. But, when things are dark, every small beam of light becomes more precious. And, as you can read elsewhere in this edition of Smile News, you are still helping to create some beaming new smiles!
In these tough times, one way you can save money and transform lives is by taking the opportunity to have your will written for free. Farewill is the largest will writer in the UK, and you can use their free service from the comfort of your home.
You can write your will for free by visiting farewill.com/smile11 if you are in England or Wales, or calling 020 4538 7293 from anywhere in the UK and saying that you are an Operation Smile supporter.
You’re under no obligation to include Operation Smile in your will if you use the Farewill service, but if you do, you will be helping new smiles bring light to whatever the future holds!
Celebrating smiles with Superdrug and Oral-B
In September, Operation Smile UK was proud to partner with AS Watson’s Superdrug and Proctor & Gamble’s Oral B for their ‘Smiles in September’ fundraiser.
Since the start of their corporate social responsibility programme, AS Watson have provided over 5,000 surgeries to children suffering with a cleft lip and cleft palate.
The campaign took place between 7th September and 4th October, across all Superdrug stores and both Superdrug and Oral B donated 5p to Operation Smile for each Oral B product sold.
The money raised during the campaign will help to fund our international work providing free and safe surgery and comprehensive care to children and adults living with untreated cleft conditions.
Operation Smile’s Executive Director, Mairéad O’Callaghan said, “The Oral B and Superdrug campaign will make a hugely positive contribution to our vision of a world where no child lacks access to health and dignity through safe surgery.”
Laura Wilkinson, Head of Trading in Personal Care at Superdrug, said, “We are so pleased that we can team up with Oral B to make such a difference to young lives round the world. We hope that this year’s campaign continues to raise awareness and money to help even more children live a life without social stigma and get much-needed surgery and comprehensive care.”
Updates from around the world
More new smiles around the world
In the past few months our medical volunteers have been working hard to change the lives of patients in countries such as Madagascar, Bolivia, Vietnam, Colombia, Ghana, Egypt and many more. Thanks to your support, we’ve changed the lives of over 100 patients and their families in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Adelmo was one of them. After living 38 years with an untreated cleft lip, he received surgery that will transform the quality of his life.
Nutritional training in Ethiopia
Operation Smile Ethiopia brought together 40 health workers and cleft ambassadors to deliver nutritional assessment and cleft care training.
The two-day course focussed on cleft conditions, and addressing the challenges patients face with feeding. Following the course, the cleft ambassadors will be able to conduct initial nutritional screening of our patients before referring them to the relevant medical centre or cleft programme.
Training for Better Cleft Repairs
In August, Operation Smile Honduras hosted a nasoalveolar modelling workshop. Nasoalveolar modelling is a technique used to improve the results of a cleft lip repair.
The workshop was led by Dr Pedro Santiago, the creator of the technique and bought together 14 general dentists, orthodontists and laboratory technicians from Central America. After the workshop, the attendees left eager to begin applying all their new knowledge to their patients
Nutrition care in Ghana
In October, Operation Smile Ghana provided nutrition care and support to over 170 patients at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra.
A team of nutritionists lead by Dede Kwadjo provided mothers and guardians with the nutrition supplements and the expertise they need to make sure their children can grow strong and healthy for surgery. Dede said, “Our main objective is ensuring that no child is left behind because of malnutrition, which is one of the main cause for not receiving surgery. In the past years, the main achievement of our programme was to give to a lot of children the chance to quickly get healthy and grow, so that they could receive surgery. We could even have lost some of them, because malnutrition was that bad.”
Global Programme Highlights
20,776
patients provided with surgery and dental care
35
care centres in 20 countries
151
surgical programmes in 28 countries
40,000+
patients received specialty consultations, including surgical and comprehensive care services