OPERATION SMILE STARTS JOURNEY HOME

Embarks on biggest ever medical mission in the Philippines

Some 300 volunteers from 35 countries, mainly medical professionals, are arriving in Manila this month to take part in Operation Smile’s biggest international medical mission yet in the Philippines.

Half of them arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport yesterday.  They will join 700 Filipino volunteers and perform free reconstructive surgeries on 1,500 indigent cleft children in the cities of Naga, Angeles, Silay, Cagayan de Oro, Manila, Dasmariñas, Cebu, and General Santos.

A first batch of foreign volunteers composed of dental professionals from Belgium actually arrived in the country two weeks ago and, with their Filipino counterparts, completed a week-long free dental treatment on 6,000 indigents and reconstructive surgery on 60 others in Koronadal City on October 30.

Operation Smile shipped 14 metric tons of medical supplies and equipment from the U.S. for this multi-site mission, which is timed to coincide with the global celebration in Manila of the organization’s 30^th founding anniversary.

Founders, Dr. William and Kathy Magee, along with other key officials of Operation Smile, planed in ahead of the second batch of foreign volunteers to personally lead the mission and the anniversary celebration.  

The U.S.-based Operation Smile is one of the world’s largest children’s medical charities with presence in over 60 countries and a multinational volunteer corps of more than 5,000 people.

This year’s Philippine mission, aptly dubbed “The Journey Home” to reflect Operation Smile’s roots in the country, will commence the surgeries on November 10 up to November 30.

In addition to the surgeries and dental treatments, Operation Smile is launching during the period a genetic and environmental risk factor study in Silay City and Manila to find out which genes and what environmental hazards trigger oral cleft.

The University of Southern California, a leading U.S. research institution, will conduct the study. The results will be a tremendous help in public health planning particularly in the area of cleft prevention.

Oral cleft is among the top 12 congenital defects in the Philippines and poses a serious health and social problem to the country.  An estimated 4,000 or one in every 500 are born every year with a harelip, cleft palate or both.  If left untreated, some 400 of them will not live to see their first birthday; another 480 will die before reaching the age of five.  

The idea of a volunteer organization dedicated to oral cleft care came about following a medical mission in Naga City that the Magees joined in 1981. 

There, they saw the gravity of the oral cleft problem, the overwhelming desire of the parents to have their children treated and the wholehearted support of the entire community for their effort. 

The Magees’ team had planned on operating only on 40 children but 300 showed up on surgery day so they had to turn back the rest untreated with a heavy heart. 

However, the Magees vowed to them that they would return to treat more, and, true to their promise, have been coming back every year for 30 years not only to the Philippines but also to other developing countries.

“What originally started as a one-time youthful adventure became a lifetime personal crusade and eventually evolved into global movement that has touched the lives of millions,” said Roberto Manzano, the president and executive director of Operation Smile Philippines, the local host and main organizer,.

“In a sense, Operation Smile is the Philippines’ lasting gift to the world,” Mr. Manzano added.

During the past three decades, Operation Smile has provided medical evaluations to two million indigent individuals around the world of whom 200,000 received free reconstructive surgeries.  

An eighth of those treated globally or nearly 25,000 are Filipinos, making the Philippines the biggest beneficiary of Operation Smile.  Another 4,500 will receive reconstructive surgery and dental treatment this year in the nine mission sites.

The Philippines is both a mission country and a valued resource country for Operation Smile with Filipino volunteers regularly participating in international medical missions in other countries.

“Journey Home is a huge undertaking.  No other charity organization has conducted a medical mission of this size and scale here before,” Mr. Manzano said.