Operation Smile - Happy Anniversary

Operation Smile - Happy Anniversary. Operation Smile, a private, not-for-profit, volunteer medical services organization, provides free reconstructive surgery and related health care to children around the world born with cleft lip and/or palate. Operation Smile was founded by Doctor William P Magee, a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathleen, in 1982. Operation Smile medical volunteers have treated more than 100,000 children worldwide since 1982, and currently has programs in 25 countries. This year, Operation Smile commemorates its 25th anniversary, and its celebrations will culminate in November 2007 with the World Journey of Smiles, 43 simultaneous missions in 25 countries, with a goal of providing new smiles and new lives for an estimated 5000 children living with facial deformities. From July 2005 to June 2006, medical volunteers provided free surgeries for 9,334 children through international and local, in-country medical missions. Partner countries include Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, China, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gaza Strip/West Bank, Honduras, India, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Thailand, Venezuela and Vietnam. Happy 25th Anniversary to Operation Smile from the Cleft Lip and Palate Association of Ireland. Operation Smile Ireland. The growing interest from donors and medical professionals in Ireland about Operation Smile�s mission prompted the creation of Operation Smile Ireland in 2003. Operation Smile Ireland raises awareness, funds, and recruits medical volunteers to support Operation Smile�s global medical programmes. Since 2003, Irish medical volunteers have participated on Operation Smile missions to Belarus, China, Ethiopia, India, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, and Russia. Some of Operation Smile Ireland�s achievements in recent years include; From April 27th to May 8th, 2004, an international volunteer medical team, including plastic surgeon Mister Michael Earley, travelled to Minsk in Belarus. The 32 volunteers worked together with their counterparts from Belarus at the Minsk Children�s Hospital number 4, providing free reconstructive surgery to 51 patients. In 2005, Operation Smile Ireland purchased two anesthesia monitors for Operation Smile Morocco, enabling its medical volunteers to conduct more local missions. It also helped sponsor a Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support training program for the Operation Smile Mission in Kenya. In July 2005, Irish medical professionals were among a team of volunteers who provided reconstructive surgery to 41 Iraqi children and 60 local children in Jordan. In the same year, Operation Smile Ireland directed funds for infrastructure development of Operation Smile Jordan and Operation Smile Egypt. In March 2006, Irish volunteers were among a team of 44 medical and non-medical volunteers who provided free medical evaluations to 380 children and young adults in Morocco, with 146 of those patients receiving free reconstructive surgery.

In June 2006, Doctor Michael Earley was involved in on the Operation Smile mission in Settat, Morocco, while plastic surgeon David Orr was the team leader for Operation Smile�s mission in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in December 2006. Irish medical volunteers have also participated in missions to Kenya (in November 2004, and in October/November 2005), China (in September 2005, and inMay/June 2006) and Morocco (in March 2007). In late 2006, Operation Smile Ireland�s sponsorship of one-and-a-half-year-old Abdul Kerroumi, a World Care patient from Morocco, allowed him to receive surgery in the Children�s University Hospital in Dublin. Plastic surgeon and Operation Smile Ireland Board Member Doctor Michael Earley repaired Abdul�s bilateral cleft lip and ocular facial cleft. In October 2006, Operation Smile hosted a world summit in Limerick for 130 of its international leaders, representing nearly 30 countries, in preparation for this year's 25th Anniversary initiatives, to increase the number of children treated with facial deformities. It takes as little as 45 minutes and costs approximately 240 euro for an Operation Smile cleft lip surgery to change a child�s life. Operation Smile Ireland. Terri Cosgrove, Executive Director, 31 Pembroke Road, Dublin 4. Telephone 35316676659. Fax number: 3 5 3 1 6 6 7 0 1 1 9. Mobile:number 3 5 3 8 6 8 5 2 8 7 0 7. E-mail: [email protected] or [email protected]. Website: ireland.operationsmile.org. Bank Account Details: Allied Irish Banks, 52 Upper Baggot Street, Dublin 4, Operation Smile Ireland, Account Number: 0 5 6 2 3 0 0 4. Sort Code: 93-10-63. Charity Registration Number, C H Y 1 5 6 6 1. This information is available from www.cleft.ie