Smiles For Guatemala
Since 2017 over 360 children have received corrective surgery to repair their cleft lips and cleft palates. We work with Asociacion Companero Para Cirugia and Partner for Surgery to provide free medical care and reconstruction for children of the impoverished indigenous populations who were born with a cleft lip and/or palate. Without surgery, these children are faced with a multitude of health and social difficulties. During a mission, 60-70 children will be evaluated, treated and then reunited with their waiting families. After the successful intervention, they will return to their communities with new smiles and brighter futures.
Since 2017 over 360 children have received corrective surgery to repair their cleft lips and cleft palates. We work with Asociacion Companero Para Cirugia and Partner for Surgery to provide free medical care and reconstruction for children of the impoverished indigenous populations who were born with a cleft lip and/or palate. Without surgery, these children are faced with a multitude of health and social difficulties. During a mission, 60-70 children will be evaluated, treated and then reunited with their waiting families. After the successful intervention, they will return to their communities with new smiles and brighter futures.
Why it matters
According to a consortium of Universidad Rafael Landívar, the George Washington University School of Public Health, Asociación Compañeros para Cirugía (ACPC), and Grupo Chabil Ixim, it is estimated that between 2/1000 and 4/1000 births in Guatemala will result in neural tube disorders and cleft lip or palate. While such conditions are typically treated early in a child's life in the United States and other developed countries, Guatemalan hospitals are not equipped to provide longterm care for birth defects such as these.
Children born with a cleft lip or palate are subject to ridicule and humiliation. A newborn may have difficulty nursing correctly, resulting in malnutrition. Health issues can include infections, and recurrent infections can lead to hearing loss. When a cleft palate is not repaired, normal speech will not develop.
Our team of medical team includes personnel from the local Philadelphia area and Rotarian non-medical volunteers to help Guatemalan children who have been born with cleft lip or palate by providing the necessary procedures to correct the condition. In doing so, we hope to bring smiles to Guatemalan children and their families.
Prompt intervention with corrective surgery will change a child's life.
According to a consortium of Universidad Rafael Landívar, the George Washington University School of Public Health, Asociación Compañeros para Cirugía (ACPC), and Grupo Chabil Ixim, it is estimated that between 2/1000 and 4/1000 births in Guatemala will result in neural tube disorders and cleft lip or palate. While such conditions are typically treated early in a child's life in the United States and other developed countries, Guatemalan hospitals are not equipped to provide longterm care for birth defects such as these.
Children born with a cleft lip or palate are subject to ridicule and humiliation. A newborn may have difficulty nursing correctly, resulting in malnutrition. Health issues can include infections, and recurrent infections can lead to hearing loss. When a cleft palate is not repaired, normal speech will not develop.
Our team of medical team includes personnel from the local Philadelphia area and Rotarian non-medical volunteers to help Guatemalan children who have been born with cleft lip or palate by providing the necessary procedures to correct the condition. In doing so, we hope to bring smiles to Guatemalan children and their families.
Prompt intervention with corrective surgery will change a child's life.