ORC MISSIONS Cambodia 2019*
China 2019*
Hyderabad, India 2018
Wu'an City, Hebei, China 2017 Cambodia 2017
Gujarat, India 2016
Cambodia 2016
Hansot, Gujarat, India 2015
Cambodia 2014
Cambodia 2013
Cambodia 2012
Baru Sahib, India 2011
Linyi, China 2010
Baru Sahib, India 2010
Indonesia 2009
Cambodia 2008
Ludhiana, India 2007
Cambodia 2007
Cambodia 2006
Philippines 2006
Cambodia 2005
Jalandar, India 2005
Chandigarh, India 2004
Lebanon, Beirut 2004
Oaxaca, Mexico 2003
Philippines 2002
Oaxaca, Mexico 2002
El Salvador 2001
Philippines 2000
Philippines 1999
Villahemosa, Mexico 1998
OPERATION RAINBOW CANADA Giving the gift of a smile - a lasting legacy December 2018
*Planned
Mission Statement Operation Rainbow Canada (ORC) is a 100% volunteer non-profit medical services organization that functions without paid staff to provide free reconstructive surgery and related health care for cleft lip and cleft palate deformities to impoverished children and young adults in developing countries. The medical teams perform reconstructive surgery for children and young adults whose families could not otherwise afford them. The patients are drawn from the indigenous population of the host country, and often families travel days from their homes in order to have their children treated. In addition to cleft lip and palate surgery, the teams also perform reconstructive surgery for burn and post contractures. Without corrective surgery, children born with cleft lip and cleft palate deformities are often shunned, ostracized, denied schooling and eventually succumb to a solitary life lived in the protection of their homes. ORC also provides education and training to physicians and other health care professionals in the host countries to help them achieve long-term self-sufficiency. For our Canadian plastic surgery residents, pediatric residents and anesthesiology residents who accompany the missions, ORC provides an invaluable hands-on experience for their future practices.
Canadian Charity Registration #866060189RR0001 Contact Info: Suite 400 – 601 West Broadway Vancouver, B.C. Canada V5Z 4C2 Phone: 1 888.956.3399 info@OperationRainbowCanada.ca Website: www.operationrainbowcanada.ca
THANK YOU!
Giving the gift of a smile - a lasting legacy
OPERATION RAINBOW CANADA President’s Report Dear Friends, I am pleased to report that ORC has had another successful year in 2018. We have had support from the board members, our committee members and volunteers for our first mission to Hyderabad, India. I congratulate them for their hard and diligent work in keeping the organization well established and functioning. We are in our 20th year and remain a totally volunteer organization where no one receives any salary. I would also like to thank all our donors for their charitable contributions. Next February, we will be on our third teaching mission at Preah Ket Melea Hospital in Cambodia. Our surgical team will be teaching facial cleft surgery and post burn care management. In October in Wu'an China, we will continue with our surgical education exchange program with Wu'an Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine. We believe that ORC can leverage our knowledge and expertise while working side by side with our local hosts and to help in their journey towards sustainability.
Patient #30 – Aaiza. Babies need to be kept warm post-surgery and our wonderful volunteers in Canada have spent many hours making hats, blankets and arm splints for them.
On a personal note, I'm very sad to share with you that my wife of 40 years, Linda Rai, passed away due to cancer in September. Linda was a wonderful wife, mother, grandmother and we shared many happy years together. Without her help, I would not have been able to start ORC nor have the energy to keep our vision how best to offer our help. She was a person of immense love and she shared it with everyone around her. Her favorite saying is “Love Never Dies”. I am confident that Linda will always be with us in spirit and we will strive to carry on without her and make her proud. With gratitude,
Dr. Kimit Rai, M.D., F.R.C.S.C. Founder and President
ORC's first Mission to Princess Durru Shehvar Children and General Hospital in Hyderabad, India
Manasvini in recovery. The splints are made by ORC volunteers to prevent the child from scratching the stitches on the face.
Patient #30 was a 9 month old baby girl named Aaiza. The interesting thing about her case is how the family found out about the ORC mission. The family is from Hyderabad but the father is a migrant worker overseas. When Aaiza was born with cleft lip and palate, the operation was far beyond the family's financial means. A few months after her birth, a number of volunteers in Hyderabad volunteers had been putting up posters and ads in local newspapers. As sometimes with “too good to be true” advertisements, the extended family was a bit skeptical but they didn't want to pass up this once in a lifetime chance. So they contacted an uncle in Texas for some advice. He looked up ORC on the web then contacted ORC directly and after a series of emails, it reached Dolly Khanna, the Mission Coordinator. After numerous emails, Webchats & phone calls for the baby's health details and photos. Dolly then discussed the case with Dr. Chin (Anesthesiologist), Dr. Colin White (Surgeon) and Doreen Lore, Head of Mission Planning and collectively, it was determined that ORC can accept this case. Due to her age, the family was advised we could only correct the lip for now as palates will have to be corrected after age 1 to allow for bone development. The team was thrilled and everyone looks forward to helping out Aaiza with her palate surgery when she is older. Patient #78 was Manasvini, age 2 years and 11 months with a cleft lip and palate condition. She was screened on Sunday Oct 22. Manasvini lives in a rather remote area, approximately 400km from Hyderabad. She was accompanied by her sister, mom & grandma. The family had travelled for 7 hours, taking 2 buses and hitching rides with 2 cars to get to the hospital. Manasvini's surgery was scheduled for a few days after her arrival, and there was very limited accommodations reserved for patients pending surgery plus only one accompanying adult allowed. So Grandma elected to stay for a few days and mom took her sister back home. The family is very poor as the dad, who was the main income generator, had abandoned the family due to Manasvini's condition shortly after she was born. Mom & grandma both work housekeeping jobs for 30 days a month for pay equivalent to $20 Canadian each. The surgery was a success and mom & sister were so excited that they came back to hospital so that the family can all travel home together. In order to get the child home quickly, safely and comfortably, ORC team members donated the money for a hired car & driver to take the family home for a trip of only 1.5 hours.
Patient #36 was a 4 yr. old local boy named Mohammed. At 9 months old, he put his right hand in a pot of boiling water. Although Mohammed had subsequently received surgery, his fingers had curled inward into almost fist-like position with limited functionality. After a 4 hr. surgery which included skin grafts, his fingers were straightened and are now usable. His parents are very happy and mom says he can now write & eat with his right hand; which is very important, as the local custom is to use the right hand to eat.
Mohammed and his mom post-surgery
October 18-28 Dr. K. Niranjini, Dr. G.M. Irfan and their team provided a very warm welcome to the ORC Volunteers. During the 10 days, our two medical teams worked side by side to provide care to the local patients; many whom travelled from hundreds of kilometers away. It was a great partnership and we look forward to working with these wonderful medical professionals in the
THANKs to YOU!