Donate!* ow E2tn OPSMILE Tex to 50300
spring/ summer 2014 Dear Friends,
Join our Smile Crew! Could you donate 2 or 3 hours to shake a bucket for Operation Smile Ireland's first national collections campaign in October? Email info@operationsmile.ie or call 01 6676659 to register your interest today!
*100% of your €2 donation will go to Operation Smile Ireland. Service provider: Like Charity 01 4433890
It’s been a difficult few months for the charity sector. Recent scandals have taken their toll and the actions of the few have caused the punishment of the many. Unfortunately, and understandably, there has been a loss of trust between charities and the Irish public. Operation Smile Ireland welcomes the introduction of the Charities Regulator which should ensure that all charities are held to the highest levels of governance. However this is still only an oversight function and the individual actions of charities and their officers, employees and volunteers is primarily the responsibility of the individual charity. At Operation Smile Ireland good governance has always been paramount and a key cornerstone of how we manage our affairs. At Operation Smile Ireland the members of the Board of Directors, including myself as the Chief Executive Officer, are volunteers and freely donate their time, skills and experience. We operate with one full-time, and one part-time staff member, and are otherwise run entirely on the goodwill of our volunteers. Over the past 11 years we have also enjoyed tremendous support from our donors, and our priority is to ensure that this continues. Your trust is vital to our work as is our commitment to good governance, integrity and transparency. The need for our services remains unchanged. The gap between surgical capacity and surgical need in the developing world means that 75% of children born with clefts will not receive surgery to correct their cleft lips and cleft palates.
We are working to close that gap. Our humanitarian medical missions provide surgeries for children who need them now, while our training and education programmes ensure that we are helping to build medical capacity in our partner countries and enabling local medical professionals to treat their own children in the future. We do this so that no child will have to live their life in unnecessary shame and isolation. Look inside for highlights of our work over the last year. As we turn our heads towards summer we do so with a spring in our step. Our team of mini-marathoners will be out pounding the pavements at this year’s Flora Women’s Mini Marathon in June. Our Smile Ambassadors are continuing to make Operation Smile Ireland a household name, one community at a time. We are preparing to welcome 650 students from over 20 countries, including Ireland, to the University of Limerick in July for the 24th Operation Smile International Student Leadership conference. And we are gearing up for our first annual collections campaign in October. It will be a busy summer, which is just how we like it! We hope that you will enjoy the long summer evenings with plenty of sunshine and laughter. As there are so many deserving charities, we at Operation Smile Ireland want to especially thank you for your continued trust and support. My Best,
Teri Cosgrove, CEO teri@operationsmile.ie
Out 'N' About Our fundraisers are a very important source of support at Operation Smile. Thanks to all those who have organised, assisted, or attended any Operation Smile fundraisers over the last few months...
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“Ireland Rugby co ach, Joe Schmidt , lends his support to mini-ma rathoners Clare and Fiona”
“Enjoying ‘Carols by Candlelight’ in Monkstown, Du blin”
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a their volunteers of ation Smile in er p O r fo ce oi far has been become a v response so e h T y. it n u tending the local comm erse group at iv d a ch su h untry and amazing wit around the co gs in in a tr Smile! ambassador r Operation fo it b r ei th g doin hat their bassadors on w m A ile m S r ou Some of eans to them: volunteer role m y: Tralee, Co. Kerr Kate Carmody, e th s rm fo ns tra “Operation Smile I born with clefts. lives of children in e liv to ne rtu od fo have had the go to ss ce ac e er wh rld a part of the wo straightforward. treatment is quite at becoming an I feel honoured land the charity in Ire ambassador for part y m g ed to playin and am committ so ey on m d ess an in raising awaren rld wo e th nd ou n ar that more childre to ed ment they ne can get the treat .” their quality of life e ov pr radically im
Phoebe Staab, Dublin: Being a smile ambassador can look like holding a collection bucket, getting a friend involved, or handing out an invitation. But each of those small tasks really means a new life for a child who will finally be able to eat a meal comfortably, live unabashedly, and of course, smile.
Zoreena Ahmed, Belfast, Northern Ireland: I am so so lucky & blessed to be part of Operation Smile – to raise money for this great cause, to promote what it does and to actually get to witness what all of that hard work results in – is just phenomenal!!! I have seen someone’s (and their family’s) life change in front of my very eyes – I think it is just as rewarding for me as it is for a child I have never met – If I have impacted on this in any way, I can say I have stood by my ethos in doing something good!!!!!
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“For me, it’s always a win-win situation because you are doing something you like to do anyway and the work is very worthwhile. You can see an immediate change in the people’s lives around you.”
Many of you will know Michael from his many years of work as the resident cleft surgeon at Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street. In the world of Operation Smile he is known as the once Chairman, and now Medical
VOLUNTEER OR UNDRAISE FOR ERATION SMILE ONTACT US AT 01-6676659 @operationsmile.ie
Director of Operation Smile Ireland... and the head of the Surgical Council of Operation Smile International... and volunteer plastic surgeon extraordinaire. It’s enough to say that he’s a very busy man, and when he’s not helping children born with clefts in Ireland, much of his time is spent in furthering the work of Operation Smile in the developing world. As a young medical student, Michael was immediately attracted to plastic surgery after being rotated into it as part of his surgical training, and he’s made
2013 Highlights
Consultant plastic surgeon, Professor Michael Earley, is a specialist in cleft and craniofacial procedures, and one of three cleft surgeons in the Republic of Ireland (all of whom are Operation Smile volunteers).
it his life’s work for the last 30 years. Some of the high profile positions he’s held include; President of the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), President of the Craniofacial society of Great Britain and Ireland, and President of the Irish Association of Plastic Surgeons (IAPS). Michael was initially introduced to Operation Smile through a lecture from fellow volunteer and board member Dr. Eleanor McGovern. He’s been hooked ever since. Over the last 10 years Michael has travelled on 12 medical missions with Operation Smile. When not attending to his patients Michael has a wide variety of interests. His dexterity in the operating theatre extends to the canvas - he is a keen and talented artist. Michael also likes to travel and keep fit. Above all he is a family man and enjoys spending time with his wife, Finola (another veteran Operation Smile volunteer), his twin sons and daughter. As his time in Temple Street comes to a close, Operation Smile Ireland would like to extend our heartiest congratulations to Michael on his professional achievements. We are proud to count him among our volunteers and clinical leaders and we are delighted to say that as his professional obligations in Ireland decrease, he hopes to dedicate more time to his work with Operation Smile. We thank him for his commitment to our work.
Sarban’S STORY Sarban is the oldest son of Amit and Lolita Munda. The Munda family lives on a tea estate in Assam India, where Amit works in the care and harvesting of the famous Assam tea and Lolita is a housewife. Neither had ever seen someone with a cleft lip or cleft palate prior to Sarban’s birth. Shock and despair swept over them when they first saw the gaping hole in their little baby’s mouth. Many from their community believed that Lolita’s use of a sharp knife during pregnancy had caused Sarban’s cleft. That or a misalignment of the stars. The desperate parents took Sarban and sought help at two hospitals in their region of India, but unfortunately neither hospital had the facilities or personnel to do anything. Life went on and Sarban grew up and started school, where one day a visitor told Amir and Lolita about Operation Smile and their mission to help children with facial deformities such as Sarban’s. Finally, they had hope and they made arrangements for the family to make the 10 hour bus journey to Guwahati for the
next Operation Smile medical mission. In December 2010, Amit, Lolita and Sarban traveled to the Mahendra Muhan Choudhury Hospital in Guwahati where Sarban received a full healthcare evaluation from the volunteer doctors, nurses, dentist and speech therapist on the Operation Smile team. After an anxious wait, the relieved parents learned Sarban would receive free surgery for not only his cleft lip but also his cleft palate. After surgery, Sarban and his family returned to a joyful welcome from their whole community. Now, seven-year-old Sarban is healthy, attends school and has many more friends who he loves to play with – one of their favorite games is to run races, which he usually wins. Amit and Lolita are delighted to see their son as a happy, normal boy that is now welcomed with open arms in the family and community. As for the future, they will leave that to destiny. “I am very happy to see my son after his successful surgery. I am the happiest father in the world.”
Donate!* ow E2tn OPSMILE Tex to 50300
@OpSmileIrl
Contact Us: Operation Smile Ireland, 31 Pembroke Road, Dublin 4, T: 01 667 6659, info@operationsmile.ie, www. operationsmile.ie
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*100% of your €2 donation will go to Operation Smile Ireland. Service provider: Like Charity 01 4433890 Name
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