Winter 2008/2009 Newsletter

Operation Smile Winter 2008/09

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Inside this issue...

Projects Volunteers Fundraisers Events Corporate Student Programme How you can help

Changing Lives One Smile at a Time

Dear Friends, It’s been a wonderful year for Operation Smile with the launch of comprehensive care centres in Morocco and India and more than 100 projects taking place in the last 12 months, providing free reconstructive surgery to more than 11,000 patients in 42 different countries.

It is a remarkable achievement and only made possible by your continued support and generosity as well as the fantastic fundraising activities you undertake every year – we are extremely grateful.

This addition of our newsletter goes some way to tell you about just a few of the projects that your funds have helped to support this year and some personal stories and accounts from our medical volunteers in the field, who continue to give their time giving children across the world new smiles.

projects An Indian Summer of Smiles Operation Smile UK are delighted to report on India’s first Comprehensive Care Centre.

The centre which opened in April 2008 at the Kalpataru Hospital situated just outside Kolkata, was funded by generous donations collected during our events programme earlier this year.

Volunteers have been working in this region since 2005 and have already completed 500 surgeries, however with the increased awareness of Operation Smile’s work, many more cases have come to light and the backlog of untreated and unrecorded clefts in this region, is forever growing.

The centre is already on target to provide free cleft surgery to more than 450 patients in the first year. Working with a local team of 350 medical volunteers throughout India and further support from all our international foundations, Operation Smile is taking its first steps towards a cleft free India.

Clefts are the 3rd most common birth defect worldwide and it is estimated that every 21/2 minutes another baby is born with this heartbreaking facial deformity.

Our work has only just begun.

Thank you again for all your endless generosity and kindness, helping us to change lives, one smile at a time.

Warm regards,

Alexandra Talbot Executive Director

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Project Cambodia Operation Smile volunteers worked tirelessly from the day they arrived in Cambodia to make this project a resounding success.

As well as making great progress with its sustainable development, Operation Smile India will continue to run a large number of projects across the country, ensuring as many patients as possible receive treatment. In June, one such project in Vijayawada, saw a team of 60 volunteers from 7 different countries coming together and giving new smiles to 93 patients.

Following this was a project in Hyderabad which took place despite the massive flooding which displaced 40,000 people. In spite of this, 157 families continued their journey through the monsoons to be screened by Operation Smile medical volunteers.

Of those we were able to help, 112 patients received free reconstructive surgery in just 6 days. One of the UK volunteers included the Pediatric Intensivist, Karthik from Stafford.

The project started with a small education and training programme led by Irish Plastic surgeon Dr. Earley.

He worked with 5 local surgeons transferring his skills and 24 years of knowledge to ensure that local children in Cambodia receive the best possible care. During the project 84 surgeries and 88 procedures were performed, with only 3 operating tables being used throughout the 10 days. All this could not have been possible if it wasn’t for the dedication of our volunteers from Ireland, Italy and the UK – special thanks to UK volunteers Kate, Peter, Marco and Annette.

The Angus Lawson Dental Department opens in Morocco

Dentistry is vital for all children, especially so for those with cleft lips and palates. Operation Smile Morocco is one of Operation Smile’s oldest partner foundations, with a trusted reputation of 10 years.

Operation Smile Morocco have an impressive team of over 400 dedicated volunteers who have already provided surgery and dentistry for more than 5,500 children with cleft lips and palates.

The dental department in the new Comprehensive Care Centre in Casablanca, was

funded by a generous grant from The Angus Lawson Memorial Trust.

Thanks to their kindness, the Centre boasts state-of-the-art equipment, which allows Operation Smile Morocco’s 60 professional dental volunteers to treat hundreds of children each week. In addition, the centre has been able to provide educational training and development for medical and non-medical practitioners strengthening their position as a leading centre of excellence in Morocco.

volunteers story

Angela Wayt

Angela Wayt decided to become a volunteer after hearing about the amazing work Operation Smile does throughout the world.

A Pre and Post Op Nurse of 11 years, Angela wanted to extend her skills to people who may not have or may not be able to get access to specialist treatment and care. So one day, she contacted Operation Smile and applied for a volunteer position. Angela did not have all the necessary paediatric qualifications needed to work as a medical volunteer with Operation Smile. This however didn’t deter her and so she furthered her training and became qualified in Paediatric Advanced Life Support and found herself on her first project in Jordan in 2004.

Angela’s most recent project took her to Madagascar in 2008, where a team of over 52 dedicated volunteers from 7 different countries worked together, providing 433 patients with a full medical evaluations and gave new smiles to 211 individuals, who had only dreamed of this surgery. As well as giving her skills and expertise to patients, Angela also believes she benefited greatly from her own personal experiences and interaction with a variety of cultures. ‘As a pre/post-op nurse, I am heavily involved with the

families and patients from the first point of contact during the screening procedure - right up to the time the patients are discharged. I think it is wonderful that Operation Smile offer an on-going care programme to patients after their surgery in the form of dentistry and speech therapy. It means that every patient can leave feeling they have received the best possible care. I find the volunteer work at Operation Smile extremely rewarding and it gives me a huge sense of personal achievement’.

If you are a nurse like Angela or an anaesthetist, surgeon, plastic surgeon, speech therapist, bio-med technician or dentist and interested in volunteering please email: leanne.werner@operationsmile.org.uk

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Volunteering at Operation Smile is an extremely rewarding experience

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Operation Smile UK volunteers have participated in projects in India, Madagascar, Jordon, Morocco, Ethiopia, Kenya, Papa New Guinea, Cambodia, Senegal and Russia this year alone.

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fundraisers

Murray a happy, thriving baby had his lip and palate repaired when he was only 8 months old. Seeing the transformation of Murray motivated Guy, with the help of his wife Yvonne to raise urgently needed funds for Operation Smile, so that children who are not as lucky as Murray, will also have access to free treatment in the developing world.

Smiles are all around at the Lovelock wedding Congratulations to Linda and Kevin Lovelock who were married on the 7th of June in Berkshire. The happy couple very generously decided to swap their wedding presents for donations to Operation Smile; ‘We chose a charity that represented new beginnings and a fresh chance in life. It is the second time around for both Kevin and I and we already have 2 toasters!’.

‘We feel so fortunate about the care Murray received in this country and know that this is not the case worldwide. Our target was simply to raise enough money for 10 operations for overseas kids born with cleft lips and palates’.

Linda actually chose to support Operation Smile in memory of a young child she remembers from her childhood, who was sadly returned to a children’s home after adoption because her new parents didn’t want a child with a cleft lip. Thanks to you both and all your friends and family for giving 13 children a new start in life.

Murray’s Miracle

Guy and Yvonne actually exceeded their personal target and have raised enough funds for 15 new smiles, after taking part and successfully completing the gruelling Chester Triathlon.

Guy and Yvonne’s son Murray was born with a cleft lip and palate in November 2007.

events Operation Smile’s bowled over!

It was another action packed event at the 2008 Celebrity Cricket Tournament, where leading businesses were joined by professional cricketers which included England’s Andrew Strauss, IPL Champions Dimi Mascarenhas and Jeremy Snape and South African Captain Graeme Smith.

After 7 hours of nail biting play in the glorious sunshine, Incisive Media finally took the tournament cup but not without a tough challenge from the Agilisys squad. As the sun set over the worn pitch at the stunning Bank of England’s grounds, Operation Smile

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guests were whisked away to Bollywood with dazzling dancing and traditional cuisine, bindis and garlands for all the guests.

The going got tough again after an electrifying auction raising in excess of £100,000; a truly remarkable score - Howzat! Guests were all out into the early hours of the morning, it was a truly cracking event. Proceeds from this will be going towards supporting India’s first comprehensive care centre in Kolkata.

HFFN IV is a ‘real hit! for the kids This year’s Hedge Fund Fight Nite at Old Billingsgate Market packed a mean punch in the city’s turbulent financial markets after raising a jaw dropping £250,000 for Operation Smile projects. For the 4th year, the brave and the bold traded their suits and ties for shorts and gloves in the capital’s leading white collar boxing event.

Peak Challenge Alan Rivers, long term supporter and fundraiser of Operation Smile set himself a fantastic personal challenge early in the year when he decided to climb the peaks of both Mont Blanc and Kilimanjaro within the space of only 2 weeks!

Alan’s focus and determination saw him hitting the highest points of both the summit and his own personal target – a momentous £20,000! Alan dedicated the funds to a project in Vientiane, Laos which took place in March 2008 and provided 80 patients with life changing surgery. It was a remarkable achievement both personally and for the children’s lives he changed. Thank you so much Alan and all your friends and family who supported you on this wonderful endeavour.

6 miles for 14 smiles Simon, Wafa, Cathy, Balaji and Ben took to the streets of London on the 6th July running the British ACIS 10k London run for Operation Smile. Balaji who crossed the finish line in just under 60 minutes was literally running for his wife as she was expected to give birth on the same day!

‘I thought I might be racing to hospital in time to see our second baby delivered!’ he commented. Despite the rain it was a great sense of achievement for all the runners who raised £3,000 for Operation Smile projects. We have some more places already confirmed for July 2009 so please hurry and book your place now to avoid disappointment!

Amongst the 500 guests were boxing legends Steve Collins, Barry McGuigan as well as rugby heroes John Conteh and Paul Sacki.

Ogier’s Ahmed Khan was awarded, ‘fighter of the night’, after 3 gruelling bouts against Andrew Higginbottam, the Aussie from the venture capitalists, Ten 3. Also packing a big financial punch, was MAN Financial’s Luke ‘The Wild Boy’ Turpin. As the name suggests, this highwayman hero acquired a staggering £13,000 from his loyal supporters but had to give himself up when he took on the bull necked fighter Dick Munton who only had two things on his mind destroy and destruct. A huge thank you goes to all our fighters who rigorously trained for over 5 months before stepping into the ring, thank you, you are our heroes!

16,000ft in 6 days After 3 days of an exhausting climb up Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain in Africa), Paul Clutterbuck reluctantly had to urgently adjust his “summit” attempt. Having conquered altitude sickness, Paul's only lung was not getting enough oxygen for the final demands of the climb. However, his personal challenge to reach the last camp at a staggering 16,000ft was achieved in just 6 days! Paul waited for the safe return of his fellow climbers in his group including his brother Peter and friend Mike to return from the summit before all making their descent.

It was a remarkable achievement recognised by all his supporters, who in turn have had an impact on the lives of 30 children born with cleft lips and plates.

Paul has continued to support Operation Smile with the recent publication of his first book – ‘Inside Amsterdam’, a wonderful and personal insight into the bars and cafes of the City. Very generously, a donation from the sale of this book will be made to Operation Smile.

Coming up in March 2009….

Grab your chips, put your shades on and saddle up to the table for the 2009 Operation Smile Poker Championship! A Texas hold’em poker showdown for players of all abilities, who will come up against each other, with the winners from each table moving to a head-to-head final, where the sharks will get to eat the fish!

Don’t miss out on this great evening and book your place now by contacting us at: info@operationsmile.org.uk

If you fancy yourself as the next Rocky Balboa then contact us as soon as possible to book your place in the HFFN V.

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corporate Huggies ‘Super Smilers’

Huggies Brand Manager Paul and colleague Helen joined Operation Smile’s inaugural project to Madagascar in May. Paul and Helen were able to see first hand how the money raised by donations from the competition were used on projects.

The turnout was phenomenal and way exceeded the expectations of the

volunteers. 211 individuals were able to receive surgery on this occasion, but over 200 others had to be turned away but were asked to return in November, when the team goes back to provide even more children with new smiles! Summing up his time on the project, Huggies Brand Manager Paul commented; “This really was a once in a lifetime opportunity to witness first hand the great work that Operation Smile does and experience the hard work and team spirit that goes into every project.

Normally companies donate money to good causes without really knowing the full story of how it is spent. Direct involvement, both on an emotional and physical level, means a better understanding of what you are supporting and more importantly confirms why we should continue to partner with such an amazing charity’.

Q-Med raise £9,000

Agilisys ‘raises’ smiles!

Dial ‘n’ Smile at Brakes

Biotechnology company Q-Med have continued their ongoing support of Operation Smile by raising £9,000 through their 'Science Proven' conference held at the Royal College of Physicians in September 2008. The conference saw many leaders in the field of natural enhancements come together for a stimulating day of talks and networking.

It is the 4th year that ‘Q-Med’ have supported Operation Smile and this year, we were delighted to be presented with a giant cheque!

Agilisys a leading contact service specialist have been raising smiles throughout their call centres across the UK. At the Barrow office in June, the team arranged a beach party where representatives had to take calls whilst playing volleyball! They also made smiley cakes and even one sporting gentleman was sponsored to wear only a pair of trunks for the day! Events included a fancy dress competition, space hopper races, hula hoop competition, a raffle and a barbeque. Barrow even has its own Operation Smile tuck shop that generates funds as well as keeping the staff stocked up on chocolate and fizzy drinks. They have also a weekly bonus ball draw where the person who selects the bonus ball receives £30 and the remaining £19 each week goes to Operation Smile.

Brakes, the UK’s leading catering supplier engaged each of their call centres in Runcorn, Tamworth, Focus Corby, Motherwell & Bridgend to come up with innovative ways to raise funds for Operation Smile. Director of Telesales, Roz Taylor said “When you work in a sales environment you are constantly looking for new way to motivate your team to achieve their goals. During 2007 we launched our ‘Smile n Dial’ Corporate Telesales Incentive Scheme; we had a fantastic first year and wanted to add a ‘Challenge’ that would bring the teams even closer together. In 2008 we partnered with Operation Smile. The ‘Challenge’ has moved from the usual competitiveness between sites to us acting at ‘One Big Team’ that wants to be part of changing as many lives as possible; and we are, with over 100 smiles in 9 months”.

Just some of the events that have taken place this year by the fantastic Brakes team include a Pyjama Party, Irish Bingo Day, Bash the Donkey competition (no animals were hurt during this competition!), Beach Party, Fancy Dress Day, Brakes Got Talent Competition and the Dragon Boat Racing. Thank you to you all for your infectious enthusiasm!

Huggies Super-Dry nappies raised a massive £15,000 after they searched for the face of Super-Dry with the ‘super-smiler competition’ in January. Thousands of proud mums and dads uploaded photos of their children and got friends and family to vote for them. Not only did they raise much needed funds for Operation Smile projects but also awareness of the problems facing children in developing countries born with cleft lips and palates.

Agilisys have got off to a fantastic start already banking in excess of £6,000.

There are so many more Corporate Smile Ambassadors to thank but we simply can’t fit you all in! Thank you all so much for your wonderful and continued support!

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student programme Sarum Hall School don’t hide behind their masks!

Students and teachers at Sarum Hall School deserve a very big Operation Smile thank you after raising a staggering £4,270 earlier this year and helped to give 28 new smiles to children suffering from facial deformities. Pupils held a number of exciting fundraising events including a cake sale, a mask making competition, smiley face cards and also a very successful ice-lolly sale! Thank you all and keep smiling Sarum Hall!

Latymer students take to the sales!

www.operationsmile.org.uk/programs/students

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Operation Smile would like to offer a huge thank you and congratulations to Latymer School for raising an enormous £4,530. Back in the autumn, Operation Smile gave students and teachers a special presentation that propelled Latymer pupils to raise money by holding a series of events including a Mufti Day and a bring ‘n’ buy sale.

Two of the students even asked their friends to make a donation to Operation Smile rather than receiving birthday presents and instead gave their best wishes to other children who are less fortunate.

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We have a wonderful programme packed full of fun ideas for friends, family and teachers to get involved in. You could take part in the ‘Miles for Smiles’ race, have a baking competition or even sew some smile bags for Operation Smile patients to take home after surgery. Get in touch with us now for some more information about how we can support your fundraising events or download a free pack from our website

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Why not set up your own student club and help ‘raise a smile’ in your school?

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Headteacher, Stuart Dorrian presented their giant cheque in March this year.

Thank you all, for your wonderful support!

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how can you help Miraya’s Story

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Drawuar sfamceil.e on othe stickers Operation Smile Send to and donationmake urgent us and we’ll thappeal e sure it gives! kids a smile

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Cleft lip and palates are the 3rd most common birth defect, with 1 child every 21/2 minutes being born in the world with this deformity.

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Three-year-old Miraya travelled 14 hours by bus with her mother to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, hoping to be selected from among 258 children for an Operation Smile reconstructive surgery to correct her cleft lip. She was one of the lucky patients to be chosen and after a 45-minute operation and just one night stay in hospital, she was released into the loving arms of her mother. With a now-sparkling smile, Miraya returned to her village to Cochabamba to show off her new look. Her future has been transformed into one filled with promise and hope.

Miraya is just one of the 120,000 patients we have been able to treat thanks to your generosity, however there are still many more children who need our help. We have projects that urgently need funding in India, Ethiopia, Jordan, Morocco and Kenya so we can continue to treat many hundreds of thousands still waiting for surgery.

It costs as little as £150 and can take only 45 minutes to change a life forever. Please help us in anyway you can to treat some of the most vulnerable children in the developing world.

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It costs as little as £150 to change a child’s life forever.

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Changing Lives One Smile at a Time

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