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Volunteer Story Honduras

“This is what I was meant to do”

Volunteer Story Honduras

“This is what I was meant to do”

In 7th grade, Carla Lopez’s middle school Operation Smile club had an opportunity to visit a local medical mission in Tegucigalpa, Honduras for part of the morning. She remembers seeing children with cleft conditions for the first time, seeing the anxiety and hope in parents’ eyes, and experiencing the difference one surgery could make in the life of a child.

When it was time to go back to school, Carla asked to stay for the rest of the day. That day turned into the whole week, and today she credits that week with helping shape her future. 

“I knew from my very first day on my very first mission. This is what I love. This is what I was meant to do,” she says.

In school, Operation Smile was just one of the many clubs Carla had joined. At the time, she vaguely knew about Operation Smile’s work, but had never seen a cleft before experiencing her first mission. She was shocked to see so many children in her own city who suffered from cleft lip and cleft palate. That week she teetered on the edge of hurt and optimism for the families – but all the while, she knew one Operation Smile surgery would change the trajectory of these children’s futures.

Since her first mission in middle school Carla, now 24 years old, has volunteered on 17 medical missions doing everything from translating for volunteers to working in the kitchen to taking out trash. “Anything I can do to help. Anyway they can use me, I’m here,” she says.

Two years ago, Carla started training to be a Patient Imaging Technician (PIT) – a vital part of the volunteer team who takes technical photographs from specific angles so the doctors can assess the severity of the case before surgery. The PIT station sees its more than fair share of irritated to screaming babies who understandably would rather not pose in various awkward positions with an open mouth. To Carla and the other skilled PITs, this is no problem.

With a wacky hat, playful scrubs and a host of flashy, noisy toys, Carla manages to make even the most upset children come close to enjoying this uncomfortable screening day station. Carla’s attention isn’t solely on the tearful toddlers, but she pays just as much attention to parents and families.

“The surgery isn’t just about the child,” she says. “When parents see you treating their child like there’s nothing the matter with them, it changes their life, too.

“They walk in, maybe they’re scared, but then they see so many other kids like their own kid and a team of strangers who love their kid – that changes a parent’s experience here. That makes them happy, relieved. We help both the kids and their parents. We show them love, kindness, compassion – for many, maybe they don’t get that at home because their kid is different.”

Carla has a gentle way of making a special connection with all of the families who come through the PIT station. “We know how hard they’ve worked to get here. To see the love they have for their kids – they would go through anything to get the care their kid needs.”

It seems entirely fitting that Carla is studying to be a psychologist. Here in Tegucigalpa and in many of Operation Smile’s foundation countries, psychology is a key component of total patient care. Surgery is the first step toward leading a normal life, but often times bullying has already played a damaging role. Operation Smile’s dedicated psychologists help heal the whole patient, helping them throughout life after surgery.

“When we see kids and their parents here they remember the love you showed them. They remember that someone didn’t treat them differently because of their facial deformity,” Carla says. “That’s why I want to help with psychology, I want to be a part of Operation Smile forever.”

Carla motions to a room full of at least 100 people and calls them all “my kids.” Her passion for serving patients and families is communicated in the way she treats every patient, every parent like they were part of her own family. 

“I don’t see the cleft anymore. All I can see is their smile in their eyes,” she says. “And after surgery, when I see their smile on their face, it makes me smile, too.”

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It takes as little as $240 and as few as 45 minutes to provide life-changing surgery and a bright, beautiful new smile to a waiting child.