Guwahati, India: December 2-19

Tuesday, Dec. 22

On November 30, Operation Smile volunteers began arriving in Guwahati, Assam - their goal was to treat 500 patients with cleft lips and cleft palates. This past weekend, our team wrapped up this mega mission in India. Thanks to the passion and tireless efforts of 166 volunteers, 870 patients received free medical evaluations while 509 children and adults have new smiles and changed lives this holiday season.

On behalf of the entire organization, we would like to congratulate all of our medical volunteers and Operation Smile India staff who made this incredible feat a reality. You all have given those patients a gift of a new life with endless possibilities. 

- Emily Webb, Senior Coordinator, Global Development, Operation Smile

Friday, Dec. 18

India is a beautiful country. What is truly admirable about the area we are in is the people and culture that surrounds us. I am humbled by the need that exists around me, but am in awe by the pure heart of the people in India and in Assam. 

The lives touched during this mission will forever be changed – not just through surgery, but through the collaboration of people from volunteers to even family members all united around making a difference for someone else. 

I am deeply touched by the outpouring of support that has been received for this mission. It brings back memories from the first trips we took now 27 years ago. The literal sea of patients ranging from babies to grandparents, who each with their own special story that connected with everyone on the trip.

We saw tiny babies rocked ever so lovingly in their mother’s arms. Many were malnourished and were unable to be selected for surgery. Instead of sadness, we saw hope as the teams in the hospital helped those families with milk and other supplements. 

What truly touched our heart were the numerous grandparents who had found their way to the mission site. Over in a corner, a man carefully guided, not his grandchild, but his wife through the doors of screening. You would think to see a lifetime of struggle in her eyes. Years of covering her face because of her cleft lip and the ridicule from others about this “curse.”

All of those things were clearly overshadowed by the love and gentleness shown by the husband and he helped her sit down on a chair. “Never again,” I thought to myself. I learned that she would receive surgery during the final days of our mission and would finally have her dignity back and a life without shame. She was joined by a man in his 90s who also had arrived at the hospital seeking Operation Smile doctors. 

I have returned to the U.S. after seeing the more than 500 patients that were seen by our volunteers. As we continue to get the final reports in from the results of surgery week, we can’t thank our teams enough for their efforts. For the miracles they performed over these past few days, for the friendships that have been created, and for the lives that have been changed – one smile at a time.

Thanks to all,

- Bill and Kathy Magee, Co-Founders, Operation Smile

Thursday, Dec. 17

The first thing I noticed about Saken was the dignity with which he carried his small body into the screening tent. He proudly carried his new coloring book and crayons close to his body, and held his head up high with a strength and spirit that far exceeded his six years.

His father looked exactly like Saken and followed behind his son with a hand on his shoulder. The next thing I noticed about Saken was that he wasn’t wearing any shoes. Guwahati is the largest town in its region of India and the streets are filled with people, pushcarts, tea vendors, construction rubble, rats, dogs, and garbage. In some parts of the town, the sewers are open.

An Indian friend I met on the trip says that her favorite activity in India is riding in a tuk-tuk (3 wheeled taxi) and simply paying attention to her sense of smell. There are wonderful smells (spices, tea, incense, fruit, flowers) and then there are some not so wonderful smells as well. The complexity of smells and people, layering one over the other is what makes India so incredibly surprising, and with that, compelling.

I could not imagine Saken walking barefoot through the streets of Guwahati. I thought of buying him shoes in the market, but thought I might embarrass his pride. Instead of buying him something, I spent some time playing with him between screenings. He was a fan of hand clapping games and matchbox car racing. He even insisted on going all by himself to get his blood drawn.

At one point in the process our eyes met, and he stuck his tongue out playfully, poking it against the prominent cleft of his lip. I thought of how much the surgery he would receive during this mission would influence his future. It would allow him to go to school, to dream big dreams for a job, and to buy some shoes for himself, and ultimately those he loves.

- Danna Weiss, International Programs Manager

Thursday, Dec. 17

Yesterday was yet another long surgery day at the hospital. While the team is putting in long hours and could use some rest, everyone was energized to learn that we treated 60 patients in one day! 

With 3 days of surgery left everyone is doing their best to keep up the energy in hopes of several more successful surgeries.
 
- Andrew Nusbaum, Operation Smile

(Photo by Alexander Bischoff, Student Volunteer)

Wednesday, Dec. 16

Team 1 was the most extraordinary group of volunteers. I was particularly inspired to see a number of Indian physicians working right alongside Americans of Indian descent. It was striking to ask people what brought them to this site, and even more so, to ask them what they gave up to come. One mother of two from Minnesota, left her young children for several weeks and had to use all her vacation time. Another volunteer was recently retired, and has come to India three times in the last year as a personal dream to give back to the world the way it has given to him.

They were exhausted from screening; patients came in a steady stream in groups of 20 for days, delivered in buses to the screening site. They received a translator from a local girl’s college who helped them fill out medical records. These girls literally stopped and directed traffic in order to allow the patients to cross the street from the medical records tent to the main screening station.

Things were so organized that it never felt chaotic, despite the fact that hundreds were screened each day. Several children were severely malnourished. There was an older gentleman in his 60’s and a woman in her mid 50’s who had lived their whole lives with cleft lips.

There was an 18-year-old who was never allowed out of his home, because his father was so ashamed. How do you tell a young man in this situation that he cannot receive surgery, that he has to go back home to his hut and draw the curtains? Because of cases like this, the team worked hard.

Each evening the team would gather in the garden of the hotel for a dinner, and spend hours together recounting the challenges and excitement of that day. My last night in Guwahati, a volunteer from Kenya led us all in a song of peace about Operation Smile. The song came with a dance that required us all to join hands as one family. After that we turned on salsa to celebrate the birthday of our volunteer dentist from Peru.

Finally, the evening ended in some serious Bollywood, during which our hosts from Operation Smile India taught us some film-worthy dance moves. I left for the airport, with the sounds of the team laughing and singing, still echoing in my ear.

- Danna Weiss, International Programs Manager

Monday, Dec. 14

Wow. It seems like just yesterday Dalton (another student volunteer), Brittany, and I were on a 14 hour flight to India after a conversation with Bill and Kathy Magee, Richard Vander Burg, Victoria Stabile, Danna Weiss, and Emily Webb in the airport. Richard (Operation Smile's Chief Strategic Officer), the expert traveler, entertained us with stories of being cared for by monks in a Himalayan village after being infected with Malaria during a backpacking trip. And of course, Victoria (Operation Smile intern) continued to make us laugh with her sense of humor during the entire layover in New Jersey.

After the majority of the team met in Guwahati, India, we had a night to rest before the first day of screening at the local police hospital. Operation Smile Program Coordinators, Abishek Sengupta, Joella Adams, and Allison Bradshaw gave us our first on-site team meeting outside the hospital the next morning. The combination of eagerness and apprehension was thick in the air, as we were all eager to get started in changing the lives of potential patients and allowing our lives to be touched by the opportunity to serve.

The patients and their families were brought in staggered groups from the waiting area in the hospital down the street to the police hospital where screening was held. Around thirty local translators from the local college gave up days in their holiday break to translate from the beginning during the history part of screening outside, and all the way through medical examinations inside the hospital.

Dalton, Brittany, and I worked hard, keeping the patients hydrated while they waited for their number to be called to begin screening and entertaining the restless children. The different personalities could be seen with each new group of screening. Some clung to the legs of their mothers and others hid in the arms of their father while they waited, while others eagerly joined the three of us in playing with a giant ball. Regardless of shyness or age, however, everyone gladly accepted the small toys and crayons that were passed out to each child and adult. It was our goal to ensure every screened patient left with his or her own toy, and we were determined to succeed.

Screening flew by so quickly and the entire team grew closely together throughout the week. It seemed like every personality was compatible in some way and that the team was just meant to be. One of the things I learned during the week was that smiles are contagious.

There were many reactions to the smiles I directed at the families, but inevitably the look of confusion in adults faces at the kindness, and uncertainty in the children hiding behind their parents inevitably led to a returned smile. Their mouths would move slightly at the corners until their faces reflected the happiness. Everyone has the opportunity and capability to smile, and it is this similarity that unites humanity; it is the common link that brings us all together and spreads a happiness that is within each of our hearts.

Surgery week came quickly, and with the added pressure and work load made screening seem like a breeze. The previous night Manbir Batra warned us all of the chaos that would accompany the first day of surgery, jovially admonishing the team to leave the medical team alone while they eased into the schedule. Flexibility was key with issues like the medical cargo that still had not arrived in Guwahati.

Medical records literally swam in the endless charts both at the hospital and hotel, spending late nights attempting to interpret the illegible writing of the doctors. It was too bad there wasn't a translator available for their writing, even though it was in English. The medical team worked with little breaks as they performed around fifty surgeries a day with little breaks, balancing speed with quality to produce the miracle of new smiles. The student team juggled the roles of a Child Life Specialist, educator, entertainer, and brought patients from their pre-op beds downstairs to the child life waiting area upstairs.

It was wonderful to interact with the children before the surgeries, and even carry on a conversation with the adult patients and parents in the basic Assamese we learned or with the help of Ankita Sharma, a translator and psychology graduate. Ankita's degree was very helpful as she caringly assured the crying mothers and nervous fathers that their children would be well cared for.

I will be forever grateful to every member of the team, for each of them gave me something unique that only they could give, a part of themselves that changed my life forever by their examples and words. If you asked me what the best part of the mission was, I could not answer. There are so many things to name, and far too many experiences to relay.

However, I can say that the worst part of the mission was the feeling on the flight home that I was leaving India, a new home that had become such a major part of my life and in which I had left a part of me. There are so many friends in the area that are momentarily left behind, but I know that the smiles the first team gave to the people in India were not given without compensation, for the entire team has been given so much in return. Every patient has given me a smile of sorts as I helped to give them theirs.

Smiles are contagious and my heart is filled with the kindness and hospitality of people in India. It is filled with the happiness at the sight of the disbelief on parents faces as their children are returned to them, and knowledge that our team has done something wonderful as a grateful father says thank you with happiness in his eyes and a handshake that seems to convey gratitude indescribable in words.

-Alexander Bischoff, Student Volunteer

(Photo also by Alexander Bischoff)

Sunday, Dec. 13

The first team has departed, and we're anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new team of volunteers. There are quite a few of us staying for both missions, so by the end of next week we'll all be tight like dreadlocks.

The amount of planning and work that has gone into this mission is absolutely mind-boggling. The combined efforts of our in-country coordinator, Abhishek, with those of Allison, Joella, and Soumen has resulted in an amazing mission with no bumps in the road, even when we were left waiting for our cargo from Norfolk to get through Customs.

They are quick to lay praise upon the volunteers of the mission, but they each deserve a huge round of applause for organizing two incredible weeks of surgery.

Along with miracle workers Lee, Alison Smyth, our Patient Ward Coordinator, and Kathy, the first surgery week went smoothly with no complications or problems. Thankfully all of the people I've mentioned are staying for both weeks of the mission.

Each has been absolutely crucial to the execution of this great mission, and I can't even imagine their workloads. I've included a picture of the program coordinators, along with EMR Brian Magee, and a picture of Alison Smyth informing three patients that they would receive surgery from Operation Smile.

- Victoria Stabile, Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

(From left: Soumen, Allison, Joella, Brian and Abhishek, program
coordinators for Operation Smile's 500 patient mission in Guwahati, India.)

Thursday, Dec. 10

Over 600 children have been screened for this mission, and with the last day approaching, 188 have received surgery from the excellent work of Team 1. 

Team 2 arrives on onsite on Dec. 13 and will begin performing surgeries on Monday. Great job to Team 1 and good luck to Team 2!

- Scott Snyder, Senior Program Coordinator, Operation Smile

(Photo by Danna Weiss, International Programs Manager)

Wednesday, Dec. 9

Yesterday afternoon, Brittany Williams, our two student volunteers Alexander and Dalton, and myself visited a local orphanage in Guwahati. Upon arriving we were warmly greeted by the staff as well as several of the children. After a wonderful tour of their facilities and some tea, the children again welcomed us with a couple beautiful songs!
 
In front of over 70 children and staff, Alexander and Dalton (plus a translator) delivered a very informative presentation on dental hygiene, burn care and prevention, oral rehydration therapy, and basic nutrition. The children listened attentively and definitely seemed to enjoy this educational opportunity. Alexander and Dalton also engaged the children by having them demonstrate these new techniques. Watching the kids stop, drop and roll had everyone laughing!
 
After the presentation we had some time for a little basketball. Ironically, the only basketball court we have seen in India thus far has been at the orphanage. At the orphanage the children also had access to a computer lab, library, and study hall. The facility was very well kept and we were assured everyone received proper nutrition at meal time. We also met a couple of the staff members who lived at the orphanage. They were very warm and we could easily see how much they cared for the children.
 
It really was a nice treat to get to spend some of our day at the orphanage! Hopefully the children learned some valuable tips from Alexander and Dalton's presentation because I know we gained a lot from meeting them. 
 
- Andrew Nusbaum, Operation Smile

Monday, Dec. 7

It's the first day of surgery, and the team is working hard. Unfortunately we don't have a Child Life Therapist on this mission, but the student team has stepped up to handle the responsibility of preparing children for their surgeries.

Each child is decked out in adorable surgical gowns, thanks to the Blue Peter partnership. Children in the UK have created surgical gowns out of t-shirts for each patient, and the final products are absolutely delightful. Each child gets dressed in our Pre-Op room, then travels to the Child Life area to learn about their operation.

Everyone has commented on how amazing the colorful gowns are, and it truly lifts the patients spirits. It's an awesome example of children helping children, and we're so thankful to each child in the UK that has made a contribution to the Blue Peter campaign. I've included a picture of a patient in his new gown, and a picture of student Alexander Bischoff in the Child Life area.

- Victoria Stabile, Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

Monday, Dec. 7

Operation Smile volunteer photographer, Peter Stuckings, captures the final moments of screening on Operation Smile's 500 patient mission in Guwahati, India.

Over 30,000 children in the state of Assam remain untreated and are awaiting corrective surgery for cleft lip or cleft palate.

Operation Smile's team of over 150 medical volunteers have screened 590 patients with a large percentage of those screened able to receive surgery.

- Photos by Peter Stuckings, Volunteer Photographer 

Sunday, Dec. 6

Tomorrow we begin the first of two weeks of surgery for the children of Assam. Right now, various members of the team are at the hospital informing patients of their status as a surgical candidates or not, while others are taking in the local culture with a tour of a temple.

Last night, Bill and Kathy Magee joined us at dinner to share their words of wisdom, and a bit of the history of Operation Smile India. The journey has been long, but the future holds great promise for those with clefts in India, especially here in the state of Assam.

The dedicated team leaders have devoted countless hours towards creating a surgery schedule, and due to the length of the mission, it has been roughly twice the amount of work as a regular mission. Though this first team of doctors will only be performing one week of surgery, all surgeries for the entire mission must be scheduled, so we can tell the patients when to arrive in Guwahati for their surgery.

When the second team of volunteers arrives, they will already have a schedule of patients created for them. This has meant a lot of paperwork and late nights for a select few team members, but the opportunity to provide surgery for 500 children is such a gift.

We have screened over 590 people so far, and a very large percentage of those screened will be able to receive surgery. Additionally, we screened all children with clefts from the district of Lakhimpur, and will be able to provide surgery for all those eligible from that district. They traveled over 10 hours by bus to arrive in Guwahati, and they are all scheduled for the same day of surgery. It was a truly incredible team effort to coordinate this day of surgery, and I'm so thankful we have such passionate and experienced volunteers.

My role as Champion of Electronic Medical Records (literally, the Champion... we even made my name tag say it) has been an eye-opening one. I got to see every patient at the end of the screening process. Our nurses and translators would check over the medical charts to make sure all the information was correct before handing them over to Brian, the other EMR, and myself. Though Brian actually trained me in Electronic Medical Records, we made his nametag say Assistant to the Champion, a distinction that should be noted.

Reading over every chart provides a real glimpse into the lives of each patient, and what they've been through. Many traveled over 3 hours to arrive in Guwahati, and many don't know their birth date. Some have lost a parent, some have lost a sibling, and their hardships are incalculable. What I find incredible is the calming effect of a smile, and I offer one to each patient as their folder is handed to me. I am so foreign to them, yet I don't want to seem emotionless or cold as I sit behind the computer entering their information.

Each time, when I smile at a parent or child, I receive one in return. And soon, many of these children will be able to express their emotions with a new smile. I can't put into words how good it feels to know that.

(Pictures by Victoria Stabile)

- Victoria Stabile, Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

Saturday, Dec. 5

We've screened over 540 patients so far, and we're holding an additional screening today for the last few patients to go through. At this point, we've got the first week of surgery scheduled, which has been a massive team effort.

This has been such an amazing screening process - the setup is so organized, and the team works so well together to get everyone through the different stations of pediatrics, anesthesia, speech pathology, and surgical.

Our coordinators have done an incredible job in organizing this grand effort to help the people of Assam, and it truly is amazing to see their tireless dedication to each and every child.

In addition, the team from BBC’s Blue Peter television show has created such an awesome amount of awareness in the UK, and I cannot wait to see the surgical gowns made by the children of UK. I am positive the bright t-shirts will lift the spirits of each Indian child as they enter the operating room.

- Victoria Stabile, Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

Wednesday, Dec. 2

Operation Smile medical volunteers provided free physical examinations for 150 patients on just the first day of screening.

The teams worked until 7:30 p.m., but all the volunteers are doing well and eager to meet the goals of the mission.

Here are a few images from the first day of screening in Guwahati:

- Photos by Peter Stuckings, Volunteer Photographer 

Tuesday, Dec. 1

Today our team of champions arrived in Guwahati, after spending the night in Delhi. This fresh posse is composed of many Operation Smile alums, along with some newbies, and everyone is well prepared for the mission ahead of us.

At our team dinner, we had numerous volunteers announce that they had been on over 10 missions, so this truly is a team of champions in the Operation Smile world. We’re expecting hundreds to show up for screening tomorrow, and have room for about 500 surgeries. The excitement among the team is palpable, even with the jetlag!

At this point we’ve all checked into the Ginger Hotel and settled into our rooms. Some folks are milling about to greet each other and make new friends, while others have ventured out for a walk around the neighborhood.

I discovered a door to the roof was open, so a few of us have taken advantage of the stunning views of our surroundings. We witnessed a beautiful sunset, of which I’ve included a picture.

This hotel had quite the soundtrack - they only play country music in the lobby. Though I'm a native Nashvillian, I regard country music as an unavoidable plague that seems to be present in all corners of the world. Literally, the radio station claims "The sounds of Nashville are heard here." I've traveled over 7,000 miles and I still can't escape Dolly Parton.

I made my way down to the room of our student team, consisting of Alexander Bischoff and Dalton Valerio, to see how they were organizing the mass of toys and toothbrushes they brought along.

Along with their student sponsor, Brittany Williams, they managed to haul over 2,000 toothbrushes from the U.S. to hand out to patients and their families. These small gifts will come with a lesson in dental hygiene that illustrates the importance of teeth. Those babies really are a gateway to the body, so keeping them clean makes a big difference in your overall health! 

Dalton and Alexander have created presentations about dental hygiene, burn care and prevention, Oral Rehydration Therapy, and basic nutrition. Beyond just toothbrushes, the team has collected a heap of toys to keep the kids entertained while doctors take care of them. Shout out to my 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Roberts, for providing about 40 lbs. of these toys through the efforts of her students! Here’s a picture of the boys and their toys!

Later gators,

- Victoria Stabile, Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

Tuesday, Dec. 1

Just wanted to give a quick update! The team has reached Guwahati safely, there have been no hiccups, and things went pretty smooth. The team is doing great, people are in high spirits.

We do have some team members coming in throughout the week. Lee (our CC) who wasn’t able to make is today due to visa problems is coming in tomorrow, till then we have asked Kathy Majette to step in and take control over screening.

We just finished the welcome meeting and the team leaders meeting, everybody looked comfortable and all set for tomorrow.

Things look great at the hospital; screening has been fully set up. We are all ready to roll.

The Blue Peter team also made it to India without any problems and are all set to start their work tomorrow, they visit a patient at their village tomorrow, they are all charged up and ready to go.

Will surely keep you guys updated throughout the week.

Regards,

- Abhishek Sengupta, Regional Coordinator, Operation Smile India

Tuesday, Dec. 1

News from Guwahati!

Most of the team arrived to New Delhi last night and they all traveled to Guwahati today. The team is in high spirits and is looking forward to the first day of screening tomorrow. 

Program Coordinators Allison Bradshaw, Abhishek Sengupta and Joella Adams are running the first big team meeting tonight and hoping everyone recovers from jet lag to be geared up for tomorrow.

- Scott Snyder, Senior Program Coordinator

Monday, Nov. 30

About this mission:

Operation Smile is preparing to work in Guwahati on its largest mission in India to date. From December 2-19, over 150 medical volunteers will work to treat 500 children and young adults suffering from cleft lip and cleft palate.

This mission is the first of two major patient objective missions in India. The second mission will be held January 7-15, 2010, in Mumbai with the goal of treating 1,000 patients. Operation Smile’s missions to India are part of our broad based initiative to treat the 30,000 Indian children in the state of Assam who remain untreated.

Each year, 800 children in India are born with clefts. To date, Operation Smile has provided new smiles for 2,306 children in India.

The BBC’s popular U.K. television show Blue Peter will also be in Guwahati to film a follow-up story on a recently episode that was filmed on an Operation Smile mission in May. The BBC will make home visits to a few of the children who were treated in May and see how their lives have changed.

- Kristi Kastrounis, Online Community & Social Media Specialist

Sunday, Nov. 29

Last year Dr. and Mrs. Magee returned from an extremely successful mission to Guwahati, India, with the promise of strong government partnership in Assam state, and the idea that we would all work together across borders and time zones and in many languages, to accomplish the largest mission at any Operation Smile mission site to-date.

Dr. Magee calls these types of projects a BHAG (big hairy audacious goals), from the book by Jim Collins "Built To Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies." BHAGs are the stretch to make a home-run kind of project that keep our hearts and minds working so vibrantly together to continuously grow as an organization.

To make this mission a reality, our Missions team worked with our colleagues at Operation Smile India to build a team composition of volunteers who will operate for two simultaneous weeks in Guwahati. This means more than 25 surgeons alone will be part of this team! Recruiting all these volunteers, leading them through the visa and temporary medical licensure process has been a BHAG unto itself, but has all come together beautifully, thanks to solid and meticulous efforts by everyone from Program Coordinators to our incredible Am EX representative, Diane, who has booked every single air ticket for this massive mission. More than 150 medical and non-medical volunteers will work shoulder by shoulder to bring first smiles and a shot at a great future to the children of Guwahati.

I'm sitting in the airport now, preparing to fly to India, and am with the Magees, my colleagues and one of our student team members, Alexander. I'm so impressed that he has been reading curiously about the culture of India and is ready to jump into keeping children joyful and lessening their anxiety during screening. 14 hours from now and two novels later, we'll be in India ready to meet the team and make this BHAG happen.

- Danna Weiss, International Programs Manager