Jimma, Ethiopia: October 15- 24
On behalf of Operation Smile Ethiopia and Operation Smile Inc., it is with great pleasure that we inform you about our recent mission to Jimma, Ethiopia. We had a phenomenal team made up of 33 volunteers from nine different countries including Canada, Russia, Kenya, United Kingdom, Mexico, Australia, Israel, and the Netherlands, and others from 12 different U.S. States.
During our mission at the Jimma University Specialized Hospital, 78 patients were given a full medical evaluation, 65 of whom received a life-changing surgery. And out of the 65 patients who received surgery over 75% of them were given a primary lip repair!
Among those who received surgery were a group of people from the far east region of Ethiopia on the border of Somalia, almost 2,000 km away. Two mothers came to the mission site each bringing a child—a 6-year-old girl with a cleft lip, and a 3-year-old boy with a cleft palate. The little girl, Nedira, is one of 12 children, she being the only one born with a cleft palate.
The mothers were able to make the long journey to bring their children to Jimma thanks to the help of Médecins Sans Frontiѐres who provided their transportation to the site. Upon arrival in Jimma, one of the university students who also happened to be from the Somalia region, not only took these women and children whom he did not know into his home, but he also came with them every day to the hospital to serve as their translator -- quite a remarkable gesture!
The mothers were so pleased that they could be heard singing songs during the evenings in the post-operative ward. We also had an adorable father/son duo who received surgery during the mission.
Again we were fortunate to have a superb team in Jimma who worked extremely hard to make the mission a success. In fact, I would say that our group was more than a team, we were a family!
Thank you to everyone for your support to make this mission possible, and for giving our “family” the opportunity to serve those of Jimma.
- Dany Meles and Shannon Mintz
