Claire Lavers
As we descended into Delhi, I expected to see the same grids of light one sees when flying over large cities in other countries. Instead my eyes were met with sporadic spots of light. These lights were not the bright white to which I have grown accustomed to, but a softer, warmer, red-hued glow.
From the plane’s window it appeared as if there were several flames of candles sprinkled across the landscape. This was the first moment I realized where I was going, and what I was about to accomplish.
As I stepped out of the plane and descended the stairs, I looked up towards the sky from which I had just come, and I gasped at the sight. The amount of stars that were visible, even in a populous city like Delhi, was remarkable.
After collecting my bag and meeting up with a few other members of the team and our mission coordinators Abbisheck Sengupta and Allison Bradshaw, we headed out of the airport.
Outside the airport there were tons of little cabbies that looked as if they were brought from decades ago. Even the smell of the air had a hint of the spices that I would soon encounter. I was in India.
I was in India with a group of people who wanted to make a difference. As we loaded our bags into the cab, I knew I was in for an adventure of a lifetime.
After spending the night at a hotel in Delhi, and another flight, the entire team finally arrived in Guwahati, India. This city would be our home for the next 10 days.
On the morning of the first screening day I was awe-struck by the magnitude of the crowd waiting to be screened. As we entered the hospital we had to walk past the enormous crowd. Little babies in their mothers’ arms watched us with wide curious eyes, parents came up to us—those who spoke English—to tell us their stories, and some brave children even came running up to greet us.
It was saddening to think that all these beautiful children were looked down upon or outcasted by their societies because of their cleft lips or cleft palates when they were so sweet.
The walk to the hospital every morning was a constant reminder of how lucky we are. Though we saw it everyday I was still surprised as we passed pile after pile of trash in the streets and saw people using the streets and walls for bathrooms. It was so hard to think that I would be going home to such a clean environment while people here were living in squalor. Despite their situations, however, all of the people I came in contact with were always smiling.
When we visited schools, orphanages, and children's villages where we made our presentations, all of the children found us fascinating. One of the leaders of an orphanage we visited told us that they were not used to seeing westerners, and so the colors of our skin and hair were mesmerizing for the children.
Some of the children spoke English, and some of them did not. It didn’t matter much though because smiles and laughter, I learned, really are a universal language.
On the second screening day, while I was playing around with a group of kids, I noticed a boy of about 18 watching me. He had a unilateral cleft lip and when I smiled at him he tried to hide his face from me.
Later, his father, a gentleman who spoke English, came up to me and told me his son hid his face because he was not used to people smiling at him. None of the girls in his village even look at him, thus he was shocked to see someone, let alone a teenage girl, smile at him.
When I heard this my heart just about broke. I had the chance to play a game of catch with this boy, and found him to be sweet and fun-loving—yet, because of a facial deformity the people of his village made him and his father outcasts.
When surgery week began, the entire team felt the pressure and the stress. Everyday I returned to the hotel more exhausted than the day before and yet we all always had enough energy to laugh and make jokes.
I was filled with mixed feelings as the children I played with went through surgery and eventually had to leave with their new smiles. I watched as about 226 children and adults experienced the miracle that Operation Smile provides.
My experience with Operation Smile was moving, and all of the people I worked with were some of the most inspirational people I have ever had the good fortune to meet. For the 10 days that I was in India, I had found a family away from my own, and a home away from home.
I will never forget the people I met in India nor will I be able to forget the people I lived with for just over a week. This experience really did change my life and reminded me that anyone, no matter how old you are, can make a difference and help to change the world for the better.
I am proud to have been a part of Operation Smile’s mission, and that I helped change the world one smile at a time.
