Going the Extra Mile without a Road

While on the road to reach patients through the Roaming Comprehensive Care Program, the Operation Smile Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) team ran into a problem in the Haut-Katanga Province. The truck was stuck in deep mud. 

This is not an unusual experience for the team. Approximately 80% of patients are in roadless areas, and only 5% of provinces have good roads, according to Alexandre Cinamula, country manager of Operation Smile DRC. 

“We have to create roads where there are no roads,” Alexandre says. 

Despite these challenging environments, the Operation Smile DRC team is steadfast in their commitment to patient care. Traveling with all supplies and tools, the Roaming Comprehensive Care Program brings nutritional support, speech therapy and pediatrics to patients across the DRC. These comprehensive care services ensure that the patients are ready for surgery and help ensure better surgical outcomes. 

“Unless we go to them … patients will never reach care,” Alexandre explains. 

Village after village, the team also shares critical information with the public about cleft conditions and enrolls previously unknown individuals with cleft conditions as patients. This outreach helps to address stigmas around cleft conditions and brings hope to patients that didn’t know treatment was available. 

Back in the Haut-Katanga Province, the team was able to walk to a nearby village, where they asked for help. There, they found a group of kind neighbors, who walked back to the truck with them. Together, they pushed the vehicle out of the mud. 

The Operation Smile DRC team won’t let the difficulty or cost – about $500 or $600 for each trip – stop them from reaching patients in need. The team will continue to find new ways to reach patients closer to home and solve problems if they arise – or, in this case, if the mud deepens.