Volunteer Voices from the UAE

Dr. Mohammed Hassan Alwaa, Surgeon

“I volunteer for many reasons. I believe that every smile transformed through cleft lip and palate surgeries represents hope and healing. The second is I’m grateful to work with a professional medical team. The collaboration among medical volunteers transcends borders and cultures.”

Rawan Shadouhi, P/P Nurse

I first heard about Operation Smile from a friend who was a medical volunteer back in 2018/2019. It touched me because it’s for kids and all my experience [as a nurse] is with kids. My other professional experience is in the surgical [environment].

In my career, I have seen many kids, and I see the mothers’ happiness after the procedure, especially for cleft lip since it’s visible and affects the way the baby is fed. After the surgery, the family can see the results immediately. The mothers’ emotional state is affected by people around asking what’s happened to the baby’s face, often times ending up in bullying the family and not the just the kid. When I saw the impact that cleft surgeries had during my professional experience, I decided that I wanted to contribute more to supporting these kids with cleft.

I’ve been part of more than 9 surgical [programs] now, mostly in the UAE and one in Egypt. The Egypt [program] is the biggest one I was involved with. We performed surgery on more than 85 patients in a week coupled with a dental [program] as well. I saw extreme poverty firsthand. … There’s a lot of anticipation when we announce the results of the screening to assess whether they are fit for surgery.

I now have a lot of friends all over the world. In every surgical [program], we meet people from different places. If I want something from a different hospital in the UAE, then I know there is someone I can call up. Even when I’m travelling overseas, I try to catch up with friends I’ve made through Operation Smile.

You don’t feel bored coming into the surgical [program]. We [medical volunteers] are all here to volunteer in our own time and we come with the intention to care for our patients. The passion is shared by everyone on the team. Even though we don’t know each other, we are accepting of one another. It’s shifted the way I think and behave. Nobody owes anything to anybody and everyone’s primary goal is to care for the patients in the best way possible.

Dr. Derek Amith Mendonca, Surgeon

I love to serve as part of Operation Smile because it is a chance for me to give back to society and community. Especially since the children who are being helped are outside the medical system. Children who don’t have insurance cover, parents who are extremely poor, can’t afford the surgery or to travel to and from. Also it help the parents to have peace of mind. They don’t have to think about going back to their home countries or travelling abroad when the service and care is available in the same country.

Every cleft lip, cleft palate baby is very special. One case that stands out for me. There was a girl with a cleft lip and a polyp inside her nose. That child was not being offered treatment elsewhere due to firstly, insurance cover and secondly due to the fact that the polyp was deemed to be quite complex. We took her on as part of our [program], and we discussed her scan with different doctors. … We operated on the cleft and removed the lump. It was very successfully executed. We’re glad we took the chance within safe limits.

The best part of volunteering with Operation Smile is that it helps to expand your network. You work in a different hospital; you meet people who are like-minded but of different skillsets — different colleagues from different departments. So you will learn and grow so much as a professional and as a person. It’s a very enriching and fulfilling experience. It’s great for keeping yourself updated on the latest advances in the field; you will learn tips and tricks from colleagues who do it differently. It’s hands-on, interactive and personal, and it will benefit greatly.

Ella Escandor, OR Nurse

Being a part of [Operation Smile] allows me to connect with the children, our coworkers, and with new and old friends. And it’s a great way to support organizations who provide vital services to groups and people who need it most — with a sense of purpose. The fulfilling feeling of giving back and contributing to society is unparalleled. Helping those who are in need makes me happy especially if after serving them, there’s a smile on their faces and seeing patients with a different facial feature after the operation means a lot to me. We have to share and impart whatever knowledge and strength that we have whole-heartedly.

Dr. Sofia Konstantinopoulou, Pediatrician

I am a pediatric pulmonologist and sleep medicine physician. It gives me great pleasure to be part of Operation Smile. This is my newly found community of like-minded people coming from disciplines of medicine from across the world. We come in one in order to help those who need surgeries in order to find their smiles. I’m really grateful for all the relationships that I’ve built over the last three years with the patients and their families. It is so gratifying to see the children come to their follow-up visits and see how appreciative the parents and families are. It gives me inspiration to continue in my day to day life, and I truly think that I become the best version of myself when I work as a volunteer in medicine.