GUWAHATI, Dec 2 � Cleft lips and palates were still considered incurable and a �curse� in rural pockets of Assam when Operation Smile started functioning from Guwahati in January, 2009. Though a paradigm shift in the mindsets cannot be claimed now, yet 2,030 smiling faces after successful surgeries till date is surely an encouraging beginning.
Dr William P Magee, co-founder and CEO of Operation Smile, who is in the State to take account of the work being done in Assam with wife and another co-founder Kathleen Magee, talked The Assam Tribune and attributed the success of the mission to the surgeons and caregivers offering their voluntary services to the mission.
�At Op Smile, it is our consistent effort to elevate the standard of care given to the children and we want to become one with the people so that they bring their children for surgeries with faith,� Dr Magee said.
Op Smile in association with the State Government is conducting another camp in the MMC Hospital, Panbazar where persons with cleft lip and palate are being screened for the surgical treatment to be started from December 4 till December 18. This is the sixth such camp being organized by Op smile in the State.
The plight of the children in a Philippine cleft repair mission in 1982 changed the lives of the Magee couple, who decided to raise a mission for children suffering from similar problems.
�Though it is a huge challenge, it is exiting as well. In 45 minutes, we can help a child to be born again and smile. It does not just transform lives, but facilitates a greater social acceptability for the children born with cleft lip and palate, which in turn helps in their education, work and productive contributions to the society,� he added. He also lauded the efforts of the State Government for its contributions to help the mission.
�To enhance the capacity of the treatment, a permanent centre of Op Smile is coming up in the MMCH premises that will start operating in the next two-three weeks. Expert surgeons and medical staff have come from various parts of the world to provide quality treatment to the patients,� Dalip Pande, director (partnerships), of the organization said.
