A Christmas wish come true
A smile is a simple thing, unless you can’t produce one. Kameni Chetty reports on a young man’s Christmas miracle
“I was very frightened of the surgery, but all the people were so nice to me there,” he said.
After the operation, Moyo said: “I remember being so excited when I saw my new face.
“Operation Smile has changed my life, I am free to do what I want and go where I want.
“No one is looking and laughing at me. I feel like a new person thanks to this organisation.”
Moyo is one of the lucky ones and his self-esteem will, no doubt, be boosted by his new appearance.
The stigma of being born with a cleft lip or palate in a Third World African country has far-reaching repercussions for children.
“These rural children come from remote areas and are seen as outcasts,” said Durban anaesthetist and Operation Smile volunteer Dr Christian Kampik. “When they come to the mission, they finally realise they are not alone in their deformity.”
A story that stands out for Kampik is that of a farmer in Madagascar who sold all his livestock to get his son to the next mission for a cleft operation.
“It’s sad, but very satisfying when parents are so grateful for the chance for their children to live normal lives.”
The challenges faced by African missions are significant, say the organisers.
“You go into an unknown environment and deal with unknown medical equipment and poor living conditions.
“The days are long, with surgeons completing operations late at night and starting very early the net morning,” Kampik said.
“One also needs to be involved in the teaching and training aspect of the mission,” added Kampik.
“Medical volunteers are trained in developing skills like basic life support, CPR and advanced paediatric life support.”
Kampik and the rest of the team managed to get two local anaesthetists to join one of the African missions.
“Locals must be able to handle cases like cleft deformities,” he stressed.
Kampik said that skills transfer to locals promoted selfsufficiency.
Operation Smile South Africa offers a two-day full screening where the child or adult is seen by a surgeon. This is followed by a week of arduous surgery.
“We usually screen about 200 to 300 patients over the two days and operate on 150 to 200 patients.”
Kampik said the most heart-breaking aspect of the mission was the patient announcement.
“The announcement deals with which patients will be operated on, and which ones will be encouraged to return for the next mission.
“You could cry the whole time when you are on a mission,’’ he reflected.
“The team tries to deal with the most urgent cleft lip or palate operations, but this still means many hopefuls leave angry or in tears.”
The NGO has carried out free reconstructive cleft lip and palate surgery in more than 60 countries, changing the lives of more than 60 000 people since 1981. South Africa joined the organisation in 2006 and Operation Smile continues to give free surgery to children who do not have access to health-care facilities.
Missions have been undertaken not only in South Africa but also in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar, Namibia and Swaziland.