Posts from 2011
Day 10: Clinic
Chittagong, Bangladesh
We have now wrapped up our mission here in Bangladesh. A rewarding and enriching trip. We have made so many new friends. And have changed 108 lives. There is no way we can thank enough the members of the R... Read More »
Day 9: Sixth day of surgery for cleft lip
Chittagong, Bangladesh
I first noticed Halnu Marma and Unumo on our first day of Clinic. They had a different look than most of our other patients and wondered about their story. I didn’t get a chance to speak to Halnu unt... Read More »
Day 8: 5th day of Surgery
Chittagong, Bangladesh
Sabrina’s father wants us to know that he is very happy that he is able to get help for his daughter. He learned of Rotaplast through a friend that lives near Nuture Hospital. I asked Sabrina’s... Read More »
Day 7
Chittagong, Bangladesh
Today the team had an adventure and took a bus ride to Cox’s Bazar, the pride of Bangladesh, the beach. The group splintered off and spent some time exploring and shopping in the area. It was an inte... Read More »
Day 6: 4th day of Surgery
Chittagong, Bangladesh
Rohomet’s family saw a poster in their village about Rotaplast’s visit to Nurture hospital. His family did not know that Rohomet’s cleft lip could be cured. So it was decided that Rohomet... Read More »
Day 5: 3rd day of Surgery
Chittagong, Bangladesh
Nurture hospital which is in the countryside, is about a 30 minute drive from our hotel with no traffic, first thing in the morning. Bangladesh’s countryside is equivalently as overpopulated as her c... Read More »
Day 4: 2nd day of Surgery
Chittagong, Bangladesh
I met the families of baby Popy and Taslim with the help of our local Chittagong Rotaract volunteer, Moinul. The families had traveled 12 hours from Hatia, a coastal town, by steamer boat to arrive at the ... Read More »
Day 3: 1st day of Surgery
Chittagong, Bangladesh
According to Mission Director Evelyn Abad, “At the end of the first day of surgery we were very gratified that it went really beautifully after all the challenges of a new site. We worked them out an... Read More »
Day 2: Pre-Clinic
Chittagong, Bangladesh
After an evening with our new Rotarian friends we were able to get a much needed night of sleep. Some of us though, were awakened to a grand thunderstorm, this is the start of pre-monsoon season in Banglad... Read More »
Day 1: Arrival
Chittagong, Bangladesh
How exciting to be part of this Chittagong team, the first to visit Bangladesh. And so humbling to have this opportunity to work with this group of Rotaplast team members with so much experience and talent... Read More »
Tenth day – Clinic
Tacna, Peru
Our last day, clinic day, the day when our patients come for their follow up visit before our departure. The time when we are able the see the results of the 81 surgeries performed these past days. And las... Read More »
Ninth day – Surgery – The Earthquake the Night Before
Tacna, Peru
We started our day with “the Jaguars”, little Andy and Margoth Escamilla and Recovery Room Nurse from Levittown, New York, also named Margoth. She is always seen with a beaming smile and positi... Read More »
Eighth day – Surgery
Tacna, Peru
Among the 10 doctors on the Tacna team are two who grew up together in Ahmedabad, Gujarat (near Mumbai), India. Falguni Patel, anesthesiologist, and Divya Joshi, pediatrician, have been friends for 30 year... Read More »
Seventh day – Surgery
Tacna, Peru
Maria (R) spent the night waiting for surgery for her congentially malformed ear. She met Agueda (L) when we moved her from a stuffy, isolated room where she had been recuperating from a skin graft, for 5 ... Read More »
Sixth day – Surgery
Tacna, Peru
Fernando charmed us with his gentle nature. He told Dr. Farnworth he already had lots of toys, but that his mother had bought him a special new one for after his surgery. Dr. Farnworth performed an operati... Read More »
Fifth day – Surgery
Tacna, Peru
Percy Jesus came to us on clinic day with a burn scar on his neck. He had traveled with his family from the mountain city of Ariquipa, 8 hours from Tacna. His surgery was initially scheduled for the next d... Read More »
Fourth day – Surgery
Tacna, Peru
Jean Pierre, a little cutie, came in today for hand surgery. He certainly kept us entertained with his charisma. Dr. Doumit and Dr. Walchak performed our only primary lip surgery on Jhon Bradley. He w... Read More »
Third day – Surgery
Tacna, Peru
Dr. Hugo Sanchez, head of Tacna Hospital, said that Rotaplast is engraved in his heart. With the help and coordination of the local Rotary Club of Tacna on our first day of surgery we were off and running.... Read More »
Clinic Day – our second
Tacna, Peru
Clinic day, the day before our first surgeries, the day we screen potential patients for surgery the day of organized chaos. This is when those with the mission experience take charge and it shows. To an... Read More »
Our First Day
Tacna, Peru
Ken Funk, our mission director proclaimed upon our arrival in Tacna that this had to be one of his smoothest trips and check-ins in his career as Mission Director with Rotaplast. With six stints as Missi... Read More »
Latest From Around The World
Caltech Women’s Clu...
Pasadena, California
Pictured Above: Marilyn Diaz (middle), seated just like Einstein, in the library with fellow CHATs at the Mt. Wilson Observatory Special thanks author/interviewer Gloria Mullendore and the Caltech Women&#... Read More »
Cebu City Day 10 – ...
Cebu City, Philippines
The final day of our Rotaplast Mission is the culmination of the incredible dedication and work by our team over the last nine days, with 69 children receiving new smiles and changed lives! On this day o... Read More »