Posts from Currently Active Missions
Caltech Women’s Club Member and Rotaplast Volunteer Profile: Marilyn Diaz
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’s Club for the wonderful article. Marilyn in Jalalabad, Bangladesh with her Rotary Assistant,
Cebu City Day 10 – Lives Changed for 69 Children
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 our surgeons meet with
Cebu City Day 9 – Final Day of Surgeries
Cebu City, Philippines
Day nine brings a mixture of emotions as we gear up for our final day of surgeries. By day’s end, eight more children will have an opportunity for a brighter future. Our Rotaplast non-medical volunteers, PACU, and pediatric teams have
Cebu City Day 8 – Family Stories
Cebu City, Philippines
The stories shared by the families served during the Cebu City Rotaplast surgical trip are powerful testaments to their determination and willingness to travel great distances and overcome so many obstacles – all for one reason. To obtain life-changing surgery
Cebu City Day 7 – Team Commitment
Cebu City, Philippines
Day 5 of surgeries is continuing to literally save smiles and change lives. You might be wondering how you bring a world-class surgical team together? Share the Rotaplast story! Our Rotaplast surgical team of doctors and nurses have trained at
Cebu City Day 6 – Tidbits
Cebu City, Philippines
A Rotaplast surgical trip involves numerous components, resembling a symphony where each participant contributes to the overall harmony of the mission. Beyond the formal mission objectives, there are a couple of untold stories deserving of being shared. Richard Ramos from
Speech Pathologists and Dentists Working as a Team for Children with Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate
Cebu City, Philippines
By Marlene Salas-Provance, Ph.D. CCC-SLP, Vice Dean, Professor-A.T. Still University, Speech-Language Pathologist Photos by Dr. Mary Adrianne Dominique “Nikki” Toledo, DDM Dentists and speech pathologists work as an interprofessional team to meet the needs of children with cleft lip and
Cebu City Day 5 – Gratitude
Cebu City, Philippines
In accordance with the policies of Adventist Hospital Cebu, we observed Saturday as our day off after completing the morning rounds to assess our surgery patients from day two for clearance to go home. With the rounds completed, we were
Cebu City Day 4 – The Results!
Cebu City, Philippines
This morning, we visited our first group of patients recovering from lip and palate surgeries. The transformation was incredible! The medical team, including surgeons and pediatric nurses, went from cot to cot, making sure the patients were doing well. They
Cebu City Day 3 – The Miracles Begin
Cebu City, Philippines
The day our volunteers travelled nearly 7,000 miles for and the families may have been waiting years for has finally arrived- our first day of surgeries! One more short interview was held with each parent asking such things as when
Cebu City Day 2 – Meeting Our Patients
Cebu City, Philippines
First team message of Day 2 “Breakfast 6 a.m., vans to hospital 7 a.m. sharp. Lots of eager patients waiting for you!” And indeed there were! Just over a hundred families made their way to Seventh Day Adventist Miller Hospital
Day 1 in Cebu City – a Lesson in Flexibility
Cebu City, Philippines
Flexibility – the quality of easily adapting and the word of the day as we arrived at the Seventh Day Adventist Miller Hospital in Cebu City. Anticipating a day dedicated to set up and run throughs of systems, our team
Home sweet home
Sylhet, Bangladesh
I’m writing this from my house now. After a little over thirty hours travel time, from Sylhet to Dhaka, Dhaka to Dubai, Dubai to Athens, and then Athens to Newark, with layovers, security checkpoints and immigration lines in between each
The last day
Sylhet, Bangladesh
The last day at the hospital is a clinic day, where the patients who have had procedures come back and get checked out by the doctors to see how their healing is progressing. To see the differences in the before
Rotary Club of Jalalabad knows how to party…
Sylhet, Bangladesh
The Rotaplast mission team was honored by the Rotary Club of Jalalabad, with all the pomp and circumstance of the Academy awards. Many speeches were made, and presentations given, most notably honoring the founder of Rotaplast, Dr. Angelo Capozzi.
“Rotaplast has made my child and our lives beautiful again…”
Sylhet, Bangladesh
When Shah Md Masum first heard about Rotaplast online a couple of years ago in Dhaka, he was very excited but also anxious. He knew the surgery would change his child’s life, but he also knew there were other issues
More than just cleft lip and palate surgery
Sylhet, Bangladesh
While cleft lip and palate surgeries are the focus of Rotaplast, we also provide other services for patients to improve their lives. You already know we treat burn victims as well as cleft lip and palate surgeries, but did you
Volunteer spotlight – Dr. Rene Vreuls, Lead Pediatrician
Sylhet, Bangladesh
Our lead pediatrician has been doing this for some time and we’re lucky to have him. Dr. Vruels graduated from the Erasmus University and Rotterdam Medical School. Dr. Vreuls is from the Netherlands and has been doing missions for 38
Warming hearts (and bodies) from halfway around the world
Sylhet, Bangladesh
Another part of the process of patients being cared for is the beautiful handmade quilts provided by several volunteer organizations. These quilts are given to the patients before surgery, stay with them throughout recovery and are theirs to keep. We
The Sterilizers
Sylhet, Bangladesh
One of if not the most important jobs when doing a mission to provide cost free surgery to children who wouldn’t have had it is making sure the surgeons are provided with sterilized equipment. On a Rotaplast mission we bring
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 »