If it takes a village to raise a child, then it takes a group of 29 Rotarians – and one sister-in-law willing to help translate – to change the lives of 143 patients, mostly children, from the university city of Pereira, Colombia.
Rotaplast, a program that provides surgical intervention to eliminate untreated cleft lips and palates, makes Danville Rotary President Vic Georgiou proud.
“Truly, these doctors perform more than surgery,” Georgiou said. “It’s an art form. Sculpture, that’s what it is.”
During the week most of us celebrated Valentine’s Day with flowers and chocolates, volunteers from the “5 Club” Rotary, which included members from Danville, San Ramon and Lafayette, joined other national Rotarians on a recent mission to Colombia. There, the volunteers performed complicated medical procedures, changing the lives of not only the individuals but also their families – forever.
Georgiou, the designated “quartermaster,” a military term for “supply guy,” was responsible for transporting 45 cases of surgical supplies to and from Colombia.
Georgiou described the narrow one-way streets to the villages as “poverty in paradise,” as he addressed the Danville Rotary members at their March 13 meeting. He led fellow club members through a slide show presentation, from the historical perspective, to the geography of Pereira, to the emotional photos of children lined up outside a fence.
“The first couple hundred were assessed and from there, most were chosen to receive surgeries,” Georgiou explained. “Each child, although accompanied by three to four adults, was allowed to bring only one adult into the hospital.”
Additional slides showed the smiles of those impacted by volunteer miracle workers, from a father holding a young girl named Eliana, who received cleft surgery, to the unbelievable before-and-after photos of a 55-year-old grandpa. The audience “oohed and aahed” when they saw the dramatic change after the man’s cleft lip was repaired to reveal a new big smile.
The Rotaplast program requires doctors, anesthesiologists, nurses, translators and other volunteers to perform complicated medical procedures for families that don’t have the money to pay for the procedure themselves.
“These folks are amazing,” Georgiou said.
In the Pereira mission, approximately 20 procedures were performed a day with work beginning at 7:30 a.m. and sometimes ending as late as 8 p.m.
“The doctors would take only short breaks for nourishment or take a power nap of 20 minutes,” said Paul Fisher, chairman of the board and team leader for this mission. Sundays were the only official day off.
Fisher said doctors on the mission proclaim, “This is what it’s all about,” remembering what drew them into the medical profession. He noted that because liability differs when medical teams cross borders, the surgeons are left to focus on what they do best – perform medical miracles.
“Rotarian volunteers do all the necessary paperwork,” said Georgiou, which included Post-its on the wall to keep track of candidates for surgery. They also perform the other necessary “grunt work.”
“Every person that volunteers plays an important role,” said Fisher, “from nurses who care for these patients in their fast 24-48 hour recovery times given in the hospital to the local Rotarians from the host country who support our efforts in the first place by providing a hospital to perform the surgeries to the continued support families receive long after the team leaves.”
Even Rotarian family members, such as Danville Rotarian Steve Grote’s mom, become involved by creating quilts as part of the “Quilt Project,” which provide each patient with a blanket of comfort that they can take home as a reminder of the program. “Others pack bags filled with stuffed bears and goodies,” said Georgiou, which are given as parting gifts.
In 1996, Rotaplast was such a concerted effort of Rotarians that it became a separate nonprofit corporation and has since consistently expanded its number of annual missions. The program was founded in 1992 by Rotary Club President Peter Lagarias and Dr. Angelo Capozzi in collaboration with the Rotary Club of San Francisco. Their first mission facilitated a surgical program in La Serena, Chile, and treated children with the cleft lip and palate anomaly who would otherwise not receive surgical intervention.
As part of a bigger, international effort, the goal of Rotaplast is to eliminate cleft lips and palates in children worldwide by the year 2025. And with one to two missions performed each year, from China to Bolivia, the Rotary is well on its way to achieving this target.
