tfw99

Spring '08: Local Support is the Key to Success

info@transformingfaces.org — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 15:10:21 GMT

Last week, I arrived for my second yearly field visit to Chennai, India. It is astonishing how quickly time passes between these visits. The local team at Sri Ramachandra University greeted me with the same warmth and hospitality that I remembered from last year. After only a day or so I felt as though I had not been away from India for long.

When checking in on the project, I found that it is also surprising to see how many new relationships can be forged in the space of one year. Roopa Naragajan, the Project Director, took me to the district of Thiruvannamalai. This is the rural area where TFW supports speech therapy and orthodontic treatment for children born with cleft lip and palate. This project, which operates at the community level, truly depends on the support from local schools, district officials, health centres and volunteers for its success.

The project has really taken hold in the community, and new children with CLP are being referred all the time. I was really happy to see most of the children that I met last year once again, continuing their orthodontic and dental treatment and participating in speech therapy sessions. It's great to see local support for this project grow each year!

'Til next time,

Laura

info@transformingfaces.org — Thu, 02 Aug 2007 21:29:14 GMT

Greetings from Ghana!

I’m happy to be enjoying my first visit to this lively West African country. Ghana is a country which immediately greets travelers with colourful sights and sounds and a warm and friendly population.

Yet while enjoying the overall excitement one is soon faced with the fact that much poverty and hardship still exists here. Many Ghanaians – particularly those living in remote and rural areas - do not enjoy ready access to healthcare. For many children born with cleft lip and palate here, there is simply no affordable option for surgery or rehabilitation.

I’ve been fortunate to get the chance to spend time visiting TFW’s long-running cleft lip and palate project at Ghana’s only teaching hospital, Korle Bu. This project provides cleft lip/cleft palate surgery and rehabilitation for those most in need.

RPSBC Centre, Korle Bu.

One of the highlights so far has been visiting some of the children who received treatment through the project. In the rural area of Swedru, I visited Florence Abban, a child who received cleft surgery with the help of TFW 3 years ago. I had read stories about Florence in the past, and I was interested to find out how she has been since her surgery.

After 3 years, Florence has been thriving. Her father reported that, now age 5, Florence is a healthy and growing little girl. They will continue to visit the project at Korle Bu from time to time to ensure that Florence is developing normally. Her family is thrilled with Florence's progress.

Florence, now age 5.

We stopped by Florence’s nursery school, and the school matron proudly announced that despite being the youngest in her class, Florence is among the brightest. She speaks clearly and normally in class, and she has learned her ABCs and how to count, which will help prepare her for primary school next year.

Thanks to the surgical and rehabilitation team at the Reconstructive Plastic Surgery and Burns Centre at Korle Bu for all of your hard work!

Until next time!

Laura

Florence and her family.

Greetings from India!

info@transformingfaces.org — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 16:43:38 GMT

I’m writing to you from Chennai, India’s fourth largest city, and home to one of Transforming Faces Worldwide’s most innovative projects. The Sri Ramachandra Medical College (SRMC), in partnership with TFW, offers free Community-Based Cleft Rehabilitation for one of India’s many rural and largely impoverished areas.

Rehabilitation is extremely important for children with cleft lip and palate so that they can eat and speak normally after surgery. This project brings speech therapy and orthodontic follow-up to rural areas, making cleft care much more accessible for rural families.

Now, children must no longer travel hundreds of kilometers for rehabilitation in the city; instead we are bringing the treatment out to them!

I set off for rural Thiruvannamalai district, where the community project is based. Kids are partnered with trained community volunteers who track their progress and make sure that they attend their sessions.

I was lucky enough to meet some of the children receiving orthodontic follow-up at the local clinic. The kids proudly showed me their smiles, and their parents told me how happy they are to have follow-up services in their area. Before this, many parents had to miss their daily wages so that children could travel for their monthly appointments.

The people of Thiruvannamalai and the community volunteers have really “bought in” to the project, and they have done much to raise awareness of CLP in the area. Volunteers have begun identifying and referring other newborns with cleft lip and palate from the community, so that they too will get the treatment they need. It was really inspiring to see how much of a difference the project has made in the lives of the children!

Until next time,

Laura

Visit to Kongpon's Home

info@transformingfaces.org — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 01:23:14 GMT

Dear Friends,

Welcome to TFW’s first trip log! I hope that the stories and pictures that you will see inspire you as much as they have for me over the past few days.

I am writing to you from Chiangrai, which is 785 km north from Bangkok. Chiangrai is located in the golden triangle gateway that links Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. It is the home of many tribespeople and migrant workers from Laos and Myanmar who seek to earn a living in the more prosperous and peaceful Thailand. Here is where TFW has partnered with the Northern Women Development Foundation, an organization linked to the YMCA that seeks to improve the living conditions and rights of women in Thailand. TFW’s project reaches out to the poorest and most neglected sectors of Thailand as well as to migrant workers whose children cannot access medical care because they lack of an identity card such as the ones that Canadians have to access universal health care.

My 26 hour trip from Canada brought me to Kongpon Suebsiri’s home. Kongpon is an energetic little boy born with cleft palate. He is 5 ½ years old but is as tall as a three year old in Canada. Tuberculosis took a toll on his mother’s health during her pregnancy with Kongpon.

Kongpon, with his grandfather and local TFW staff.

Kongpon was born with a cleft palate (opening in roof of mouth), which did not help him to gain sufficient weight as an infant. Sadly, Kongpon’s father abandoned the family after Kongpon’s first birthday. Kongpon’s mother cannot work due to the lasting effects of TB, and the family is sustained by his 80 year old grandfather.

The family’s living conditions are very basic. Earning less than $2 per day, Kongpon’s grandfather could not cover the costs of a cleft operation.

Thanks to the support of TFW and the funds raised by the 9th Courtice Brownies Group, Kongpon successfully underwent cleft palate surgery. The Brownies learned about Kongpon and his family, and they raised funds for his surgery through a "bike hike" full of fun during the fall of 2006. News about their efforts brought tears to Kongpon’s family, who were very grateful.

As I left Kongpon’s home I was touched by the dedicated support that has crossed borders and reached Kongpon's family. I was impressed by the commitment of local project staff who are ensuring the family’s wellbeing by referring them to social assistance programs that can help the family's health and living conditions.

Finally, I hope that Kongpon's story also helps you to take stock of your own lives, and feel inspired to reach out to others around the world.

Until next time,

Esteban Lasso
TFW’s Executive Director

First blog!

info@transformingfaces.org — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 22:36:46 GMT

Dear Friends and Supporters,

We are happy to launch our new website, which includes this great blog feature. We will be sure to keep you updated on our visits to projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America and share with you the stories of some of the thousands of children that receive cleft treatment with your support.

Our Executive Director, Esteban Lasso will soon share with you stories from his upcoming visit to Thailand and China in January.

(Thailand: Photo of a child who received cleft treatment and his grandmother)

He will give you a glimpse from the field of the hard work of the local medical teams that make TFW's vision possible.

More to come shortly!

Laura Lewis-Watts, Program Manager