Lions Australia. Operation Smile Project. Serving Our Community

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1 Lions Australia Operation Smile Project Serving Our Community

2 Lions Australia Operation Smile Project At the 2009 Multiple District 201 Convention, a funding proposal put forward by District 201Q1, was accepted as a three year project ending in 2012 The aim of this Lions project was to raise $ 300,000 to support the mission work of Operation Smile At the 2012 National Convention in Perth a two year extension was approved for this Lions Australia Project The Brisbane Holland Park Lions Club, is the managing club for this project and works with members of the Board of Operation Smile Australia

3 What is Operation Smile? Operation Smile is a volunteer medical service organisation providing reconstructive surgery and related health care to children and young adults in developing South East Asian countries Changing lives. One Smile at a time

4 Operation Smile Australia Programs World Care Program - Bring children with severe craniofacial deformities to Brisbane for surgery Medical and Educational Missions - Treat children in their own settings while educating and training local medical personnel Clinical Observerships - Train suitably qualified Doctors from South East Asian countries in all aspects of craniofacial surgery

5 Craniofacial Deformities Children with extreme bulging of the brain and/or it s surrounding membranes, through a defect in the front of the skull and/or the face are brought to Brisbane for surgery It is a birth defect which may expand with time and can cause other issues due to pressure or infection The cause is unknown but it is more common in certain cultures, suggesting a genetic cause

6 Craniofacial Deformities Treating children with craniofacial deformities not only improves the quality of their lives, it also has a significant impact on improving the quality of life of their family and village

7 Overseas Projects Through Lions Australia support, medical volunteers are recruited for two different types of missions craniofacial and cleft lip and cleft palate

8 Craniofacial

9 Craniofacial Missions In March, 2012 a team completed the first mission to Davao, Philippines. The Lions Australia Operation Project donated $ 10,000 to assist with this mission Education is a very important part of these missions. By teaching the local medical personnel, the aim is to help them become self-sufficient in advanced craniofacial surgery

10 Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate It is understood that approx 200,000 children are born with a cleft lip and cleft palate each year. Therefore there is quite a demand for this type of treatment. A cleft lip takes only 30 minutes to repair. Missions Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Missions are conducted throughout South East Asia

11 Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Missions Children with cleft palates have trouble drinking as the fluid comes out through their nose. They also have trouble eating and with speech To fix a cleft palate, incisions are made either side of the cleft to ensure muscles can be repositioned The gap is then stitched closed to allow normal feeding and speech development

12 Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Missions On a Cleft Mission, up to 300 children and young adults may be seen by the visiting medical team Depending on the size of the hospital and the team, up to 200 surgeries may be performed during a 10 day mission

13 Dili, Timor Leste 2010 The USNS Mercy toured through the Pacific in August, with funding provided by our Lions Australia Operation Smile Project 25 Australian volunteers boarded the ship off Dili and during the ten day mission, screened 79 local children and young adults, with 56 receiving surgery There are various reason a child may not receive surgery (eg: illnesses or infection)

14 Kashgar, Western China 2011 The Lions Australia Operation Smile Project provided funding for 7 Australian medical volunteers to join the International Team in Kashgar in August A total of 158 children and young adults received free surgery during the ten day mission

15 Fengkai, China 2011 Further funding of $ 24,897 from our Lions Australia Operation Smile Project allowed ten Australian medical volunteers to participate in a cleft lip and cleft palate Mission in Fengkai in November

16 Sonny Jay Lions Australia Operation Smile Project provided funding for Sonny Jay and his Mum to travel from the Philippines in March 2010 for his corrective surgery at the Mater Children s Hospital Our Lions project funded $ 18,000 of his treatment costs

17 Lions Australia Operation Smile Project successes

18 Genford

19 Elizabeth, PNG 13 year old Elizabeth who lives in a remote Papua New Guinea village and has suffered from a condition known as Lymphangioma since birth We as Lions provided funding for Elizabeth to undergo corrective surgery at the Brisbane Mater Hospital

20 Operation Smile Australia Founded in 1999 by Brisbane Plastic Surgeon, Dr Richard Lewandowski and his wife Sue All World Care patients are treated at the Brisbane Mater Children s Private Hospital

21 Previous Missions 2010 Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Mission in Cambodia $ 20,000 World Care patient, Sonny Jay $ 15,000 Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Mission in Dili $ 20, World Care patient, Elizabeth $ 18,000 Two Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate missions to China $ 50,100

22 and Beyond Part sponsorship of Craniofacial mission to Davao $ 10,000 Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Mission to India $ 6, Part sponsorship of two Craniofacial missions to Davao, Philippines $ 20,000

23 2012 and beyond Throughout the Multiple District, support from Clubs has been significant but there is a growing need to provide more resources and financial assistance to meet the growing demand for Cleft Lip and Cleft Palate Missions throughout South East Asia We, as Lions, Lionesses and Leos of Multiple District 201, have the opportunity to further the work of Operation Smile Australia by donating to the Lions Australia Operation Smile project and help improve the quality of life of those children born with a craniofacial deformity, their families and their village

24 Lions Australia Operation Smile Project Changing lives. One Smile at a time