BARQUISIMETO, VENEZUELA

AND

Mission: Barquisimeto, VenezuelaJuly, 2008

A Rotary International Project sponsored by:

Rotary Area #5, District 6330

ROTAPLAST in affiliation with

ROTARY

“MAKING DREAMS REAL” through

SERVICE ABOVE SELF

What is Rotaplast? • a non-profit organization

• founded in 1992 to facilitate a surgical program in Chile to treat children with the cleft lip and palate anomaly

• for children who would not otherwise get treatment

• a team of medical and non-medical volunteers travel to places in need of this service

• since 1993, more than 115 missions have been completed serving more than 10,000 children.

• more than 1000 children have been treated in Barquisimeto -7 missions

Barquisimeto, Venezuela• 5 hours by bus from Caracas• a city of 1.2 million people

Mission Directors and Quartermaster

Surgeons, Pediatricians, Anesthesiologists

Members of the Mission Team

Nurses

Non-Medical Volunteers from Canada and the U.S.A.

The 26 Member Team

Many local volunteers helped out – Rotarians and teenagersThey were a great help with interpreting - Spanish - for us

Meeting Point – Fort Worth, Texas

Meetingmanyteam membersfor the firsttime

A five hour flight to Caracas and

then a 5 hour bus ride to

Barquisimeto

Accommodations atHotel Circular Militar

Most dinners were eaten together at the hotel

The hospital in which we worked

First day at the hospital…Getting instructions and un-packing many of the35 boxes of supplies

Ready for Clinic Day

Team members are ready :Patients will be seen bysurgeons, anesthesiologists,nurses for weight and height,dentist, and photographer

CLINIC DAY

Waiting to see the doctors…

Will their dreams ofsurgery come true?

Approximately 150 patientsarrived

75 patients will have surgeriesduring the next 5 days

Surgeries…

With an early start – 6:15 am.

The team is set to go!

Waiting for surgery,patients arrive the night before

Volunteers keep children busy

Patients are brought down from the Ward to the Operating Rooms

Meanwhile … our Recreation Therapist is getting ready to entertainour young patients… relieve their anxieties about their surgeries

Some are happier than others

It’s time to make those dreams real..

Ready to go!

Each patient is given a gift of a quilt (made in Canada)

All set to for surgery

Entering the Operating Rooms

And the surgeries start…

Everyone is busy…

71 surgeries are performedin 5 days – some taking more than 4 hours

The Recovery Room is a busy place

Back to the Ward to recuperate over night

After 5 days of surgery,all patients have to come back for a check-up

Clinic Day again…

By 8:00 am. the line is long

They are pleased with the results

Many “Gracias” are heard

Dreams are becoming real..

On this special day, many media people are present

One last lunch with pizza and a special cake for dessert

Much time was spent at the hospital but we did get a chance to see a bit of the city.

Visiting museums, parks and a church

An hour was also spent at a village with many craftvendors.

A visit to the Rotary Hospital which is still under construction.

At this time it has one operating room and one ward in use.

Members from our sponsoringBarquisimeto Club joined us fora late dinner one night.Banners were exchanged.

And more banners…

On another evening, 9 Rotary team members joined another Rotary Club for dinner.

This is the club which is building the Rotary Hospital, as funds become available

Our last evening in Barquisimeto – A special Volunteer Appreciation Dinner

Everyone is thanked for their commitment to the Barquisimeto Mission

We’re on our way back home.

Thank you, Rotaplast, for giving us a chance toMAKE DREAMS REALfor many children andtheir families.

It was truly an awesome experience!

Barquisimeto MissionJuly, 2008

26 team members16 medical10 non-medical

Numerous local Rotary members and volunteers35 boxes of supplies (medical equipment , etc.)5 days of surgery71 patients, 120 procedures

Many DREAMS CAME TRUE!

Rotaplast and RotaryMedical Volunteers

• P. Schnur Med. Director• C. Beltran Surgeon• A. Capozzi Surgeon• D. Schnur Surgeon• J. Giraldo Anesthesiologist• S. Budac Anesthesiologist• K. Kim Anesthesiologist• M. Mattos Dentist• L. Kovich CRNA• M. Moffatt Pediatrician• L. Borie Head Nurse• M. Beristain OR Nurse• V. Leendertse OR Nurse• M. RalstonOR Nurse• J. Farrington PACU Nurse• J. Weinstein PACU Nurse

Non-Medical Volunteers

• M. Fish Mission Director• B. McLeran Asst. Mission

Director• L. Lachapelle Quartermaster• J. Moffatt Patient Transfer• J. Johansen Photo Journalist• T. Pook Sterilizer• T. Wolff-Molson Recreation Therapist• R. TjoelkerMed. Records Keeper• D. Coleman Patient Ward Coord.• M. Moffatt Recovery Room Asst.• O. Mendoza interpreter

To find out more about Rotaplast or how to apply to be a volunteer, go to www.rotaplast.org