Operation Smile - Xinjiang, China (i)

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This is a selection of photos taken during a visit to a hospital in Kashgar, China.

 

The hospital was having a screening day organised by Operation Smile where families can bring children suffering from Cleft Palates and other facial deformities and have them reviewed by medical volunteers. The lucky ones will then be eligible for free corrective surgery.

 

Some of these people, many of whom are living very impoverished lives, had travelled hundreds of miles to be at the screenings, with no guarantee of a successful decision regarding their children, so the level of expectation/desparation was very high.

 

This father and his son are awaiting their evaluation interview with the volunteer doctors to see if the baby will be eligible for surgery. One thing that really stuck me about the children and their parents was their extraordinary dignity and calm.

 

Operation Smile is a Not-for-profit, volunteer medical services organization that provides reconstructive facial surgery to children and young adults. You can visit their website and make donations here: Operation Smile

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