APAD 238: On call list
Who’s on duty?
This is one of the signs posted during Operation Smile Cambodia’s international surgical mission in Phnom Penh last month.
APAD 235: Tooth fairies
One of the signs that caught my attention as I was checking the day’s activities and volunteers during the screening day of Operation Smile Cambodia’s recently-concluded international mission at the Smile Center. There on the dentist’s table this sign was posted – how fun!
What the volunteer dentists at the recent Operation Smile Cambodia International Surgical mission called themselves. Funny chaps they were!
Our volunteer dentists for this mission were from South Africa and Egypt. They were both young and energetic lads and so fun to watch as they do their magic with our patients.
APAD 233: Ride for a smile!
I helped organise this event *grins proudly*. It was held with the aim to raise awareness the issue of cleft deformities in Cambodia as well as to spread word about Operation Smile Cambodia’s International Surgical mission (that took place from 30 March to 4 April) held at the newly-opened Smile Center.
Operation Smile Cambodia’s Charity Bike Ride 2014
I also took part in the bike ride. There were nearly 200 cycling enthusiasts, young and old alike, who turned up. The starting line was at the Lucky Burger joint in Koh Pich (where we had free breakfast!) and finishing line was at the Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital along St. 271 where the Smile Center is located. It was only a 16-km fun ride that took the cyclists to the nicest parts of Phnom Penh.
Upon reaching the finish line, the cyclists had the opportunity to visit the spanking new Smile Center as well as meet the medical and non medical volunteers from Cambodia and 10 other countries and see them in action. It was a nice day, indeed!
APAD 200: Inked
Two months ago, while on a medical mission in Poipet in northwest of Cambodia, I met a monk in his early 20s. It was Operation Smile Cambodia’s surgical mission there and he was one of the many who patiently queued and waited for their turn to be screened by our international team of doctors.
I was surprised to see him with several tattoos which he consciously tried to hide and scars from previous piercings on his body. He told our volunteer doctor that, in his past life – meaning before he entered the monastery, he used to be a punk and had these “decorations” on his body. But he got tired of that kind of life and sought forgiveness and renewal. He laid down his secular clothes and exchanged them for saffron-coloured robes, as he decided to enter a monk’s life to pay for his past misdeeds, start anew and earn merits.
Inked.
He is quite a character but nice enough to talk freely about his past. All this he told us as he was being screened. At the end of the day, he received a free injection for his keloid scars.
APAD 178: Public Service Announcement
A very simple flyer made by the folks at Operation Smile Cambodia. It is straight to the point, fuss-free, and features the before and after photos of one of the patients from the previous missions.
Operation Smile Cambodia: Changing Lives One Smile at a Time.
It’s English version reads like this:
Cambodia International Mission
Operation Smile Cambodia, in collaboration with Poi Pet Referral Hospital in Banteay Meancheay province, will conduct free surgeries, from 8-13 September 2013, to children and adults who have cleft lips, cleft palates, and other facial deformities.
Please come to Poi Pet Referral Hospital on 8 September at 8:00AM for free screening and evaluation. Surgery will be conducted from 9-13 September.
For more information, please contact:
Tel. (023) 211 405
(015) 543 599
(077) 838 473
Email: laytheavy@operationsmile.org
Website: www.operationsmile.org.kh
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