After two long flights and a layover in Dubai, our group of five little heart patients from Uganda landed safely in Kolkata, India. Our LWB India team was so excited to welcome them! Both the parents and their children were tired from the long journey, but the gift of a little stuffed toy brought smiles to their faces.
They made it! Our intrepid group of travelers from Uganda — 7 children, 6 moms, 1 aunt, 1 nurse, and 1 social worker — arrived safely in Kolkata and got settled into their apartments, which are thankfully all on the same floor and share some common areas for the children to play and for the moms to chat.
This weekend was a whirlwind! On Saturday, the Mission Smile team completed 27 surgeries, and on Sunday they did an additional 28. Twenty doctors, including eight surgeons, eight anesthesiologists, and four pediatricians, are part of the Mission Smile team healing cleft-affected people this week. Each person volunteered to travel to Kolkata, and except for being housed and fed, are working from sunup to sundown for free.
When the Mission Smile team arrived at the South Eastern Railway Central Hospital in Kolkata, the gathering of children and families was amazing. Throughout Intake Day, the staff screened 179 patients and ultimately selected 100 for surgery. Virtually all of the 79 patients not selected had medical challenges that made surgery impossible at this time; however, Mission Smile is committed to helping them soon.
