MOST mission count-down

MOST mission count-down, February 3, 2011

We are on count-down to our departure on February 10^th for the 2011 MOST (Miles of Smiles Team) mission to Huehuetenango, Guatemala.

Iowa MOST is a Rotary District 6000 initiative, which provides surgical repair for cleft lip and palate to individuals living in the western highlands of Guatemala. Guatemala has significantly higher incidence of cleft lip and palate than the US. Individuals served by Iowa MOST do not have access to such surgery, due to proximity of limited surgical sites and family financial limitations. Some families travel well over 100 miles to the clinic on rough, steep mountain roads. Some come by bus and even need financial assistance to pay for the transportation. All come with the hope that this surgery can give their child a better life.

This is the sixth mission to Guatemala and the fourth to Huehuetenango. This mission’s genesis was from the Iowa City Rotary Club and has been nurtured through the relationship between Rotary District 6000 and the local Rotary Club in Huehuetenango. It works and thrives because of this partnership. Local Rotarians inform families in the mountainous locations of western Guatemala about the MOST mission. They do so by word of mouth, posting fliers throughout the area, contacting health services to let families know of this help, and advertising on local TV and radio. They provide assistance to families traveling to Huehuetenango and as the families stay for the duration of the surgery and recovery. Local Rotarians support the visiting team with our needs, including in-country transportation and lunch on the days that the clinic is doing in-take, surgery and recovery. Returning team members look forward to seeing Guatemalan friends. Those of us new to the mission anticipate a common bond with local people who share the ideals of the MOST mission.

The 2011 Miles of Smiles Team has 33 members from the US, mostly Iowans; 24 are medical personnel: surgeons, anesthesiologists, medical students, pediatricians, dentists, bio-medical engineer and nurses. The rest are volunteers to assist in various capacities. In addition, we will be joined by two Guatemalan doctors and a local translator/organizer. All of us come with a sense of service and dedication to the cause of helping to make life better for many children and their families.

Funding is through District 6000 Rotary Clubs and from individual donations, which covers additional equipment, medical supplies and expenses for the medical team who donate their time and professional skills to the mission. MOST volunteers perform a variety of needed duties and pay for their own expenses.

Equipment and supplies were generously donated for the mission from many sources and are handled through FAMSCO. FAMSCO is an ongoing program of the District 6000 Humanitarian and Education Foundation that channels used, usable medical and emergency equipment and vehicles to needy communities in developing countries. One example is anesthesia machines donated to FAMSCO by Mercy Hospital of Iowa City and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinic that have become a necessary part of the MOST mission in Guatemala. DHL has generously coordinated and picked up the majority of the cost for shipment of FAMSCO items for the MOST mission. The FAMSCO partners in developing countries, like Guatemala, are Rotarians who act as stewards for donations received through FAMSCO and accept these items to recycle valuable surplus in lifesaving ways. Other corporations donate their products that are needed for surgery, such as Johnson and Johnson’s Ethicon and Dermabond divisions that have provided suture and surgical glue since the first year of the mission. Local businesses such as Hills Bank and Technigraphics have also been supportive.

Planning for this mission started about a year ago. Supplies were shipped to Huehuetenango several weeks ago. We have had an orientation meeting about the 2011 trip and have had the chance to meet fellow team members. We are making arrangements at our homes to be gone for 10 days and we are starting to pack our bags. We are ready to go.