In low-to-middle income countries, it is common for children born with disfiguring conditions to be feared, shunned or ostracized by cultures that may interpret these maladies as punishment, a curse or the result of malevolent sprits or karma. Thus, the children and their families resign themselves to the pain and shame that accompany abnormalities. These children are commonly hidden from society and never allowed to run, play, laugh and thrive.
It is our goal to help as many children as possible, scaling impact through education and training of host-country doctors. Part of the criteria for a host-country is the opportunity for training advanced skill sets to local doctors during the medical mission enabling them to perform additional surgical procedures, become more self-sufficient, and the commitment to train other doctors to do the same. Past medical missions have included Argentina, Armenia, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cuba, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Kenya, Laos, Mexico, Nepal, and Vietnam.