It is around this time of year when our thoughts turn to others less fortunate than ourselves, traditionally, charity and the act of giving and receiving have a higher focus now, than at any other time of year . The charity of personal choice is usually derived from individual experience and exposure to a certain issue or cause. It could be the support of research into a particular type of illness suffered by a loved one, the plight of hungry children around the world, or even in our own back yard, prevention of animal cruelty or the support of servicemen and women far from home and their loved ones at times of family unity, but by necessity keeping our country safe, the choices and support are as diverse as our complex human nature.
My family is no different, after we were privileged to visit an elephant conservation project in Africa my wife Alison, decided to support the Daphne Sheldrake foundation who has specialized in the raising and reintegrating of orphaned elephants into the wild for over 30 years, a picture of Makena, one of the orphaned elephants proudly hangs on our office wall.
Mine is slightly different, after watching a documentary entitled “Operation Smile” I recognized that I had direct association with the effects of these facial birth defects by association with a member of my family.
Operation Smile is an international children’s medical charity that heals children’s smiles, forever changing their lives. they provide safe, effective reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities by providing much needed surgical services. Since 1982, Operation Smile — through the help of dedicated medical volunteers has provided more than 2 million patient evaluations and over 200,000 free surgeries for children and young adults born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities.
My cousin was born at time when plastic surgery techniques were not as sophisticated as they are today and came into this world with both a cleft palate and cleft lip, he was a very happy baby and a joy to his parents but had a long road of facial reconstruction to be endured and years of surgery before his face could be healed . On approaching the end of his surgery and well into his teens, the surgeon told him that there would only be a small scar left and that as he grew older he would be able to grow mustache to cover this minor imperfection. Family history has it that my cousin considered this comment for short while and very politely told the surgeon that if he thought that he had been enduring the pain and discomfort of surgery for all these years only to have to grow a mustache he had another thing coming. His spirit never left him and with the support of his family and ever improving surgery techniques he went on to lead a very successful life and indeed has a great and unblemished smile.
The story of my cousin has a happy ending as he had both access to modern medical procedures and was born into an environment that understood his condition. But unfortunately in many parts of the world, children with cleft lip and cleft palate are hidden away, too embarrassed to attend school and face uncertain futures because their parents cannot afford to provide the surgery they need.
As Winston Churchill commented many years ago – “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” So whatever your charity of choice please believe that a kindness done today is the surest way to a brighter tomorrow.
Tony
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