OPERATION SMILE MEDICAL MISSION TO TAKE PLACE IN ANTSIRABE, MADAGASCAR, FROM MAY 22-30, 2008

An Operation Smile Medical Mission team of volunteers will arrive in Antsirabe, Madagascar, for an international medical mission taking place May 22-30, 2008 to assist children in Madagascar born with facial deformities.  This mission is being conducted by Operation Smile South Africa, which was founded in 2006 and is based in Cape Town.  Operation Smile South Africa serves as a regional hub for treating children throughout Southern Africa.  The mission team consists of nearly 50 medical and non-medical volunteer team members from Canada, Holland, Italy, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States.  Medical professionals from Centre Hospitalier De Reference Regionale D’Antsirabe will also volunteer during the mission.  Founded in 1982, Operation Smile is a worldwide children’s medical charity dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults. 

Who: An Operation Smile International Mission Team comprised of credentialed medical professionals from six countries to include:

• Professor Anil Madaree, plastic surgeon and Operation Smile South Africa Medical Director
• Dr. Ben Hu, anesthesiologist from California
• Sharon Soloveoff, R.N. from California
• Carl Treleaven, medical records specialist and Operation Smile Inc. Board of
• Directors Vice Chairman & Treasurer from Florida

When:  May 22-30, 2008

Where:  Centre Hospitalier De Reference Regionale D’Antsirabe -  Antsirabe, Madagascar
 

This is the first Operation Smile medical mission to the city of Antsirabe, and the second mission to Madagascar.  The first Operation Smile South Africa medical mission to Madagascar took place in Tamatave in November 2007 during Operation Smile’s 25th Anniversary World Journey of Smiles.  A team of nearly 50 international volunteers provided 267 children and young adults with free physical examinations and 135 patients received free reconstructive surgery.
      

About Operation Smile (www.operationsmile.org)
Founded in 1982, Operation Smile, headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, is a worldwide children’s medical charity whose network of global volunteers are dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults.  Since its founding, Operation Smile volunteers have treated more than 115,000 children born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities. In addition to contributing free medical treatment, Operation Smile trains local medical professionals in its 26 partner countries and leaves behind crucial equipment to lay the groundwork for long-term self-sufficiency. 

Media Notes:  To receive images or additional information, or to request an interview with an Operation Smile spokesperson, please contact Lisa Jones at ljones@operationsmile.org or
757-321-3252.