Our speaker today was Rose Marie Joyce, Rotarian of 17 years, Pico Rivera Club.   What is Rotaplast and how did it get started?  Miss Joyce explained that Rotaplast is a non-profit, humanitarian organization founded in 1992 as a world community service project of the Rotary Club of San Francisco.  In 1996 they incorporated as an independent non-profit.  The name Rotaplast is a combination of Rotary and plastic surgery.

Rotaplast is committed to changing lives through reconstructive plastic surgery.  To date, more than 13,000 surgeries have been performed in countries around the world.  Naming some of the countries where children with Cleft Lip and Palate have been helped are, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Togo, El Salvador, Peru, Columbia and Brazil.

This is accomplished by 400 volunteers, 20 plus board members and six paid staff.  A mission is announced and any organization may agree to sponsor 100% of the mission, or share the cost between  two or more organizations.  A mission ranges from $75,000 to $100,000+ depending on destination, airfare, shipping and medical equipment and supplies.

Rotaplast teams include up to 19 medical volunteers, including: plastic surgeons with cleft care background, pediatricians, anesthesiologists, operating room nurses, recovery room nurses, orthodontists, dentists, speech pathologists and geneticists.  Beyond that, they need Non-Medical Volunteers.  Some of these volunteers will be money raisers.  However, some will train and become volunteer mission directors, quartermasters, medical records keepers and other roles to assist in all aspects of a mission.

Rose told of a parent that walked miles in hope of getting her child the operarion.  She did not know if it would be available as no preparations were made for her child.  Fortunately for her son, and unfortunately to a boy who was sick, her son was operated on.  These families that have been selected for their child to have the operation would be given assistance and a place to stay, three meals a day until their child was operated on and ready to return home.  Generally three or so days.  These reconstructed surgeries are free to the families.  What a wonderful program.

In the short video that was presented, there were before and after pictures of the children.  “Saving Smiles and Changing Lives” is most evident as we viewed the tremendous work being done by this organization.   These little children if not taken care of will suffer in so many ways in their life time.  Cleft lip and plate is a birth defect that poses serious consequences.  Not treated, many a child  could suffer from malnutrition due to an inability to properly swallow food.   Speech impediments can also impair the level of education and social development.

As the video continued, the mission photographer would have each volunteer tell what their job responsibility was on this mission, their name and where they were from.   A photo journalist is quite involved to demonstate to others what an important project this is.

The next mission is to Guatemala.  Each volunteer pays their own airfare roundtrip.  The cost to participate is $1500 per person.  Each mission lasts two weeks.

Miss Joyce did an excellent job explaining a complex mission that brings new life to so many children throughout the world.  This is Rotary at work.

To contact Rotaplast you may visit online at: www.rotaplast.org

(Phyllis Corliss)