Sofia Zoullas is 16 years old and lives in New York City. She attends the Chapin school as an 11th grader, and this past June she got to do something that most teenagers don’t get to experience; She participated in MMFC’s mission to Antigua, Guatemala as a junior volunteer, taking all of the pre-op and post-op photos and collecting stories of some of the children she met.
MMFC sends a mission to Antigua, Guatemala two times each year. On June 22-29, our team of volunteer doctors, nurses, and administrators returned for another week of cleft surgeries and dental care. By the end of the five operating days, the MMFC team had completed 34 cleft surgeries and provided dental care to 21 children.
Thanks to the dedication and generosity of our volunteers, donors, and the Hermano Pedro Hospital in Antigua for opening its doors to us, these children received life-changing operations that they normally would not be able to afford. These are just a few of those children.
Juan Carlos Utuye
Juan Carlos is an 11-month old from Media Luna, about 5 hours away from Antigua. The youngest of four children, he was born with a bilateral cleft lip, and his mother brought him to MMFC’s mission with hopes of having it repaired. Juan Carlos’s mother heard about MMFC through an organization in the region that has an outreach program for children in need of cleft lip and/or cleft palate surgery. With his deformity, Juan Carlos required a lot of extra time and attention from his mother, who has three other children to care for. The surgery that Juan Carlos received was the first stage of his cleft lip repair; when it is complete, it will not only life-changing for him, but also life-changing for his entire family.
Santos Moises Lajpop
Santos is a 1 and a 1/2 year old boy, born with a unilateral cleft lip. He lives with his parents and four siblings in Momostenango, about 5 hours away from Antigua. After learning about MMFC at a local clinic, Santos came with his father to have his cleft lip repaired. Before he received surgery, Santos had a difficult time eating and as a result is malnourished – a common problem among children with cleft deformities. Now, with his lip fixed, he will live a much healthier and happier life.
Sebastian Aguilar
Sebastian is 6 months old and comes from Rincon de los Leones, about 5 hours away from Antigua. He is the youngest of four children. His mother heard about MMFC through the organization Asociación Compañero para la Cirugia, which advertises for us in local clinics. With his severe deformity, Sebastian would not have been able to live a normal life. He had trouble eating, and the local community blamed his mother for his cleft lip. Now his mother will be able to take better care of him and his siblings.
Esmeralda Bartolon
Esmerelda is 16 years old, and was born with a cleft lip and palate. She is one of ten children and just had her lip repaired two years ago. Her neighbor made the nearly 12-hour journey from Tacana with her this year to have her palate repaired, since her parents had to work and take care of her siblings. For the 14 years before her lip was repaired, Esmerelda never left her house – not even to go to school. She couldn’t speak well and was afraid of being teased for her deformity. Now that her palate has been repaired by the MMFC team, she is another step closer to having a more normal life. She now hopes to improve her speech through therapy.
