MJ cheers up Operation Smile beneficiaries

MANILA, Philippines - The Binibining Pilipinas Charities, Inc. (BPCI), in cooperation with Operation Smile, recently supported the Gift of Smiles Mega Mission, a surgical mission benefitting children and young adults with cleft lip and palate.

The project held simultaneous outreach events recently in Bacolod, Cavite, Cebu, Davao, Pampanga and Samar to treat 1,000 children and young adults with the condition. Three hundred medical and non-medical volunteers from as far as Italy, China, India, Kenya as well as local surgeons came together to support the cause and address the backlog of cleft cases in the Philippines, now estimated at 138,000.

Gracing the Cavite and Pampanga legs of the project were 2014 Miss Universe Philippines MJ Lastimosa (photo), 2014 Bb. Pilipinas Supranational Yvethe Santiago and 2014 Bb. Pilipinas Tourism Parul Shah.

Expressing firm support for the project, MJ shared, “One of the blessings that come with being a beauty queen is being able to touch and inspire other people’s lives. I‘m happy that we were invited to support Operation Smile to give hope to the kids.”

Parul, who just completed her nursing course, assisted in the surgical procedures for some of the kids. She said, “It was so touching to see volunteers from all over the world working together to help the kids for Operation Smile. It was an honor to work with them for such a noble project, and I look forward to using my medical experience to more projects in the future.”

BPCI and Operation Smile have partnered for various projects in the past. Everyone is also invited to donate and volunteer to help children with cleft condition.

For details, visit www.operationsmile.org.ph.