Group from Australia operates on 15 kids

CEBU, Philippines - Fifteen children, aged 1 year old to fourteen years old, who were hare-lipped and had cleft palate, were operated on for free by a 12-member volunteer group from Australia in coordination with the Kiwanis Club of Cebu.

Wilma Dunne, president of the Operation Rainbow based in Perth, Australia, who is a retired nurse and an awardee of the Australian Queen’s Order of Australian Medal (OAM) for her highest and outstanding achievement in the field of service, said the group has scheduled 90 patients during a one-week operation at Mandaue City Hospital.

Included in the group are two specialist surgeons, two anaesthesiologist-pediatricians, six registered nurses, and two coordinators.

The group also brought with them from an electric cautery machine, suture materials, an anaesthetic machine, among others.  

The patients came from Mandaue and neighboring cities and towns as far as Bohol, Leyte in Visayas and Dipolog City in Mindanao.

Out of town patients were treated first and accommodated in the hospital.

Aside from free meals, each of the patients were given a bag which included school supplies and a medical kit bag with all the needed medicines.

“We decided to hold the operation in Mandaue, being located in the heart of Cebu, and because of the very accommodating mayor,” said Susana Tan, director of Kiwanis Club of Cebu.

According to Florita Cue, vice president of Australia-based Damayang Filipino, Inc. who provided the link, said there will be more of such service in Cebu.

“This is a once in a life time chance since cleft palate or harelip operation would cost P50,000 excluding the medicine,” said Dr. Oscar Quirante, director of the hospital.