The Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Japan has concluded its Cleft Lip and Palate Operation in Nepal, providing free surgery to 50 needy patients.
The Adventist Development and Relief Agency in Japan has concluded its Cleft Lip and Palate Operation in Nepal, providing free surgery to 50 needy patients. From November 18 to December 5, 33 medical professionals from Japan gave their time and skills as part of the initiative, which was organized in collaboration with ADRA Nepal and Scheer Memorial Hospital, a Seventh-day Adventist facility in Nepal.
Stephano Tsukamoto, director of ADRA Japan, assembled the team of six plastic surgeons, five anesthetists, 15 nurses, one dietician, two volunteers, and two ADRA Japan office workers.
Patients traveled from across Nepal and beyond to receive the life-changing operation, some walking up to two days to reach the city of Banepa, where the surgery was performed. One young girl, accompanied by her church pastor, traveled five days by bus from India to receive the cleft lip and palate surgery.
For the past seven years, ADRA Japan has cooperated with Showa University and Chiba University to conduct this ongoing project in Nepal. More than 400 operations have been performed so far. But Tsukamoto notes there is more left to be done, saying, “I understand that there are still more than 40,000 cleft lip and palate patients in Nepal because of the lack of skilled plastic surgeons.”
The project was recognized by the Nepalese health ministry and funded by the Japanese Foreign Ministry, and by public donations.