The need remains, the work continues
F.R. "Fritz" Nordengren - Project Producer

Every once in a while, when I return from covering a medical mission like the mission in Venezuela, someone will say to me, "are you going on another trip like that ever again?"

It's not a stupid question. And it's usually asked with the same curious tone of voice as the question I am most often asked before I leave on a trip: "Why are you going there?"

Venezuela, Guatemala, Armenia, El Salvador, and Viet Nam are places on a globe in a classroom or on a map on a web page. To most of us, they are places we'll never see, let alone live in.

But people do live there and they make it their home. When I visit these communities with teams of volunteers, I'm struck by how much of a difference one person can make. Volunteers tell me over and again what it has meant for them to be a part of the experience. When I watch the final good-byes and see the connection made between people who often don't share the same language, I'm truly grateful that I'm someone who gets to watch and record these moments so others can see.

I see that the gifts brought by these teams make a difference. But, too, I see that yes, the need remains.

There are complicated and protocol driven reasons for determining who is selected to be cared for during a medical mission. In a oversimplification, the patients who have the most severe need, and are least likely to receive care, are the ones Operation Rainbow teams work with.

What this means is some children must wait for the next team of volunteers, or wait for local caregivers to help. Operation Rainbow missions not only care for the needy, but also teach the local care givers and expand their knowledge so they can better care for the people in their community.

Even as they are standing in line at immigration to leave Venezuela, many volunteers are already talking about where they are going next.

Waiting. A mother holds her son on April 4. Even though her son was not selected for surgery during this mission, she waits, with other mothers and children, hoping for a change in the schedule that will allow her child to be cared for by the Operation Rainbow volunteers. Her son needs a fistula repair and is now on the list for the next mission.

I am not an expert on people's motivation. I see people do amazing things with their lives and wonder -- as many of you do -- what motivates them to do what they do. I do get a chance to see some amazing people in action.

When we cover these trips, we have unbelievable access to the volunteers and the patients. We are taught the necessary sterile techniques to allow us to walk into the operating rooms and record the events there. We spend work time, play time and meal time with the teams and in some cases, when there are not enough hands, we set down our cameras and help with patient and family care.

One night at dinner, several of the recovery room nurses were sharing the story of Jose. You met Jose from the two photos we included in this web site. His "before" photos included an unrepaired cleft lip as he lay on the operating table prior to surgery. His "after" photo, taken a few days later, shows his lip on its way to a speedy recovery.

The nurses told the story of Jose being brought into the recovery area and, once he was settled in, someone went to get his mother.

His mother, when she came to the bedside, thought a mistake had been made, and explained to the nurses that this was not her child, Jose.

"Yes it is," the nurses told the mother, and in Spanish told her again.

"No, it is not my child", the mother protested.

"Yes, it is your child."

The mother looked again. She carefully pulled back his gown and looked where she had placed a special mark on his torso for good luck. It was there. And for the first time, she recognize the boy as her own Jose, who now had a smile where earlier in the day he had a deformed lip.

Tears of love, joy, and wonder filled her eyes and she cradled her baby and thanked the team.

I don't know the motivation of the people in that room for going on this Operation Rainbow mission. But I think I understand the motivation for wanting to go on another.

If you enjoy what you see here, please help Operation Rainbow continue the healing. Please contribute or volunteer.