It’s been 20 years since Alliance for Smiles was formed with the mission to transform the lives of children born with cleft lip and palate by providing free comprehensive treatment.
As we grew, so did our objectives which now includes training, equipping and empowering local medical providers to address the long-term needs of cleft patients.
To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we wanted to not just look back on our journey, but also the people who made our missions possible – the many volunteers who generously shared their time, experience and skills; the staff who work tirelessly behind the scenes and the board members whose knowledge and expertise shape our future.
Dr. Chih-Chen Fang
Board Member and Former Lead Anesthesiologist
Dr. Chih-Chen Fang tells us about what drew him to AfS, about the people he came across, where he hopes to see AfS in 10 years and more. Read his full interview below.
What was it about AFS that made you first want to go on a mission?
Dr. Fang: I first heard of AFS in 2007 when I was on a mission to Guatemala with another NGO. A PACU nurse told me about her recent experiences on an AFS mission to Baiyin, China. She found the team members very professional and congenial. They worked well together and with the local people to help the many indigenous peoples there, many of whom had limited resources, correct their children’s cleft lips and palates.
My personal background was also a motivating factor. I am ethnic Chinese and part of me wanted to help my motherland. And that was what started it for me! My first mission with AFS was in 2010 to Guangyuan, China. Everything that I heard about AFS prior to going on a mission with them, turned out to be true. AFS team members are competent, professional, caring and congenial.
We may be a global organization but we are also very local. We do a fabulous job working with people on the ground, all for a common purpose – changing the lives of children and their families.
You have traveled the world – leading the anesthesiology team. Are there any stories or cases that stand out to you in AfS’ 20 year journey?
Dr. Fang: In one of my missions to China , I learned that some children were brought to us by their grandparents as their parents had to work in a bigger city. Some of them had to walk several days to have their procedures done by us.
In my mission to Cameroon, one mother told me that if we did not get her child’s cleft lip repaired her child would have been killed by the villagers as they could not accept children with cleft lips. It was seen as a “curse“ to the village. I am Buddhist and in the Dhammapada, the Buddha says you are not really human unless you feel the arrow piercing another’s skin as if it had pierced your own. After all these years, I have not forgotten what that mother shared with me.
What kind of challenges have you faced on a surgical mission and how did you overcome them?
Dr. Fang: Each mission has its own unique challenges, but in general, the challenges for any mission are 1) raising funds, 2) recruiting the right people and 3) adapting to an unfamiliar environment that often has very substandard equipment. We have done a lot to overcome these challenges.
For fundraising, we have increased our social media exposure to let people know what we are doing, including asking them to attend our annual fundraising gala. For recruiting, I have had to press the flash and call and talk with my colleagues and ask whether they would be interested in participating in missions. For those who cannot participate, they often refer me to friends or colleagues who they think might be a good fit – skill and personality wise – for the mission.
The environment and equipment challenges are probably the hardest to overcome. We have to be extremely vigilant when we do cases and often have to improvise to make what little we have, go as far as it can take us.
What message do you have for any fellow medical professional who wishes to volunteer with AFS?
Dr. Fang: I would tell them that AFS is an excellent organization. They value your services and do not take your services for granted. They are tight-fisted about wasting money on non-mission oriented expenses. They are extremely ethical and their volunteers are highly competent. They provide top-notch care to our patients around the world.
You will find your work very gratifying because you are using your knowledge and skill to help someone get the level of care they need to change the direction of their life.
Where do you hope to see AFS 10 years from now? Is there any specific work that you believe AfS should focus on?
Dr. Fang: My wish is to see AFS become a much bigger organization in 10 years with greater name recognition, more volunteers, a bigger operating budget and more donors. We need to be in the business of doing more and more missions.
They call it a flywheel effect – the more you do, the more people become interested in what you do and the bigger you become. AFS should focus on getting younger people on the Board and developing a formidable corporate presence.