Rosalie's medical mission: Gifting smiles and bringing hope to children with cleft lip and palates in the Philippines

St John of God Murdoch Hospital Perioperative Nurse Rosalie Ramos has recently returned from volunteering in Cebu, Philippines, for an Operation Rainbow medical mission to perform no-cost corrective surgery for children with cleft lip and palates.

23 Jul 2024

“I joined the Operation Rainbow as a volunteer because of my desire to help the children in my hometown of Cebu, Philippines,” she said.

“Providing health care to those less fortunate has an immediate impact on children’s lives by helping them to repair facial deformities that make it challenging to eat, breathe, hear and - of course - smile.”

Operation Rainbow is a non-profit organisation that brings together a volunteer group of plastic and reconstructive surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and support staff from Australia with the purpose to conduct surgical missions for the treatment of cleft lip and palate in developing countries (predominantly in the Philippines), at no cost to the children.

Rosalie said that 200 children showed up for registration, with some travelling for many hours. During her time abroad, Rosalie and the team performed 84 surgeries in just six days.

“My task during the medical mission was to apply my skills as a scrub/scout nurse and assist the surgeon performing cleft lip and palate surgery,” she said.

“I had the advantage of being able to speak the local dialect (Bisaya) by explaining the pre and post procedure to parents or next of kin with limited English.

“I gave reassurance to the children (using the local dialect) in theatre who were scared before being given anaesthesia.

“Being there for them and me being able to speak to them in their language helped build trust in us to do our jobs.”

Although the medical mission was challenging, Rosalie said she found helping others was equal parts enjoyable and fulfilling.

“My experience in the medical mission as a volunteer was amazing. It gave me the opportunity to meet people dedicated to helping others and witnessing the incredible work they have done for these children."

“This experience has also helped me learn to adapt and provide quality care with limited supplies and facilities.

“I can’t imagine how it would feel to have a child born with facial abnormality and not be able to help them.”