A civic-minded student who sees the bigger picture

Wed, Mar 14th 2012, 10:04 AM

A smile -- a facial expression formed by flexing the muscles near both ends of the mouth. It is an expression that denotes pleasure, joy or happiness. A smile is understood by everyone despite culture, race or religion. It is internationally known. But for some people, that expression that for many is so simple, can be a source of great embarrassment because of a facial deformity known as a cleft lip or cleft palate.
The gift of a smile may not be something that can be put in a box, wrapped with pretty paper and tied with a bow, but it is something that Operation Smile, an international medical charity has provided to more than 200,000 children and young adults born with cleft lips, cleft palates and other facial deformities around the world. And it's this organization that 16-year-old Natalie Hernandez is a member of.
The Year 12 student of St. Andrew's School, a volunteer student educator for Operation Smile, recently traveled with the medical mission organization to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, as part of a 48-member volunteer team that performed 81 life-changing smile surgeries, free-of-charge on underprivileged children with cleft lips and palates.
Natalie did not actually perform surgery, but she went into schools where she taught local children about basic health and hygiene such as handwashing, dental hygiene and burn care and prevention. Prior to leaving for Cambodia, she also spent months collecting donations to take to Cambodia. She took over 200 stuffed animals and toothbrushes as well as more than $600 that she raised with her school peers.
"The trip was absolutely amazing," said Hernandez. "It was a life-changing experience. It was so great to see the kids learning and it made me happy to know I was making a difference in their lives in this small way. It also taught me that a mother's love is universal and that a baby born with cleft impacts the whole family. A mom, regardless of where she lives in the world, or her social class, will do whatever she can for her child. "They scrapped together whatever money they could, to ensure that their child could have a chance at a better future."
Natalie witnessed people arriving on mules and buses, who traveled from hours away to take advantage of the free surgeries.
"The trip also helped me to put everything in perspective and see the bigger picture. Life isn't about a particular bag, or going out on Saturday night, as many high school students think. It's about helping others. We have been blessed with so many things -- an education, a house, and food. It's our responsibility to give back and help those who aren't as fortunate," she said.
Persons as young as six months up to age 65 showed up to have surgeries on their cleft lip and palate. Over 20,000 Cambodians suffer from the deformity in a population of 14.8 million. Every year about 600 more babies are born with a facial deformity.
Being a part of this legendary organization may not seem like all that big of a deal to many people but Natalie said it was important to her. She thinks of the many children who go through life with low self-esteem, health issues or those who even die because of complications with their cleft palate or lip and said she couldn't help but want to be a part of improving the quality of their lives.
Now in her third year volunteering with Operation Smile, Natalie was finally able to go into the operating rooms as an observer. It made her appreciate the before and after even more
"It's fulfilling to know I helped out in a bigger way this time around," she said.
In preparation for the mission, Natalie underwent two weeks of training in Beijing, China, last summer to be a student educator on health and hygiene.
While the high school senior is proud of the work she did in Cambodia, she believes it is just as important to encourage her peers to be civic-minded.
"People who can eat three meals daily, have a roof over their heads and access to an education should be grateful for all they have and be able to be compassionate enough to share their wealth -- be it time or money to help the less fortunate," she said.
If more young people learned to care about other people, and get involved in charitable organizations, she said, they could learn to be less selfish and see life in the perspective it should be viewed in.
"Being a part of organizations like [Operation Smile] or going on a trip where you physically assist in changing lives makes things like not getting the perfect present, or grades, or being the perfect size or being allowed to go to a party seem insignificant. Things young people consider to be the end of the world no longer compare when you see the big picture. I am glad I am a part of Operation Smile because it has done me good and I hope for other young people to find something they can relate to in charitable services and get on board. It's our duty to give back because most of us are so fortunate," she said.
In hopes of inspiring other students to do more, Natalie founded a Project Smile club at her school. It currently has 10 members. They have done a number of bake sales from which the proceeds benefit the needy. They have also visited children's homes to lend a hand.
It is also important for the young charity worker to be well-rounded which is why she is also president of her school's chess club and vice president of Model United Nations (MUN) club. She also keeps on top of her studies and has a 3.90 grade point average which is just a slight drop from the 4.00 GPA she maintained for most of her high school years prior to transferring to The Bahamas.
Natalie lived in Honduras for two years before moving to The Bahamas. It was while there that she became involved with Operation Smile. She translated for English-speaking doctors. She was able to help doctors and families communicate about procedures and follow-up care.
"After seeing the amazing results they had, I wanted to become more involved. I am so lucky to have gone on this trip, and thank everyone who made it possible," she said.
Natalie believes her involvement as a local translator on four previous Operation Smile mission trips in the South American country played a role in her getting accepted to participate in the latest mission. But no matter the reason, she said the experience was truly life-changing.
"I was so excited, really happy and proud to get accepted to go on a mission trip with Operation Smile. I always wanted to make a difference in the world and this was a great first step. I think I was chosen because I was president for two years of a group called Jovennes En Accion (Youth in Action) in Honduras, which was a social service group that brought kids from different social classes to volunteer at orphanages and retirement homes."
Out of the hundreds that apply for Operation Smile medical missions, only 30 high school students are accepted.
The St. Andrew's School senior has numerous ambitions which include following in her mother, Sally Sternal's footsteps and working with U.S. embassy especially since she enjoys seeing different parts of the world. Her other option has her becoming a plastic surgeon. She was inspired in the second career choice through her exposure to Operation Smile.
No matter where life's road takes this community-minded young lady she said she would always have a passion for community work and will make creating a better world a priority in her life.
Operation Smile is a non-profit organization that goes around the world to give free cleft palate and cleft lip surgeries to unpriveleged children around. It was founded in 1982 by Kathy and Bill Magee who went to the Phillipines on a medical mission and saw so many underprivileged children and adults afflicted with cleft lip an/or palate. They were moved to organize something significant that would benefit these individuals. The couple knew they had to do something more than just one non-profit mission trip and as a result Project Smile was created. It has brought together thousands of medical professionals and volunteers for hundreds of trips to many areas around the world to perform life-changing surgeries. Since its establishment more than 140,000 children worldwide have been treated.
A cleft occurs when the body's natural structures fail to fuse. This forms before birth. According to statistics, one in 700 children worldwide are born with a cleft lip and/or cleft palate. An older term is harelip, based on the similarity to the cleft in the lip of a hare. A cleft lip or palate can be successfully treated with surgery, especially if conducted soon after birth or in early childhood.
If the cleft does not affect the palate structure of the mouth, it is referred to as cleft lip. It is formed in the top of the lip as either a small gap or an indentation in the lip (partial or incomplete cleft) or if it continues into the nose (complete cleft). Lip cleft can occur as a one-sided (unilateral) or two-sided (bilateral). It is due to the failure of fusion of the maxillary and medial nasal process.
Cleft palate is a condition in which the two plates of the skull that form the hard palate (roof of the mouth) are not completely joined. The soft palate in these cases cleft as well. In most cases, cleft lip is also present.

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