Volunteer Stories

Times were tough for Operation Smile Ghana program coordinator Lucy Apeajei when she was young. By the time she was 10 years old, Lucy had to start working so she…

When Dr. Emmanuella “Ella” Amoako earned her medical degree in Ukraine, she hadn’t sought to become a pediatrician. Rather, it was after she returned home to Ghana that pediatrics found…

Editor’s Note: The following story is the first-person account of guest blogger Sean Robson, Operation Smile South Africa Communications Coordinator, as he and photographer Zute Lightfoot accompanied Operation Smile vounteer…

Anesthesia is as vital to a surgical procedure as any instrument wielded by the surgeon. As part of Operation Smile’s Global Standards of Care, it’s a medical standard that enables…

Dr. Faustin Ntirenganya isn’t one to mince his words when it comes to surgical care in his homeland of Rwanda. “Don’t fish for us, teach us how to fish —…

True passion is a rare and precious thing. In the case of Andriarimalala Solo Radaoroson, his passion for Operation Smile’s work in Madagascar changed not only his life, but numerous…

It’s nearing the end of a long day – the first day of surgeries during Operation Smile’s November 2017 medical mission at Eastern Regional Hospital in Koforidua, Ghana.  After 15…

Programme Coordinator Samantha Devito sat down with John Ryan Yap, a recovery room nurse from the Philippines, during a recent medical mission. Read on for a question- and answer-style interview…