A Very Special Note of Thanks

Translated from a letter written on a large sheet of red paper from a child in Chongqing, China:

Dear Interplast [Aunt and Uncle],

I am a cleft lip patient.  My family is poor and doesn't have money to treat.   I've had this for more than 10 years.  My parents love me very much and are very concerned.  At home, all the kids make fun of me and don't want to play with me. Therefore I am very shy and don't have self-esteem.  In school my classmates make fun of me.  I don't play with them. I put distance between us.

My grades are good and I pass my exams, but my inside is different.  My classmates envy me for having good grades but I envy them for having a complete face.  How I wish I had the same smile!  Every time I think of my cleft I feel sorry for myself.  Every new school year I am laughed at by the new students.  They harshly criticize me. I don't know how to deal with it. I ask myself why God gave me this deformity.

Now, thanks to you, I have completely recovered. I am not laughed at by others. I can smile. I'm so overwhelmed with emotion — I want to hug the dear uncles and aunties who fixed me. You doctors are not afraid of hardship; you came such a long way to Chongqing to help us with cleft. 

We are so lucky to get this gift of smile. I am deeply moved. I thank everyone in this group who helped.  You work so hard.  Although you are very quiet and do not brag, you do such extraordinary things.  You've made such a great contribution. We will never forget your giving spirit — it moves us to tears.

Thousands of words cannot express how I feel inside. I'm so grateful. I will study hard to repay my countrymen.  Please accept my sincere gratitude.

Bless you all.