Portoviejo, Ecuador - Seth Mazow, Interplast staff: I have heard the stories of countless Interplast patients over my two years here, and Javier is the clearest example of why we do what we do.
Sure, we heal bodies. Clefts are repaired, extraneous digits are removed, burn contractures are released, etc. But what Interplast really does is change lives. We give those with no hope a chance to follow their dreams.
Every guy wants or has wanted to be a DJ. You work two hours a day, go to cool clubs, make jokes, play music, goof off, etc. It was Javier's dream, and once he got his cleft lip and palate repaired, there was no stopping him.
Javier grew up with people not being able to understand him at all. Children made fun of him and he was excluded from activities. He looked weird, spoke unintelligibly and was pretty much the opposite of cool in every possible way.
Now look at him. His voice is literally the voice of cool for a city of 250,000. He is married, has a wonderful daughter, a great job that he loves, and takes great pleasure in giving back to the doctors and organization that changed his life. His story is simply the clearest example of why Interplast is worthy of everyone's time, money or attention.
With this blog I usually try to keep things light and breezy. I figure people get enough of the heavy emotional stuff from every NGO (including us), so I have tried to use the Portoviejo blog posts to show the more personal side of Interplast. But it is hard to not get fired up when you spend a day with Javier or after being surrounded by future Javiers for 12 hours a day. I simply can't help being overwhelmed at how much of a difference Interplast has made in Javier's life.
Sure, we heal bodies. Clefts are repaired, extraneous digits are removed, burn contractures are released, etc. But what Interplast really does is change lives. We give those with no hope a chance to follow their dreams.
Every guy wants or has wanted to be a DJ. You work two hours a day, go to cool clubs, make jokes, play music, goof off, etc. It was Javier's dream, and once he got his cleft lip and palate repaired, there was no stopping him.
Javier grew up with people not being able to understand him at all. Children made fun of him and he was excluded from activities. He looked weird, spoke unintelligibly and was pretty much the opposite of cool in every possible way.
Now look at him. His voice is literally the voice of cool for a city of 250,000. He is married, has a wonderful daughter, a great job that he loves, and takes great pleasure in giving back to the doctors and organization that changed his life. His story is simply the clearest example of why Interplast is worthy of everyone's time, money or attention.
With this blog I usually try to keep things light and breezy. I figure people get enough of the heavy emotional stuff from every NGO (including us), so I have tried to use the Portoviejo blog posts to show the more personal side of Interplast. But it is hard to not get fired up when you spend a day with Javier or after being surrounded by future Javiers for 12 hours a day. I simply can't help being overwhelmed at how much of a difference Interplast has made in Javier's life.
Seth, I absolutely loved this story! What an amazing example of how cleft surgery is so much more than cosmetic... a DJ!
Posted by: Archana | December 04, 2006 at 06:01 AM