100 Smiles in 100th Mission

Dear Smiles Giver

Thank you for your generous donation to ur project. Patient recruitment activities for the mission has started. (Please find the attached report with photographs of the activities.)

You would be glad to hear that the patient recruitment activities have started for the 100th Medical Mission. The mission will provide 100 Free Cleft Corrective Surgeries.

Cleft, as you are aware, is a congenital deformity that affects 1 in 700 infants born in India. Majority of the children born with cleft come from extremely impoverished back grounds and remote villages without adequate hospital facilities. Cleft is also associated with many superstitions so in extreme cases, we find the mother and child facing social ostracisation because of the condition.

Patient recruitment activities are critical for a medical mission especially as we need to identify and arrange logistics for around 200 children and adults born with Cleft for the mission.

So what does patient recruitment activities involve?

1. Patient Awareness Drives: This includes loud speaker, leaflet and banner campaigns in the region to make the public aware that Cleft is correctable and they can avail free surgeries in the medical mission and they are given details for attending a local screening camp.

Figure 1 : Village Awareness Campaigns

Figure 2 Loudspeaker campaign in progress

1. Patient Screening Camps: These are locally organised camps where the initial responses from the awareness drives are screened. They are screened on the basis of the minimum age and weight criteria needed for the surgery. The successfully screened children and infants are transported for the mission.

Figure 3 - Screening Camp in progress at a local club

The Patient Recruitment activities: Currently, patient recruitment activities is being undertaken in 100-150 KM radius from the mission-site which includes around 7 Districts and over 300 villages.

I will write to you soon with more updates from the field.

Happy Diwali and an advance Thanksgiving wishes to all of you.

Looking forward to your continued love and support.

Best

Anupam Sarkar | Senior Manager - Partnerships

M: +91-9007883789 | E: anupam.sarkar@missionsmile.org

Mission Smile

DPSC Plot no X-1, 2 ,& 3

Block EP, Sector 5, Salt Lake, Kolkata-700091

www.missionsmile.org

• Patient Recruitment Report (PDF)