In April 2008 New Zealand, Australian & German medical volunteers returned home from a very successful Operation Restore Hope surgical mission in the Philippines. Year after year the Operation Restore Hope team volunteer their time to surgically help underprivileged Filipino children suffering from cleft lips and palates.  

This year a team of thirty volunteers successfully operated on over 70 children and performed over 100 procedures.  They are helping to achieve the charity’s goal for all children to start school with a smile and without a cleft lip or palate.

The team could not have achieved the amount of operations performed without the support of organisations like the ASK Foundation, Rotary International and the NZ Embassy who greatly assisted with local logistics and funding. A big thank you goes out to these sponsors along with others who have donated supplies, time and money to ensure Operation Restore Hope can return year after year to help these children.

Thursday 15 November 2007 was a night of huge achievement for the Kiwi surgical charity, Operation Restore Hope.  A fundraising dinner and charity auction, led by Gareth Morgan and Wallace Chapman, raised precious funds to enable the charity to reach more children who suffer from cleft lip and palate.   Charity auction items including a walk-on part on Shortland Street and a day with stylist to the stars Anna-Kate Paterson were entered into a bidding war.

The evening was held at Vinnies Restaurant in Herne Bay and consisted of five sumptuous courses exclusively created by renowned chef and owner, Geoff Scott.   Kiwi FM’s highly entertaining breakfast host Wallace Chapman was the MC for the event.  Other guests of honor invited to speak included prominent Kiwi economist Gareth Morgan, Asia Downunder’s Melissa Lee and plastic surgeon of Skin Doctors fame Tristan de Chalain.  

In addition to many of the Kiwi team being in attendance, ORH team members Lou Hanson and Andre Peralta travelled from New South Wales, Australia to Auckland for the event.

Pictured right (above): Gareth Morgan
Pictured right (below): Lou Hanson, Michelle Gimblett, Hector Gonzales, Wallace Chapman

On 29 May 2007 the Philippines Ambassador to NZ, H.E. Mr Bien Tejano hosted President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the Auckland War Memorial Museum.

Operation Restore Hope was invited along to the occasion and had the great pleasure of meeting and talking with the President about our activities. It was also an opportunity for our group to make contact with NZ's Filipino community who we hope to have close ties with going forward.

Pictured left to right: Hector Gonzales, Michelle Gimblett, Tristan de Chalain, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo & Gabrielle Rutherford

Smile Train Endorsement

Operation Restore Hope has achieved a remarkable milestone in obtaining endorsement and financial aid from Smile Train, a Bill Gates endorsed international charity. This charity supports like foundations as ourselves which provide surgical treatment of indigenous children in third world countries who suffer from cleft lip and palate. Operation Restore Hope is now nearly 15 years old and treats approximately 150 children per year in three different centres. We have met the strict criteria to win endorsement and financial support from this international foundation and are most grateful that we have been chosen as a Smile Train recipient.

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