Operation Smile's Historic Mission in Morocco
Today, April 7, 2020 we celebrate World Health Day, a day recognizing the tireless work of nurses and midwives and a reminder to world leaders that they have a responsibility to keep the world healthy. In honor of all the medical professionals on the COVID-19 front lines, we share a story from a remarkable group of women on a life changing mission in Morocco, headed up by one very special nurse.
In early March of this year, just as the extent of the COVID-19 global pandemic was becoming clear, a group of 50 women from 25 different countries did a remarkable thing. They put their responsibilities as medical professionals and their passion for improving the lives of children ahead of any concerns about traveling and flew across the globe to work together.
Badass Women
These women, from countries including Mexico, Sweden, Kenya, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, the United States and Morocco, took part in the first ever all-women’s mission with the global medical organization Operation Smile. All of the women had traveled with Operation Smile previously on at least five missions, so they knew the impact they would have. Hundreds of families - most often mothers and children - would travel long distances to receive the free medical care Operation Smile provides to people with cleft lip, cleft palate and burns. They knew they would meet children who had great difficulty drinking, eating, speaking and sleeping and parents who are scared, tired and often ostracized by their communities.
Pediatrician Jennifer Lin with a cleft patient in Oujda.
Since 1982, Operation Smile has provided hundreds of thousands of free surgeries for people born with cleft lip and cleft palate in some of the world’s most underserved areas. Experts in repairing cleft - a facial gap that did not close during pregnancy, resulting in an opening in the lip or roof of the mouth - Operation Smile harnesses the power of volunteers from a spectrum of medical professions. Founded by Dr. Bill Magee, a plastic and craniofacial surgeon and Kathy Magee, a former nurse and clinical social worker, Operation Smile is one of the world’s largest medical volunteer-based non-profits with 31 care centers in 16 countries and regular programs in 32 countries.
Kathy Magee is Op Smile’s President. As a former nurse, she knew how important this historic mission would be to families in northern Morocco. Not only would the all-female team conduct surgeries and counseling, but they would hold educational workshops and trainings for Moroccan medical workers and students. They would also provide powerful role models for young women considering a career in medicine. She was moved, but not surprised then, to see how determined these loyal volunteers were to make it happen, despite news of the coronavirus.
“When we put this out throughout the organization, there was no hesitation. There were other things going on in the world, but it didn’t stop one woman from attending this mission. It showed us a lot. It showed us about the level of care and passion of our volunteers. And, it shows the world that women do and can soar in leadership roles.”
Third generation Magee, Isabelle Clifford in Oujda.
I was lucky to meet Brigette, Bill and Kathy’s oldest daughter, in college, and witness firsthand the unstoppable determination and family cohesion that fueled the growth of the organization. Brigette, Director of Student Strategic Initiatives, co-founded Op Smile’s Student Programs and works in the Virginia Beach headquarters with her mom and sister Kristie, Sr. Vice President of Global Philanthropy. She told me about the energy and vision her mom brought to this idea, and the amazement she felt at watching her involved in every aspect of the mission, working so closely with the international volunteers, all of whom she knows well.
Leading the way in Morocco
Morocco’s Operation Smile offices and programs are run by Fouzia Mahmoudi, VP and Co-Founder of Operation Smile Morocco, who Brigette calls an absolute badass. Under her leadership they have provided free physical examinations to more than 14,800 patients and life-changing surgery to more than 6,800 children and young adults during international medical missions. Fouzia was instrumental in bringing the all-women’s mission to life.
“It’s so lovely to see all these ladies coming from 25 countries and five continents sharing their professional skills with our residents...So, yes this is about helping people born with a cleft condition. However, it’s also about educating and training local students here in Morocco." Fouzia explains.
She says she agrees with Kathy Magee’s description of Operation Smile as “a university without walls.”
On site in Oujda, in Northeastern Morocco on the border on Algeria, the team got to work. The volunteers included surgeons, pediatricians, dentists, anesthesiologists, counselors and nurses. In all they screened almost 300 patients and performed surgery on 130.
Cleft surgeries are common in the united states, but in low and middle income countries like Morocco they can be the difference between life and death. The cleft palate is associated with feeding difficulties, eustachian tube dysfunction, middle ear effusions, middle ear infections, hearing loss, speech disorders, dental and orthodontic problems. Medical and emotional problems worsen as people with cleft in underserved communities age.
One infant arrived in Oujda from a great distance, severely malnourished, having lost almost half of his body weight. The team was able to create an artificial palate quickly in order to give him an opportunity to drink from a bottle.
Dr. Carmen Kamas-Wieting, a dentist based in Houston, summed it up, “What a wonderful opportunity for women… to band together and offer free lifesaving surgery for patients. The visual will send a strong message about how far women have come and our capabilities in all parts of the medical field.”
Kathy Magee celebrates with Op Smile Morocco co-founder Fouzia Mahmoudi and the all-women Morocco team.
A multi-generational approach
It takes a global village to pull off a mission on this scale, and that village, in the hands of Fouzia, the Magees and their team, is multi-generational. With a dual goal of providing safe surgeries and mentoring a new generation of Moroccans for careers in medicine, women at the helm of the mission led by example. Fouzia Mahmoudi’s daughter works at Operation Smile headquarters in Casablanca. She said, “As long as I’m alive, I’ll continue what I'm doing here in Morocco and many regions. I'm already preparing the new generation through my daughter, Nour, who is a Program Manager with Operation Smile Morocco. I hope that she will continue to do well and to help those babies that I love so much.”
Kathy Magee’s daughters Brigette and Kristie as well as Brigette’s daughter Isabelle also joined. Kristie said, “Inspiring people is what Operation Smile does every day. I think that on every medical mission and every center that I visited in any local mission -- I think you watch all these medical professionals come together, around one goal. That goal is to really help these families and to create a different life for them and their community. For me, being around strong, dedicated, humble women in medicine has been incredible.”
Op Smile President Kathy Magee with daughters Kristie Porcaro (left) and Brigette Clifford in Oujda.
On site in Morocco Kathy had time to reflect. “Who would have ever thought – that nearly 40 years ago, I would have my granddaughter on a mission with me? This is so exciting because we share what we do, but now she can see what we do for the future. How we make this world a better place. That's what we always thought would happen, but now we can see it and feel it being together on this mission.”
It's wonderful to have a positive story to share during this global health crisis. Thank you to Kathy Magee and all of the staff and volunteers of Operation Smile who executed this milestone mission helping so many in Morocco. And thank you to all nurses and midwives who work hard to keep us healthy all throughout the year and across the globe.
