Maria and Juliet

Here is Maria with her mother. This photo was taken two Sundays ago at the cleft screening.

And here is Maria with her mom a day after her operation last Saturday!

Here is Juliet. Poor thing didn’t enjoy the doctor check up at the cleft screening.

And here is Juliet last Saturday. Looking good baby girl!

You could really see the new energy and relief in the moms, dads, and families, and although some of the children seemed to be too young to understand this important point in their lives, we all knew that if today wasn’t the day they understood, then that day would eventually come.

Its amazing what one operation can do a day after though. I can’t even fathom the long-term benefits to the children and their families, knowing that they no longer have to worry about things like malnourishment problems or self-esteem issues that could prevent them from excelling in school academically and socially.

I missed Jesse’s post-operation day, but from what I heard it went extremely well and in fact Jesse himself was real excited even minutes before the surgery!

With that said, we hope to get follow-up photos of the children within time, and hopefully on my next trip back to Bohol i’ll find Jesse and he can tell me himself how he is doing.

Thanks to a group of doctors from the US and a small mobile clinic based in Bohol, the future of about 50 families looks even brighter.

As for me, im at the last leg of my stay in the Philippines. After the clinic, I spent more time with my mom during her birthday and took her shopping. Photos to come soon!