LHS juniors Anne Hoover and Stephanie Pappas spent a week last year on a mission for Operation Smile, and now will run an auction fundraiser to benefit the nonprofit organization that provides free surgeries to children with facial deformities in underdeveloped countries.
By:Cara Latham Special Writer
Lawrence High School juniors Stephanie Pappas and Anne Hoover say they joined a medical mission to Kenya to help children needing surgery to correct physical deformities because they wanted to change people’s lives. They didn’t expect the experience to be a life-changing one for themselves as well.
The students are members of Lawrence High School’s Operation Smile association one of the largest student chapters in the country. They say their own perspectives on life have changed because of their experience in Africa last fall.
"I got back feeling like a lot of little things didn’t matter because it was really hard to see a lot of things down there," Anne said. The trip to Kenya last fall "opened up my eyes," she said. "I definitely want to go back."
Operation Smile is a private, nonprofit volunteer medical organization providing free reconstructive surgery and related health care to poor children and young adults in underdeveloped countries. Many of the patients suffer from facial deformities such as cleft lips and palates. The international organization also educates and trains physicians and other health professionals around the world.
Lawrence High School’s Operation Smile association raises funds and sends students on medical missions to assist the doctors and nurses in nonsurgical tasks.
In order to raise money for pediatric medical and dental operations, the high school chapter is holding a charity auction April 21 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in Lawrence High School’s cafeteria. The silent auction will feature a variety of gift baskets, a week’s vacation at a Cape May cottage, a Miele vacuum cleaner, and theater and sporting event tickets, said Christine Stockton, the advisor for the LHS Operation Smile program. The silent auction will be followed by a live auction at 8:30 p.m., she said.
The school district’s Operation Smile program is the second-largest program of 345 associations in the United States, said Ms. Stockton, who got involved in the program in 1994. Ms. Stockton wanted to find a community service organization that would appeal to students.
Starting with five students in 1994, the program has grown to include 250 members who support the program and do fundraising, she said. To date, the LHS members raised money to provide 580 operations for children around the world each operation costs about $750. Last year, the district donated $25,000 to Operation Smile, Ms. Stockton said.
"The division of student programs is one of the sole organizations where students in high school and college are part of the medical team," Ms. Stockton said.
Lawrence student members may apply to join the medical mission, she said. A total of 44 high school students, who are in good academic standing, from around the United States are eligible for each mission, she said.
Would-be Operation Smile volunteers attend a four-day leadership program followed by four days of mission training.
The students undergo training by doctors and nurses. While on the missions, the students follow patients from the pre-operation areas into surgery, and then stay with the patients through recovery. They also travel to schools and orphanages and make health care presentations on dental, nutrition, oral rehydration therapy, and burn prevention, she said.
"We’re using skits, and there are a lot of songs," Ms. Stockton said. "It’s really bridging some cultures and bringing all cultures together. It’s really a lot of fun."
Since 1994, a total of 68 students, faculty and staff have been on missions, said Ms. Stockton.
All of the missions take place in developing countries, and Operation Smile has been on every continent with the exception of Antarctica, she said.
"All the students who have ever gone come back a different person," said Ms. Stockton.
Anne and Stephanie joined the most recent Operation Smile trip to Kenya from Oct. 26 to Nov. 6.
Anne, 17, who joined Operation Smile in her freshman year, said that the trip had a tremendous effect on her life.
One of her main jobs was to play with the children and comfort them before and after surgery, she said. The students, dressed in surgical scrubs, were allowed to witness about two or three surgeries she said.
"It was one of the most interesting things I’ve ever seen," said Anne, who is a co-president of the LHS Operation Smile club.
Stephanie, 17, who also became involved with Operation Smile as a freshman, said that going on the mission also changed the way she looks at things.
"It was really exciting," she said. "Even right now, sometimes when I think about it, it doesn’t feel real. I can remember it, but it’s almost like it never even happened. It was so mind-blowing. It’s still really crazy to think about."
While in Kenya, Stephanie worked with the medical records and made name tags for the children.
"For the past couple missions, we’ve been trying to put their names on the tags, so it’s more personal than just having a number," said Stephanie.
But, the students were told to find one child with whom they bonded the most and spend a lot of time playing games or coloring pictures and taking care of the child.
Stephanie said one Operation Smile patient, a 6-year-old girl named Karen, stood out because she was really outgoing and approached the group of students as soon as they arrived. Karen had a burn contracture, which means that her limbs had been so badly burned, preventing her from exercising and causing her body to remain in one position, said Stephanie. Fortunately, the organization was able to operate successfully on Karen to give her the chance to lead a more normal life, she said.
Stephanie said there were more children needing medical attention than the Operation Smile team could accommodate during the mission.
"We knew a lot of the kids couldn’t get it because there isn’t enough time," she said. "We were actually lucky for that to happen to some of our kids."
As a result of the surgeries, the children’s quality of life improved, said Stephanie. But, her life has also changed, she said. In addition to being the co-president of Operation Smile in Lawrence, she has also become a member of the training program’s student advisory board.
"It’s a big part of my life now," she said.
Stephanie and Anne hope the public will help support Operation Smile by attending the auction.
"Being one person, a lot of people don’t think that just by themselves they can make a difference, but they really can," she said.
Donation forms are available in the main office at Lawrence High School during school hours. The cost of a bid card is $5. For more information, contact Christine Stockton at [email protected].

