John Gibbs posted on May 19, 2011 14:14
Barbara Wall is an ex professional Squash Player and now a member of the Rotary club of Upper Blue Mountains Sunrise. Barb retired from Professional Squash in 1989, but came out of retirement to compete in the World Masters Games held in Sydney in October 2009 in an effort to fund an Interplast program. This led to the development of The Gift of a Smile program with a web site at www.giftofasmile.org.au in support of Interplast which is a Rotary Multi District Project in Australia and New Zealand and to Barb becoming District 9690 Chair for Interplast
Interplast Australia & New Zealand provides surgical and allied health services in developing countries in the Asia Pacific region by providing free medical treatment and training.
Each member of an Interplast program is fully qualified in their field of expertise and Volunteer their time to participate in an Interplast program.
Interplast volunteers provide free treatment to people living with a disability from a congenital condition such as cleft lip and palate, or an acquired condition such as burn scar contractures. Treatment is targeted to the indigent population who would otherwise not be able to afford to access services.
Interplast assists with developing local capacity to provide surgery and ancillary services by providing training and mentoring programs for medical and allied health professionals. All Interplast programs are training programs — leaving a legacy long after the team has gone.
People living with a disability are among the most disadvantaged in the world. Many suffer from treatable deformities and injuries but are unable to access treatment due to poverty, isolation and the lack of surgeons skilled in plastic and reconstructive surgery. 70% of the patients of Interplast are under 15 years of age. Often these children are ostracised from their society simply because they look different, or cannot perform simple tasks for themselves. They often do not go to school because they are teased by their peers. They potentially live a life without friends or an education and often are a continual burden on their family. A simple operation will repair their condition, and give them the confidence to attend school, restore functionality, and grow up to contribute economically to their family and ultimately the community in which they live.
“Interplast” is an inspirational program that has the ability to give hundreds of children throughout the world the chance to smile.
Interplast has
- Trained hundreds of overseas surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and allied therapists and
- Sponsored over 70 to continue their training in Australia.
- Sent 600 volunteers, on 500 programs, in 24 countries.
- Provided over 30,000 consultations, and
- Performed over 18,000 instantly life changing operations.
Annual reports are offered on the Interplast website. Before and after pictures are available on the Gift of a smile website. We thank Barb for her presentation at our club and her time on 3 May.