As everywhere else, we also work with local partners in Bolivia to offer our help for children with cleft lip and palate. The local partners are always there for the families affected by cleft lip and palate in the country. And they know the local situation particularly well. This means that our help, which is so important for the patients, always arrives exactly where it is needed. And exactly where it is needed. Our colleagues Stefanie Huter and (volunteer) Sylvia Lüdtke-Haas, who live permanently in South America, maintain contact with our partners and regularly visit the work on the ground. The German surgeon Dr Ulrike Lamlé also helps us on a voluntary basis with her knowledge and organizational skills.
At the “Congreso Internatcional de la Fisura Labio Palatina” in Potosi, Bolivia, we managed to organize the first ever meetup of all four of our partners in Bolivia. Our goal was to develop a joint strategy for the future. The program included team building and discussing current problems and potential solutions. We also discussed new, better forms of cooperation for the future. After five hours of discussion without a break, everyone was at the end of their strength, but it was worth it. After that marathon session, everyone needed to stretch out a little. DCKH Regional Manager Stefanie Huter is also a yoga teacher and led the workshop participants in a round of stretching and mobilization exercises. Rolling their hips not only loosened up their stiff bodies after all the sitting, but also their exhausted minds after the complex discussions.
Hand in hand for children with cleft lip and palate
Together, we want to offer as much help for patients with cleft lip and palate in Bolivia next year as we have done this year. We want to provide further training for our local team members. We want all our local partners to work more closely together. The well-being of our young patients is always at the heart of everything we do.
We want to express our thanks to all our dedicated Bolivian friends and partners who make our local help for cleft children possible. Our partners are the Bolivian NGOs Cleft Project Dr. Gonzalo Torrez Cruz, Fundación Ayninakuna, Jiwaqui, and Proyecto Cleft Bolivia Amar y Sanar. All of these organizations are made up of passionate Bolivians with irreplaceable medical expertise and a very big heart for children.
We look forward to many more years of successful cooperation.
