Our promise of improving health and dignity during the COVID-19 pandemic endures. Malnutrition remains one of the most significant obstacles to receiving care due to an increased risk of complications during surgery. Without timely medical intervention, patients are more vulnerable to illness, malnutrition and even death. You can change that today. A $100 donation will provide two children suffering from malnutrition with therapeutic food for six weeks. That’s usually long enough to bring a child to the point of surgery. – link to donation page
Vololona leads a team of volunteers through a crowded neighborhood, passing worn houses before stopping to knock on a metal door. After a moment’s pause, Patricia appears holding her son, Icardi, who’s feeding from a bottle. With relief in her voice, she says to the volunteers, “We’re so glad to see you. This is one of the last bottles we can prepare with the baby’s formula left.”
Amid the lockdowns and restrictions, Patricia and Vololona, Icardi’s grandmother, have tried to support their family. Vololona sells small supplies to schools and churches while Patricia makes deliveries of steels rods in the community. But with orders not coming in, and schools and churches closed, they’ve struggled to make ends meet.
“Baby formula is expensive, but we’ve somehow always managed to buy it, since Icardi needs it to grow,” Vololona explains. “But since the lockdown, we’ve not been able to put money aside to buy formula.”
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, this has become the reality for many patients and their families around the world as they attempt to provide for their loved ones amid country-wide lockdowns and restrictions.
With the inception of the Extra S’Miles nutrition program, our local teams in Madagascar are quite literally going the extra mile for families with hopes of minimizing the hardships caused by the pandemic.
“Shortly after the state of health emergency was declared and lockdown measures were put in place, our patients became extremely vulnerable,” said Dr. Howard Niarison, Extra S’Miles Program Coordinator. “We had to take action, even if that meant braving the virus and the miles that separate them from us.”
The program not only helps patients continue their nutrition treatment prescribed by medical volunteers prior to the pandemic, but also assists families living in regions where lockdown measures have made it nearly impossible to meet basic nutritional needs.
Malnutrition remains one of the most significant obstacles to receiving care due to an increased risk of complications during surgery. Without timely medical intervention, patients like Icardi can face major health issues as they are more vulnerable to illness, malnutrition and even death.
The Extra S’Miles team travelled nearly 3,200km across Madagascar to deliver nutritional packs to patients living in the regions hit hardest by the virus. Within the packs provided to families are necessary supplies and hygiene products including food, soap, washable masks, hand sanitizer, ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) and more.
In addition to the nutritional packs, the Extra S’Miles program enabled the team to check-in on the health of patients, reassure families that Operation Smile remained devoted to their well-being despite the cancelations of medical missions and provide counsel advice on how to remain healthy until the resumption of care.
“It’s during difficult times that you know who your real friends are,” said José Augustin, patient coordinator for Operation Smile in Madagascar. “This health crisis is certainly a difficult time for our patients. Because we care for them, we’ll reach out to them since they can’t come to us.”
More than 530 families received the Extra S’Miles nutritional packs thanks to the dedicated team members who refused to let the pandemic prevent them from seeing smiles on the faces of patients in need.
With tears in her eyes, Patricia happily accepts the nutritional pack and the six cans of baby formula the Extra S’Miles team offers her. Raising Icardi has been a long and difficult journey for Patricia and Vololona. Despite their unconditional love for both Icardi and his older sister, they’ve faced seemingly insurmountable barriers in their attempts to care for a child living with a cleft condition. Icardi’s father left shortly after his premature birth, unable to handle the stress of a baby born with a Cleft Lip.
Many families like Icardi’s joined Operation Smile Madagascar’s nutrition program with the hope of a new beginning. The program provides patients and families with educational support, ongoing health assessments and RUTF, a nutritive peanut paste that helps malnourished children gain enough weight to become healthy enough for safe surgery.
“Icardi is a survivor,” Vololona said. “That’s in part thanks to all the counsel and help we’ve received from Operation Smile. With this health crisis, Operation Smile has not forgotten him, nor us. We’re extremely grateful.”
Today, the Operation Smile Madagascar team remains steadfast in their commitment to the health and well-being of patients.
Through their continuous efforts to provide nutritional support, 62 patients were enrolled in the organization’s nutrition program as of October 2020. Of that total, 47 children reached an optimal weight with 13 more making significant progress along their journey to becoming healthy enough to receive safe surgery.
