News update 2019

Last year the Children of Sumatra provided life changing surgery for over a hundred children; the most operations we have delivered in a single year since 2001 when our charity began. This work is only possible thanks to the generous donations we receive each year from all the wonderful supporters who believe in our work. We do all we can to make sure that the money you make goes directly towards helping children, keeping our overheads down by using local staff and volunteers. Thanks to our partnership with the McGann Ratner Foundation, an American charity specialising in surgery for the jaw and teeth, we are now able to help some of the most severe cases we encounter. These include complex facial deformities that require advanced surgical interventions, beyond the scope of plastic surgery for the lip and palate.   As well as working with our new American partners twice a year, we continue our annual projects with the loyal teams of Dutch surgeons who continue to do such an amazing job: last year delivering over a hundred operations in just twenty days. Our ongoing partnership with the Harapan Jaya Rehabilitation Centre remains at the heart of our work: the exceptional specialised after care they provide ensures the amazing results that could not be achieved without their help.  We are delighted to be expanding our work and in the coming years we are aiming to change the lives of even more children and provide further expert help for some of the most difficult cases we find, thanks to our new partners, the McGann Ratner Foundation. For example, next year we hope to take another child to Taiwan, for specialised surgery and aftercare that can’t be safely provided in Indonesia. On behalf of our staff and volunteers, our partners, and most importantly the children we help and their families, we send our heartfelt thanks to all of our amazing friends and supporters. Thank-you for the generous donations and all that you do to enable us to keep changing lives every year, and making so many smiles come true!