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BELIEVING that everyone, especially children, should wear proud
smiles, Asian Spirit, the premier adventure airplane in the
Philippines, has forged a partnership with Operation Smile
Philippines and SMART Communications Inc. to help Filipino children
afflicted with cleft palates.
“Not only will be able to help and change the
lives of children with facial deformities, we will also be able to
educate others in the hope that those who will be stirred and
touched by the stories of generosity and compassion will multiply a
thousand fold in helping more in need,” says Asian Spirit vice
president for Commercial Group, Butch Rodriguez.
Starting February, the three organizations will
lead a fund raising campaign onboard Asian Spirit domestic and
international flights in support of Operation Smile Philippines’
medical missions.
In addition to providing air transportation to
facilitate the Operation Smile Philippines initiative, Asian Spirit
is also leading to loose change drive which accepts any form of
currency from its in-flight passengers. This activity entails the
distribution of donation envelopes on every flight and at the end of
the campaign period, the total accumulated donations will be
formally turned over to Operations Smile Philippines.
Cleft lip palate is considered a major health
and social problem among low-income groups and is among the top 12
birth defects in the country. And while it is not considered
life-threatening, this defect can lead to a multitude of medical
problems including ear disease, chronic ear infections, malnutrition
and speech difficulty. However, experts affirm that
consequences of cleft-lip palates are more evident in the afflicted
indivi-dual’s inability to develop social skills and to lead a
productive adult life in the community. Beside the Philippines,
Operation Smile has partnered with other countries such as Brazil,
China, India, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam to name a few.
Operation Smile Philippines Deuc Ducepec is
grateful to organizations such as Asian Spirit for their willingness
to exert effort and expend resources to alleviate the cleft-lip
burden. “A 45-minute surgery can dramatically change the look and
the outlook of disadvantaged cleft children.You can also see how it
changes the lives of their families almost instantly,” ends Deuc.
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