Cleft Palate Surgeries
An active member of CT Quest, Carl Bailey has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund a variety of projects in Nicaragua. One of these projects includes funding medical mission trips to perform cleft palate surgeries on young children. Carl personally has organized a team of doctors and nurses from Columbia, Emory, and Tufts Universities to journey to Nicaragua and Bolivia to perform these surgeries. To date they have operated on more than 800 children, many with complicated procedures that in-country surgeons were unable to perform. Their lives have been changed forever, thanks to Carl and the tremendous generosity of the participating physicians, nurses, and other support staff.
Cleft palate is a serious birth deformity that prevents many children from eating and speaking properly, along with the shame and isolation they may experience because of their appearance. Unfortunately many children in third world countries cannot afford to repair their cleft palates and many doctors in developing countries do not know how to perform this type of surgery. CT Quest works with local health clinics to identify children who need the surgery the most, and through generous donations we are able to make these children smile.
To make a donation today to help fund cleft palate surgeries.
You can make it available to poor families who need it most
She’s expecting—but not expecting prenatal care.
She is young, poor and pregnant. Whether she lives in Nicaragua’s countryside or a crowded Managuan barrio, she’s equally removed from decent prenatal care.
Almost one third of all Nicaraguan teenage girls are pregnant or have given birth. Since Nicaragua’s government spends four times more on foreign debt repayment than healthcare, statistics tell a grim story:
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Maternal death rates are 200 times higher in Nicaragua than the U.S.
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72 out of every 1,000 Nicaraguan children die at birth—compared to 9.8 out of 1,000 births in the U.S.
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500,000 Latin American children die annually from preventable conditions like diarrhea and respiratory infections.
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The only medical care for Nicaragua’s poor comes from state-paid physicians. In 2006 doctors’ salaries were so low the physicians went on strike leaving poor people without healthcare for 14 weeks.
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Community-based healthcare stretches donated dollars
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For chronic infection, serious disease and complex injuries, poor Nicaraguan people rely on a handful of free clinics and local health centers. To maximize healthcare resources, CT Quest works with community-based partners in Nicaragua and the U.S. to provide:
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Support for two free clinics in the crowded inner city Barrio El Recreo and Barrio Schick.
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Eye examinations and glasses for the needy through an eye clinic in Managua’s Barrio el Recreo, Barrio Schick and Jubilee House in Ciudad Sandino.
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Wheelchairs, walkers, bandages, vitamins and over-the-counter medications as part of our humanitarian aid cargo shipments.
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