By Lisa Zola-DeLibero
Sarah Horne is working to make a difference. The Lawrence High student, set to enter her senior year in the fall, returned to the U.S. June 16 from a trip to the Philippines—an experience that she said made her grateful for the comforts of her own life—and gave her a mission to put a smile on every face.
Horne had participated in a 10-day mission trip with Operation Smile, an organization founded in 1982 that provides free surgeries to children and adults with cleft palates and cleft lips from underprivileged areas around the world. Horne served as a student ambassador on the trip, and helped to comfort, educate and provide assistance to families and children set to undergo surgeries.
Horne’s trip was the culmination of three years of involvement in the mission already; her journey really began her freshman year of high school when she first joined the school’s chapter of Operation Smile.
“I became really involved in the club when I spoke to Leanna Glass, who was the president of the club at the time,” said Horne, who has since taken over as president after Glass graduated; Glass now attends Penn State University. “Last summer, I attended a National Leadership Conference in Virginia with students from all over the world. We learned all about the organization, and I was able to spend time with some of the best people I have ever met so far in my life. Dr. William P. Magee, a plastic (and craniofacial) surgeon, along with his wife Kathleen, the founders of the organization, made all of us feel special.”
After attending the conference, Horne decided that she wanted to take her involvement to the next level. She decided to apply this past January for the mission training, which required a lot of hard work.
“I had to write a resume about my involvement in the club, two essays, one that focused on my community involvement, and I also had to do a mission video,” Horne said. “I was the only one out of the five students who applied. I believe that being the president of the club really helped me.”
When Horne heard that she would be going on her first mission, she was ecstatic. The Mega-Mission she would be going on, called “The Gift of Smiles,” put a huge smile on Horne’s face.
“I found out in December, and at the time, we weren’t told where we would be going, but I was so happy to be chosen,” Horne said. “I found out at dinner my last night of mission training, and at first I was supposed to go to Ghana. But that was cancelled, and I was then told I would be going to the Philippines.”
On June 5, Horne, along with Point Pleasant resident and high school student Kristen Bell, left for an experience of a lifetime.
“When we arrived in the Philippines, it was really different,” Horne said. “The weather was hot and muggy, and the town that we spent our first night in, Manilla, was so diverse. There was wealth and poverty, such a contrast, yet so close in proximity. But whether rich or poor, all of the people were so hospitable, and wanted to make us happy and comfortable.”
Once settled in the city of Bacolod, Horne and Bell had the opportunity to sit with the patients, mostly toddlers and children, and help to settle them—and their parents—down before their surgeries. Although the surgeries are performed on people of all ages, most cleft and lip palate surgeries on done on younger patients, which helps to deter future speech complications.
“We really wanted to help relax the kids before their procedure, so we would play with them and make them happy so they wouldn’t be scared,” Horne said. “Before leaving for our mission, we collected coloring books, stickers and bubbles to help the kids to stop crying before and after their surgeries. All kids love bubbles!”
The city of Bacolod screened 240 patients, and completed 152 surgeries. The entire Mega Mission completed 751 surgeries for kids with cleft lips and cleft palates. In addition to the success of the surgeries, Horne, Bell, and all of the students involved with the mission were also responsible for teaching the people in the Philippines using five modules: basic healthcare, burn care and prevention, nutrition, dental hygiene, and oral hydration therapy.
“There were kids and adults who had stains on their teeth, brown teeth and missing teeth,” Horne said. “We brought over hundreds of toothbrushes to help the poor in the orphanages and the community, and to educate them on proper oral care.”
Horne felt that one of the most amazing parts of the trip was an opportunity for her to sit in on an actual surgery.
“I was able to watch the entire 45 minute procedure, dressed in scrubs, that was being done on a toddler girl,” Horne said. “I watched as they cut apart everything, and then, with one stitch, they bring everything back together in the mouth and lip so that the patient can smile.”
The entire mission itself was eye-opening for Horne, and has given her an even greater appreciation for her life in Lawrence.
“Getting involved with Operation Smile has been one of the best things I have ever done in my life so far, “ said Horne. “When you see the way people live in other parts of the world, it makes you appreciate what you have. The hospitals actually have bugs in the waiting rooms, and you realize how amazing the medical care is here. I’ve gained a better understanding of the world, and I want to help the world. This experience has been life changing.”
Horne’s family—brother David, dad Bill, and mom Becky—have been very supportive of her mission work.
“The entire experience for Sarah has helped her to get to know people in other parts of the world, and for her to become more intoned to what we have,” Becky said. “Operation Smile is such a great organization and the opportunity for the kids involved is wonderful. I didn’t have any concerns about Sarah going overseas because I knew she would be well taken care of.”
Horne plans to stay involved with the organization in the future, and while in college, she hopes to be a part of another mission; this time, in addition to her hands on work, Horne will take photos and act as a reporter on the mission.
“I would really like to go to India next,” Horne said. “Everyone says it’s amazing there. But no matter where I go next, I know that I definitely want to stay involved forever.”
Sarah Horne spent 10 days volunteering with Operation Smile in the Philippines in June 2014.,
