Next week I'll be returning to Guatemala City with Operation Smile. As usual, this is a "last minute" trip I agreed to when the previous pediatrician had to drop out. The mission coordinator wanted someone who could speak Spanish as most of the team members are either from Central or South America or have some degree of Spanish fluency. Being able to communicate face to face makes a huge difference in team cohesion. On a team where there are lots of people who need interpreters, breakfast in the hotel dining room takes me right back to high school - the football guys at one table, cheerleaders over there, eggheads (former term for geeks) at yet another, and finally, the daring "fast" kids, the envy of all of us, at a big table in the back. As a former egghead, I am likely over-analyzing and therefore overstating the resemblance to high school, but language segregation certainly prevents all the casual interchange that naturally brings people together. It affects your ability to work together effectively and also has safety implications if urgent situations arise.
Op Smile works really hard on safety in a variety of ways, and one is team cohesion. There are always great interpreters where needed, but when they can put together a team like this one where most members can speak to each other directly, they prefer it. The day before surgery begins, we always do the "name game," where we sit in a circle and each person has to go around and say all the names of the team members. Having to memorize the names forces you to go up and introduce yourself in those first two days of screening and set up. The only time I found it impossible was when I went to Namibia and a third of the team was from the Philippines; unspellable and unpronounceable names.
There will be several returning team members from my previous trip to Guatemala and from missions in Nicaragua and Mexico. It's unusual to see more than one or two familiar faces on a mission, so I'm looking forward to some reunions. I likely will also see some children whom I saw for primary lip repair as infants who are now returning for palate surgery. Finally, in relation to the Greenhouse Hunger Project that I'm working on with Luis Fuentes and Shuarhands in San Marcos, the director of Heifer Project, Guatemala has agreed to meet with Luis and me while I'm in Guatemala City about a possible collaboration. I'm extremely excited about the possibility of bringing Heifer Project's resources and animal projects to San Marcos. It could mean more food, protein, and possible income opportunities for families... fantastic!
Op Smile works really hard on safety in a variety of ways, and one is team cohesion. There are always great interpreters where needed, but when they can put together a team like this one where most members can speak to each other directly, they prefer it. The day before surgery begins, we always do the "name game," where we sit in a circle and each person has to go around and say all the names of the team members. Having to memorize the names forces you to go up and introduce yourself in those first two days of screening and set up. The only time I found it impossible was when I went to Namibia and a third of the team was from the Philippines; unspellable and unpronounceable names.
There will be several returning team members from my previous trip to Guatemala and from missions in Nicaragua and Mexico. It's unusual to see more than one or two familiar faces on a mission, so I'm looking forward to some reunions. I likely will also see some children whom I saw for primary lip repair as infants who are now returning for palate surgery. Finally, in relation to the Greenhouse Hunger Project that I'm working on with Luis Fuentes and Shuarhands in San Marcos, the director of Heifer Project, Guatemala has agreed to meet with Luis and me while I'm in Guatemala City about a possible collaboration. I'm extremely excited about the possibility of bringing Heifer Project's resources and animal projects to San Marcos. It could mean more food, protein, and possible income opportunities for families... fantastic!
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