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Welcome to the home page for the Children's Solidarity Foundation for Reconstructive Surgery. This is a non-profit organization based in Manabi, Ecuador, South America. As you can tell from our name, our main focus is in providing reconstructive surgery. This we provide to children who cannot afford it.

Our main areas of focus are with:
1) Severely disfigured burn patients.
2) Children suffering from cleft lip and palate difformities.

Life for these children and their families can become very difficult, even intolerable. Their financial situation should not be a factor to be considered in restoring their smiles and happiness.

In Ecuador, poor families represent 70% of the general population. They are not covered by government or private healthcare plans, and therefore cannot afford the surgery that other more fortunate children take for granted. There isn't a more pathetic sight of pain and sorrow than a child with extensive burns and no greater joy that the sight of them after surgery.

It was in the light of these realities that our Foundation was created. The life and social expectancies of these children can be significantly improved through specialized surgery, followed by professional counseling geared towards successful re-insertion in society. We have provided these services already to many children, with wonderful results. You may consult the "Our Patients" section of the web page to get a better idea of the kind of work that we do. As our patient base expands, though, so do our requirements and as such we are in constant need of external help.

Our clinic in Manabi is large: 1000 sq. meters on three floors. It has eight patient rooms, two surgery rooms, six offices for doctors and administrative offices. The facility is there, it is available to us to perform operations but we need more equipment. Many of the procedures we have completed so far have been done in the local hospital who rented the space and equipment to us. The clinic is there, but it is not operational yet. Hospital time is very expensive and we would be able to accommodate many more children if we had the capacity to operate them at our own clinic instead. It is for this reason that we need you, to help us purchase medicine and medical equipment.

MISSION AND OBJECTIVES

Our Foundation has eight clear objectives:

General and specialized surgical assistance to children that suffer from congenital malformations, such as cleft lip and palate.
The creation of a special room to treat severe burn patients during the acute phase as well as during the reconstructive and rehabilitative phase.
To participate in the creation and public broadcast of burn prevention programs.
To create a training facility geared towards pre and post-medical students in order to pass-on the expertise acquired at the clinic.
Continuing education of medical personnel geared towards prevention.
Educate the general public on the correct procedure to follow immediately in case of a burn.
To establish a research center with the objective to better understand the causes of cleft lip and palate malformations in the Ecuadorian population.
To establish a rigorous program of follow-up and societal re-integration that stays with the patient from their admission in acute phase to their complete return to normal life in society.

Please visit the rest of our site to acquire a deeper understanding of our Foundation, our work and our needs. All donations are more than welcome. Please feel free to contact us anytime with questions or comments.

2003 Children's Solidarity Foundation

Contact : JPetroni -Canadian Executive Director and Website Administrator

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