Alliance For Smiles Night

This was second time Rtn. Jill speaks at our club. Her last visit was back to Feb. '07. Please see HERE for the story of her last visit.

Over a two-week period, a 30-member team of volunteers, which included Moore, completed over 100 cleft lip and palate surgeries, performed teeth cleaning, and passed along knowledge about dental techniques and equipment.

The mission was organized by the Alliance for Smiles organization. Rotary clubs fund the group.

"A lot of these kids had never seen a dentist ever before, so for them, it was unusual to even sit in a dentist's chair," she said.

The team worked in the Number Four People's Hospital in Harbin, a city in northeast China.

This was Moore's second trip to China with the San Francisco-based Alliance for Smiles program.

"It's a lot of hard work but when you're finished ... you get to see the results with the children and see their smiles."

Kids with a cleft lip or palate are often ostracized because they look different, she said.

"It makes you feel wonderful that you can give a child at least a chance of having a normal life where they're accepted."

Rtn. Quentin met Rtn. Jill at Harbin while he was his business trip (He didn't meet Jill at our club due to he was at China on Feb. '07) and learned about how Alliance For Smiles can help cleft children thought the mission.

Rtn. Quentin also invited two more Alliance For Smiles mission team members,Tina and Todd, as his guests to our meeting. They also shared some stories with us.

Tonight it's our honor to have visiting Rotarians, President Grinder from RC Taoyuan Bailin and PP Elgin Duke (Dentist) from RC North Delta, and many guests listend the great mission with us.  

By the end of meeting, Rtn. Quentin contributed the advertisement fee for Alliance For Smiles to put an image link at club's website for years.