Operation of Hope is a remarkable humanitarian organization that does free facial reconstructive surgeries on children in Africa, Asia, and South America. I wrote about my experience as a volunteer in Zimbabwe for O the Oprah Magazine. Read the article here; see unflattering working garb below.

One of the kids who came to the hospital was a charming boy named Tinashe who was scheduled for a difficult cleft palate repair. Although Tinashe was taken to the operating room, the Op Hope team could not proceed with the surgery: The configuration of his jaw meant that the doctors couldn’t intubate him properly, and the procedure would have been too risky. It was determined that he needs a good deal of dental work, followed by some speech therapy (his brain, now hard-wired to deal with his birth defect, must be retrained), and eventually a more complicated surgical repair of his palate. We left behind a heartbroken boy, and I vowed to get him the medical attention he needs.

Despite the desperate conditions in Harare, where there is little health care except for the wealthy, we’re making progress: Tinashe now has braces on his teeth and is checked by the Op Hope surgeons on their biannual visits to Zimbabwe. If you can contribute, please visit the website at Operation of Hope. When using a credit card or PayPal, you can earmark the funds for Tinashe by sending a message to the email address on the site. If you contribute by check, please mark it “For Tinashe.” Operation of Hope is a (501) (c) IRS-sanctioned not-for-profit medical foundation, and Tinashe is one of those inspiring kids who, given half a chance, could accomplish a great deal in life. Below (left) is his photograph, along with the organization’s executive director, Jennifer Trubenbach, and before-and-after pictures of another child whose cleft lip was repaired recently by the Operation of Hope team, so you can see the life-altering work they do. Thank you.