By Bob Stewart

In third world and developing countries where medical care is hard to come by and not always up to current standards, a birth defect such as a cleft lip or cleft palate can have lasting, devastating effects.

Not only is a child born with a cleft lip or palate (congenital deformities of the lip and roof of the mouth, resulting in a gap or opening) going to struggle to maintain adequate nourishment, they will also bear the unfortunate social stigma of the disfigurement.

In August, Shiva and Aruna Koushik, members of the Rotary Club of LaSalle Centennial, travelled to their native India with an international team of doctors and other Rotarians as part of the service organization’s Rotoplas program.

While in India, the team 29-person team performed 100 plastic surgeries on children suffering from primarily from cleft lips and palates, but children born with extra fingers (polydactyl digits) and even someone suffering from the flesh-rotting effects of necrotizing venom from a snake bite were treated—all free of charge—in Nagamangala, a town of about 16,000 people, three hours west of Bangaluru (formerly Bangalore).

“The challenge of the cleft palate is that it is such a small area,” explained Shiva Koushik from his home in LaSalle. “The surgeons sometimes have a hard time even getting their fingers into the child’s mouth to perform the surgery. With a cleft lip, though, the flesh is already available.?The two sides of the lip just have to be brought together.”

Following their surgeries, the children stay in the hospital for three or four days while Rotary volunteers like the Koushiks entertain the families and perform administrative duties.

“All the kids who are operated on are brought together in a big room with their families and examined by the doctors again a few days after the surgeries so they can prescribe the continuing treatment” Koushik said. “It’s just a huge mass of people and they’re all so happy.”

The entire Rotoplas program in Nagamangala is sponsored by the local holy man—Sri?Sri?Sri Dr. Balagangadharanatha Mahaswamiji, the Swamiji for short.

The Swamiji runs an institute for medical science and research and hosted the Rotoplas team, patients and their families at his facility.

“The families are very thankful that the Swamiji’s institution has made this possible,” Koushik said, explaining that it is very important for India’s Hindu culture that the Rotoplas program has the Swamiji’s blessing.

“The people fall at his feet and touch his feet,” he said. “Then he touches their heads and gives them his blessing.”?

There are 16 Rotoplas missions per year. Other countries visited include the Philippines and Peru. In February 2011, the Koushiks will be returning to India to build a dam to help stop the spread of polio.  

The LaSalle Business Association (LBA) awarded two academic bursaries to the winners of their essay contest.

Full time senior students from Sandwich Secondary and Western Secondary and St. Thomas of Villanova with plans to attend university, community college or apprentice training programs were asked to submit essays of 250 words of less, addressing the Topic “Why you think a business owner/mentor could (or has) assisted you in your future direction and career goals?”

After careful deliberation of the submissions two essays and reference letters stood out among the rest of the entries.

Winning essays

Jeremy Tofflemire from Western Secondary School was awarded First Prize of $500 which is intended to help defray the incidental costs while attending George Brown College in Toronto.

Second Prize of $250 was awarded to Billy Marino from Sandwich Secondary School, who will be pursuing a Business Administration Degree at the University of Windsor.