The biggest of thanks to everyone who has helped me exceed my target donation - you are all brill - i will update this page with my so called training schedule as we get closer to the run

Thank you

Johnjo and Rachel

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

In July my wife Rachel and I are going to have a new baby. The doctors have already told us that it will be born with a cleft lip and palate. The surgery that can be done for children by the medical team at GOSH is amazing. However Operation Smile uses its contacts and expertise to take that same team around the world and help treat a further 9000 patients with cleft lips and palates. Earlier this year Blue Peter ran an appeal with this charity and you can see some of the amazing stories of the people they help on their link below.

http://www.operationsmile.org.uk/aboutus/multimedia/videos/

Why Operation Smile?

Sustainability

If Operation Smile was forced to close it doors today, nearly 9,000 children a year, across 20 nations in the developing world, would continue to receive free life changing surgery from Operation Smile physicians.

How is this possible? Sustainable Development.

In each country where Operation Smile operates we invest in the creation of an Operation Smile foundation. That foundation recruits local medical volunteers, trains physicians, and raises funds and awareness for children suffering from facial deformities.

These Operation Smile Foundations empower local physicians to provide free treatment to children year round. Through local projects, weekend clinics, and Care Centres local Operation Smile foundations provide free facial surgery to nearly 7,000 patients a year.

Education

Through Operation Smile educational initiatives, Operation Smile’s partner countries are given the skills to treat children on their own, with their own resources, their own volunteers, their own supplies and their own medical professionals.

Operation Smile tailors educational programmes for each partner country’s specific medical infrastructure. Whether it is basic life support training for Ethiopian Nurses, a Micro Surgery exchange in Vietnam or a Speech Therapy Workshop in Brazil, Operation Smile educational initiatives are providing skills and training to hundreds of nurses and physicians each year.

Medical Integrity

Operation Smile demands the highest standard of care for every child every time. Full Stop.

Medical Credentialing: Every one of Operation Smile’s nearly 6,000 worldwide volunteers undergo a strict credentialing period. Surgeons must prove a wealth of surgical experience. Anaesthetists and nurses must be certified in By November 2007 and advance life support training. To participate in an Operation Smile programme you must be at the top of your field. No exceptions.

Global Standards of Care: In November 2007, as part of the Global Standard of Care Initiative, each Operation Smile partner foundation was supplied with the highest quality medical equipment needed to perform operations. This donation, along with the continued medical educational programmes, has ensured that every child and patient receives the highest standard of care every time.

Post Operative and Comprehensive Care: Correcting cleft lip and palate facial deformities goes much further then just the operation and Operation Smile ensures that patients receive the follow up and additional care that they need. Each Operation Smile patient is seen by Speech Therapist and Dentist and many receive psychological counselling. Every patient who is operated on by an Operation Smile physician is scheduled to be reevaluated 1 week, 6 months, and 1 year following the operation. We track our results and invest in the long term healthcare of every child.

Once again, donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.