Ricardo Roman was shopping with his wife at a department store in Chile in 2012 when a woman in her early 20s approached him.  He didn’t recognize her – for two good reasons – he had last seen her more than a decade earlier and her smile had changed drastically! 

 

Roman, a member of the Rotary Club of Renaca, Chile, is the national coordinator of a program that has helped thousands of children in Chile with cleft lips, palates, and other birth defects – including this stranger who now wanted to give Roman a hug. 
 

She told me, “This is my Rotarian smile,” Roman recalls, his voice full of emotion, “It was a very gratifying moment.”

 

Since 1993 Rotarians in Chile and the United States have teamed up to provide life-altering reconstructive surgeries.  The project was started by California Rotarians and has evolved into a nonprofit organization that has since sent teams to 26 countries. 

 

This is another example of Rotary’s People of Action and how Rotarian’s ability to give works!  Thank you