Ricardo Roman was shopping with his wife at a department store in Chile in 2012 when a women in her early 20's 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 the 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.
