International
Board
Mary
Ann Kafati
Jorge
Palacios, MD
Shankar
Rai, MD
Mukunda
Reddy, MD
Mary
Ann Kafati
Mary Ann
Kafati is the President of the Ruth
Paz Foundation, which was created in
honor of her mother, Ruth Paz. This
foundation is dedicated to helping bring
medical and health care to the poor
of Honduras. Kafati hosts a large number
of surgical and medical teams that travel
to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, to provide
free medical, dental and surgical care
to the poor. The Ruth Paz foundation
has established a clean room for burn
care, a free medical clinic for the
poor, and pays the travel expenses for
burn victims to reach the help they
need in the United States. Kafati and
her foundation help to make it possible
for EARTHSPEAK to work effectively in
her country.
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Jorge Palacios,
MD
Dr. Jorge
Palacios is the director of the Smile
Train incubator program in Ecuador.
He is also the founder and president
of Rostros Felices. Dr. Palacios began
his work many years ago working with
Interplast surgical teams. He founded
and funded a burn unit for his country
and has served the poor for many years.
He is a cheerful, high energy man who
meets all challenges with good spirit
and many talents. Dr. Palacios uses
all his contacts and knowledge to help
EARTHSPEAK work effectively in Ecuador.
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Shankar Rai, MD
Dr. Shankar
Rai, a Nepalese plastic surgeon, has
been the director of the Smile Train
Incubator program in Nepal. Since 1999
he has performed 2500 cleft surgeries,
at no charge to the patient, while training
four surgeons, six nurses and four paramedics.
Dr. Rai began his career as a paramedic
in a remote health post in the countryside
of Nepal. He went to medical school
in Katmandu and then on to Dhaka, Bangladesh,
to earn a degree in general surgery.
Dr. Rai began his cleft lip and palate
work with an Interplast surgical team
working in Nepal. Dr. Rai and his associates
help EARTHSPEAK volunteers during their
visits to Nepal.
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Mukunda
Reddy, MD
Dr. Reddy
is head of the Division of Plastic Surgery
at Nizams Institute of Medical Sciences
(NIMS) and the Ali Yavar Jung National
Institute for the Hearing Handicapped
(AYJNIHH) in Southern India. He partnered
with EARTHSPEAK in February 2004 to
create a model program, "From Cleft
Palate to Clear Speech" in the
city of Hyderabad located in the Indian
State of Andhra Pradesh. It is anticipated
that this model will be used throughout
India to get much needed help to needy
children with cleft lip and palate.
For over 20 years Dr. Reddy has held
a vision of offering the multiprofessional
care needed by cleft patients for full
recovery. His efforts are supported
by the top levels of administration
at Nizams as well as leading health
officials in Andhra Pradesh.
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