Patrons
There are many people who contribute to the success of Operation Cleft.
Bangladesh Patron, Mr Asif Moyeen, Managing Director, Far East Knitting and Dying Industries Ltd
The Operation Cleft Australia Foundation Trust is managed by a committee of nine Rotarians, the majority of whom are from the Rotary Club of Box Hill Central.
There is one full-time staff member in Bangladesh who takes care of in-country administration and one part-time Fundraising Officer in Australia, who with the support of a team of volunteers, manages the project from our Melbourne office.
We also have a team of Operation Cleft Ambassadors at various locations throughout Australia and overseas who promote the project in their districts.
These are the people who administer and promote the project but without the surgical team in Bangladesh who perform the surgery, and the hospitals at which they operate, there would be no project.
Each of these groups make a valuable contribution towards ensuring the growth and sustainability of Operation Cleft.
Committee of Management
Operation Cleft is a project of the Rotary Club of Box Hill Central (District 9810) and is administered by the Operation Cleft Australia Foundation Trust.
The trust is administered by a management committee.
Bruce McEwen
Committee Chair
Geoff Limmer
Assistant Chairman
Kath Ronan
Secretary
David Routledge
Treasurer
Kevin Dobson
Committee member
Ambassador Coordinator
Olive Aumann
Committee member
Ashley Coleman-Bock
Committee member
Andy Shaw
Committee member
Janine Scott
Committee member
In-Country Team
After due consideration, the Operation Cleft Management Committee decided that effective July 1, 2015 Operation Cleft would be split into two major components; one being surgical and the other, speech therapy. The surgical program will continue with our team of Bangladeshi plastic surgeons completing around 1,000 operations annually. The Operation Cleft surgical program is implemented in Bangladesh by our in-country partner, the Glencoe Foundation Bangladesh. The Glencoe Foundation Bangladesh was established in Bangladesh in 2010 by Colin Macfarlane AM as an international NGO to run “Walk for Life”, the club foot correction program using the Ponseti method which was developed at the University of Iowa by Dr. Ignacio Ponseti, M.D.
Many will know Colin as he was also a founder of Operation Cleft and has always maintained his passion for this unique project that has such a huge impact on children’s lives. Colin and the team at Glencoe Foundation have injected new enthusiasm and vitality into the program.
Discussions have been entered into with CDD in regard to a speech therapy program.
Colin Macfarlane AM
Founder, Operation Cleft
& The Glencoe Foundation
Hero Clement Gomes
Accounts Officer
Md. Moinul Islam
In country Project Manager,
Operation Cleft
Liton Rozarrio
HR & Admin Officer
Md. Zanahgir Alam
Country Director
Moin Uddin Khaled
Chy IT & Communications
Officer
Surgeons
To ensure sustainability, training is a very important component of Operation Cleft because although there are many hospitals in Bangladesh, there are very few qualified plastic surgeons. Our team of surgeons regularly perform their operations at “mini camps”. They consult at hospitals where there is no resident plastic surgeon and perform cleft repair surgery for 2 – 3 days. This is a unique training opportunity for resident surgeons and trainee plastic surgeons (registrars) to learn. The objectives of the training programme are to build on the strength of trainees and develop high level competencies in plastic and reconstructive surgery, ultimately increasing the number of qualified plastic surgeons in Bangladesh.
Prof Dr Md Shahidul
Bari
Prof. Syed Ahmed
Assistant Professor,
Dr Abhi Kumar Chakraborty
Department of Paediatric Surgery
Dr. Maruf Alam
Chowdhury
Dr. Sayeed Ahmed Siddiky
Surgical Outreach and Training Program
To re-inforce a solid training regime, Operation Cleft runs three to four major surgical outreach programs a year. The aim of the surgical outreach program, is to take a team of qualified plastic surgeons to major cities outside Dhaka like Chittagong, Jessore or Sylhet. There we conduct surgical camps at which between 50 and 100 children are operated on. The team take a number of registrars with them for hands on training and the hospital at which the camp is scheduled, roster their registrars to act as surgical assistants. The training opportunity that these mini and major camps provides is invaluable to the medical profession in Bangladesh and ensures the expansion of plastic surgery as a future service available to the wider community.
Melbourne Team
Nirasha Silva
Fundraising Officer
Kevin Dobson
Volunteer
Geoff Limmer
Volunteer
Tony Stokes
Volunteer
Robyn Stokes
Volunteer