On Thursday May 26, 2016, Transforming Faces will host its Beautiful Before & After fundraiser. Beautiful Before & After is an annual celebration in support of children and adults with cleft lip and palate held at the BMO Conference & Event Centre (68th Floor, First Canadian Place) in Toronto. The fun-filled evening will include canapés, an open bar and a fantastic silent auction.
Each year, the event aims to raise funds to support the purchase of a crucial piece of medical equipment for one of our international partners. In 2015, thanks to very generous support from event guests and donors, we raised over $6,000 CAD which was matched by a private foundation to purchase surgical equipment for our team in Ethiopia.
This year, our partners in Thailand have urgently identified the need for a tympanometer. A tympanometer tests for fluid in the middle ear which is the most common cause of hearing loss among children, and particularly prevalent among those with cleft lip and palate. If not addressed at a young age, patients with this condition are at risk of hearing damage or loss and resulting speech challenges.
Currently, our team at Overbrook Hospital in Chiang Rai, Thailand relies on visual assessments to determine if fluid is present in the ears of cleft patients. Obviously, this leaves much room for error and increases the risk of permanent hearing loss. If detected early, fluid in the ear can be removed during the child’s cleft repair surgery which reduces the need for and cost of additional surgeries.
The cost to purchase a tympanometer is approximately $11,000 CAD. This medical device would support approximately 120 cleft patients per year, and an additional 120 general patients. The tympanometer could also be used to provide ear, nose and throat (ENT) support as part of TF’s existing mobile rehabilitation camps in northern Thailand and Laos.
We hope you will consider supporting our Fund-A-Need initiative at this year’s event. If you’re unable to attend and would like to make a contribution, you can donate here.
Note that 100% of all donations to Transforming Faces go directly to our programs, thanks to a private foundation that covers our overhead expenses. Fund-A-Need donations will also be matched so your impact will be doubled!