The International Friendship Club's Cleft Palate Program was started in 1976 by Celia and Ron Walker of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, in response to a child born to a friend of theirs.  They went searching for a surgeon who could help this family and found him in Guadalajara.  Soon there was another child who needed the same help and they went back to that surgeon in Guadalajara.  Eventually, they had more children to help than they could transport.  Ron then thought to ask the surgeon to come to Puerto Vallarta to do the surgeries here and he and other concerned community members approached the International Friendship Club as a means to sponsor/fund the program.

This successful program has served over 300 patients ranging from 3 months to 90 years, with the majority of our patients between 3 months and 15 years.  Most of our patients are children from low income families with cleft lip and palate although we also help children with other problems such a microtia, macrostoma, sindactilia, polidactilia, amniotic banding, a child born without a no nose, and patients with extensive burn scarring.

The International Friendship Club has worked diligently to bring together many arms of the community to assist the program.  Local hospitals donate surgery rooms, a local ambulance company transports medical supplies to and from the host hospital free of charge, Vallarta dentists offer follow-up work on the young patients at substantial discounts, local restaurants provide donated or discounted meals to the medical team after their exhausting days of surgeries, and local homeowners provide free housing for the visiting medical team.  It is truly a team effort.

The program runs at 3 month intervals, four times a year.   Our surgeons are Dr. Ezequiel Fuentez Lopez and Dr. Alberto Mora Castellon, assisted by Emma Gonzalez Serna RN, chief nurse at Sanatorio Versalles, Guadalajara, and Marta Martínez de la Cruz RN, of the Instituto Jaliscence de Cirugia Reconstructiva.  The anesthesiologist is Dr. Emigdio de la Cruz Llontop Pisil, also of the Instituto Jaliscence de Cirugia Reconstructiva.   The International Friendship Club coordinates the entire process which involves acquiring hospital space, notifying local news and radio media of upcoming consultations and surgeries, coordinating housing, purchasing  airline tickets for the medical team, seeking local restaurants willing to provide meals for the team, purchasing medical supplies and anesthesia, coordinating patient consultations prior to surgery days with doctors and social workers, ensuring that all required medical supplies are collected and transported to the host hospital and providing follow-up dental work.  It's quite a process to do every three months, yet is is willingly and capably tackled by our seasoned volunteers and capable doctors year after year.