On International Women’s Day, held on March 8, a team of 95 volunteers traveled to Oujda, Morocco on an important five-day mission for Operation Smile (OS), a nonprofit organization that provides surgical care to patients with cleft lip and palate.
The group of volunteers included surgeons, nurses, translators, administrators and students representing more than 20 countries. Most were from low- or middle-income countries, and their backgrounds varied tremendously. But despite these differences, the members of this remarkable group all shared a commitment to service as well as another important commonality: Every volunteer was a woman.