Destination Hope

Our organization is founded on the principle that every child deserves to have freedom from the suffering of visible facial birth defects and from other deformities. Principally striving to treat cleft lip and palate patients, our teams travel the world to communities in need to reconstruct facial deformities as well as provide corrective surgery for burn victims and other issues. We believe strongly that deformities prevent community members from participating fully in their own societies and in their own lives. Our Mission – Destination: Hope performs 1 to 2 medical missions per year, in which we perform anywhere between 50 to 100 reconstructive surgical procedures. We focus primarily on reconstructing pediatric facial birth defects, but will also help in any way we can to meet the reconstructive surgery needs of the local community. Through our "Adopt-A-Hospital" program, we create long-term relationships with the communities we serve to increase our impact and foster sustainable self-reliance within our international partners. Our volunteer team – A medical mission requires a number of specialized individuals in order to provide the same level of safety and security that we are accustomed to under operating conditions in the United States in developing country environments. Anywhere from two to four board-certified plastic surgeons may accompany the mission, along with two to three anesthesiologists, six operating room nurses, four recovery room nurses, a local mission coordinator, and other organizational mission personnel to keep things running smoothly.