Stories From the Road: Operation of Hope, Bohol, Philippines
Humanitarian efforts empower local health systems, improve continuity of care, and ensure that communities retain long-term benefits of support long after international volunteers depart.
Sophia Matos, MD, on behalf of the Humanitarian Efforts Committee
Sophia Matos, MDOperation of Hope Worldwide is a non-profit humanitarian organization dedicated to providing free craniofacial surgery to children affected by cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial anomalies. For more than three decades, the organization has deployed multidisciplinary teams to low-resource regions, prioritizing relationship-building, clinical excellence, and long-term capacity development. The organization’s vision extends far beyond episodic surgical outreach; its mission is rooted in sustainable, ethical global health engagement that strengthens host healthcare systems and equips local clinicians with the skills and infrastructure needed to provide ongoing care.
This sustainability model was evident throughout a week-long mission completed from September 19–26, 2025, at the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Medical Center in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines. Rather than functioning as an isolated surgical campaign, the initiative continued an established collaboration with regional hospitals, physicians, and allied health teams. By working alongside local surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and trainees, Operation of Hope fosters an environment of shared learning. International and local teams jointly participate in preoperative evaluation, surgical planning, operative procedures, and postoperative care. This partnership enables knowledge transfer in clinical settings while cultivating strong relationships with local caregivers.
Data-driven longitudinal care further strengthens the organization’s sustainable approach. Demographic and operative information for each patient is recorded in a secure database to support outcome monitoring and future follow-up planning. Cases that cannot be immediately treated—whether due to medical stability, nutritional needs, or age-related considerations—are referred to local providers, ensuring patients do not remain outside the healthcare system. In this mission alone, 30 patients received surgical care, and additional individuals were identified for future intervention or local optimization.
What distinguishes Operation of Hope’s mission model is the acknowledgment that global surgical outreach must be collaborative, transparent, and educational. Rather than emphasizing the presence of visiting teams, its ethos centers on empowering local health systems, improving continuity of care, and ensuring communities retain long-term benefits long after the departure of international volunteers. This philosophy aligns with modern principles of global surgery: sustainable partnership, ethical resource allocation, and equitable access to care.
Location and Need
Tagbilran City, location of Operation of Hope (blue marker).Bohol, a province in the Central Visayas region of the Philippines, is known for its vibrant culture, natural beauty, and deeply interconnected island communities. Yet, despite a strong medical workforce and regional hospital systems, access to specialized craniofacial care remains limited in many parts of the country, particularly for children from rural and remote island areas. Congenital facial anomalies, such as cleft lip and cleft palate, pose significant functional and psychosocial challenges if left untreated. Children often face feeding difficulties, speech delays, malnutrition, recurrent infections, and social stigma. Families in geographically isolated areas may lack the means to travel to larger medical centers, and surgical backlogs can be significant due to the limited availability of specialists.
Throughout the mission week, many families reported traveling by boat, bus, or motorcycle from neighboring islands or rural regions to reach Tagbilaran City. Their journeys reflected not only the physical barriers to accessing care but also the deep resilience, commitment, and hope that families carry for a future in which their children can eat, speak, and smile without barriers. The Celestino Gallares Memorial Medical Center serves as a lifeline for these communities, offering a centralized location where visiting surgical teams and local providers can collaborate to address unmet surgical needs.
In this mission, 30 patients—ranging from infants to older individuals with untreated or previously repaired clefts—underwent surgical intervention. Others were carefully screened and scheduled for future care. Importantly, the screening and triage process prioritized equity: every patient received a thorough evaluation by Operation of Hope clinicians and Filipino healthcare partners.
Personal Reflection
The week reaffirmed the profound need for sustained craniofacial services in resource-limited regions. More importantly, it highlighted the power of partnership. When local and global teams combine their efforts, technical skills, and cultural understanding, they produce enduring improvements in healthcare access and patient outcomes.
Screening day in Bohol began before dawn. Inside the screening area, our team moved from patient to patient alongside Filipino colleagues, examining infants, comforting anxious parents, and carefully planning the week ahead. The operating room became a shared rhythm—international volunteers and local staff working side by side, exchanging techniques, learning from one another, and communicating through a blend of English, Tagalog, and surgical shorthand understood by everyone on the medical team.
The moment that remains most vivid came not in the OR, but on screening day, when a 15-year-old patient greeted us with a large grin and a shirt that read, “All smiles are beautiful.” In this teenage patient’s smile, we saw all the hope, faith, and purpose created by surgical outreach programs. On this mission, healing belonged to everyone—patients, families, and caregivers alike. It was a week defined not only by surgical success, but by shared humanity.
Financial aspects: Travel costs and living expenses (living expenses are low in the Philippines; travel includes the cost of internal flights). Unlikely to exceed $2,000 in total for a one-week visit, depending on airfare.
Language skills: English, Tagalog
Global region: Asia
Research opportunities: basic, clinical
Services provided: surgery
Contact Information
Name: Jennifer Truebenbach, President / Executive Director Phone: (949) 463-1795 Email: jennifer@operationofhope.org Address: P.O. Box 99, Lake Forest, CA 92609
To learn more about Operation of Hope or support a future trip, visit www.operationofhope.org
AAO-HNSF Humanitarian Travel Grants
AAO-HNSF Humanitarian Travel Grants help residents and fellows who are Academy members to offset the cost of medical outreach trips to contribute professional service to people in countries with limited resources.
Applications are now being accepted for 2026 outreach trips. May 15 is the deadline for grant applications for trips taking place July 1 - December 31, 2026. Learn more about the AAO-HNSF Humanitarian Travel Grant Program. Send questions to humanitarian@entnet.org
Sophia Matos, MD
Tagbilran City, location of Operation of Hope (blue marker).
Operation of Hope Team
