Whoever has a desire to give has the ability to make a difference.

Touched from a medical mission of the Operation Smile in the country where she and her parents once attended, Maansi Vohra’s passion to help organize an event that would help children with facial deformities undergo surgery has become her and her family’s way of showing their “little” contribution.

This little contribution is no little contribution at all, with more than P700,000 raised funds from the Paintathon event for the past three years.

And for this year alone, the Vohra family was able to hoist P363,000 from an art auction and Maansi’s book launch.

“I think that experience [medical mission] really touched us all and we wanted to give back on our own little way. Also, my mom came up with this idea because she really enjoys painting,” the 17-year-old daughter of Sanjiv Vohra, Citibank country officer and Operation Smile trustee, said in an interview at the recent Paintathon event held in Vohra’s residence in Forbes Park, Makati.

Looking back in the past three years that her family has been organizing the event, Maansi pointed out that the event has definitely expanded.

“In our first year, we were a little apprehensive. We didn’t know what to expect but quite a few people showed up and it was a success. So we decided to have it as an annual thing. Every year it is growing,” she said.

Through word of mouth, Maansi’s initiative has spread in her high school. The school has created a relationship with Operation Smile and promotes the activity in school. In effect, more and more students from her school attended.

Sanjiv and his wife opened their doors to their friends and guests of different backgrounds and nationalities. By 11 a.m., the painting marathon started. Participants sat comfortably in Vohra’s garden, taking inspiration from the theme, “What makes you smile?”

It was like a perfect bonding time for families especially with those parents who brought with them their small children and taught them how to paint. According to the organizer, the youngest painter who participated was an eight-month-old baby boy, Thomas Barton.

More people came as the Paintathon progressed. The participants were entertained by Chadleen Lacdo-o, a former Operation Smile patient who was chosen as the organization’s “Singing Ambassador.”

At around 6 p.m., the paintings decorated almost the entire Vohra’s home. Immediately after the Paintathon, the launch of Maansi’s book titled Hope, Love and Laughter followed.

The book, which took half a year to finish, is a compilation of paintings and poems written by Maansi and her friends. “Because this [Paintathon] event is more of my family’s event, I wanted to do something that is solely done by me. I love poetry and I write a lot so I thought it would be a good idea to combine in a book the poems and the paintings from Operation Smile,” she said.

After the book launch, the much-awaited art auction from the Paintathon commenced. Supportive parents placed their bid on their children’s artwork while some, simply awed by other participants’ paintings, joined the auction to bring the artworks home.

Responding to the warm response of the participants to the call of Vohra’s family to join the event and for raising a huge sum of money, Operation Smile Philippines president and executive director Bobby Manzano said he was overwhelmed by the turnout of participants and the raised amount that night.

“The amount collected from this event is a big help to give more children with facial deformities a chance to undergo reconstructive surgery. And really the moment you see parents cry and thank you because you were able to operate on their children is worth more than any monetary compensation,” Manzano added.

Facial deformity

In the Philippines, it is estimated that one in every 500 babies is born every year with a cleft lip, a cleft palate or both. This translates roughly to 4,004 Filipinos out of 2.064 million born every year having this deformity.

The Philippine Birth Defect Registry, a joint project of the Department of Health and the US National Institute of Health’s Institute of Human Genetics, reported that cleft lips and palates are among the top 12 birth defects in the country.

The congenital deformity may be corrected with a simple surgery, but the cost of the procedure remains prohibitive, especially among low-income groups where the condition is most prevalent. Operation Smile can change a child’s life by giving the gift of a surgery for only P15,000 per child. In as little as 45 minutes, one cleft lip surgery can change a child’s life forever.

Maansi pointed out that it is hard to persuade someone to follow her initiative. “I think what is more important is the desire to do something that’s bigger than yourself—something that isn’t just for yourself but do something bigger than the bubble that we are in. Just open your mind to other ideas and look for something more than school, work or friends,” she said.