Sulamita's extended family

Filmmaker Dennis Bourassa (center), Dr. Sibrand Schepel (back right) and I with Sulamita and her extended family.

Kids seemed to appear from everywhere when we arrived back home with Sulamita, just as night fell. They giggled as they huddled around the camera after every photo to point themselves out on the LCD. Some of the boys scurried up into tree branches overhead. Within the family, only Mayan K'iche' is spoken, not Spanish.

We spent a day getting to know them better, filming more interviews, playing with the kids, eating freshly made tortillas and just hanging out. The fresh air and tranquil, rural setting were in stark contrast to the smog and chaos of Guatemala City.

It will be several more weeks before the swelling in Sulamita's lip goes down. Hopefully she'll make it to another clinic scheduled for July in Antigua to have her palate repaired. Additional follow up long-term care for orthodontics and speech therapy are likely not a reality for Sulamita and others like her in remote locations and without the means to pay.

But even just the single operation to repair her lip will make a profound difference in her life, thanks to the donors, Rotary volunteers and medical volunteers of the Rotaplast team.