It took Anna Makowski three days to get to Zhen Xiong, China for her mission trip for Operation Smile, but the lessons she learned in the small rural city of 1.6 million in May are sure to last a lifetime.
The operation of an eight-year-old girl named Wei opened her eyes to a world she never imagined as she spent one hour beside the youngster’s surgeon as he transformed her scar into a smile.
“Wei was playing with stickers when I met her before her surgery,” recalled Anna, a Watchung resident who will enter her senior year at Mount Saint Mary Academy this fall. “She was learning English and I was trying to learn Chinese. When she was called for surgery, she was very nervous and I asked a translator to ask her if she wanted me to go into surgery with her and she said “Yes.” I bought her a stuffed animal puppy and made her a heart balloon, which I gave her while she was in recovery. Her mom, who was really thankful, asked for my e-mail address so Wei could email me as she learns English.”
Anna remembered the way she felt driving through narrow, winding mountain roads to reach the city before meeting Wei and all of the patients and families. The trip down that same road would be quite different, as she reflected: “I realized how privileged I am to go to MSMA and the education that I am receiving here. So many children around the world do not have the opportunity to have the education I have or even half of what I have. They have the right to receive a good education and to pursue the career path they want.”
“Unfortunately, without the education they need, they will probably stay where they are and not be able to break the cycle,” said Anna, whose dream job as an ambassador at the United Nations could help make those changes possible.
(above) Anna Makowski participated in Operation Smile.
