Meet George from Rwanda

As George Rugabanda contemplated what he wanted to study, he was struck by the stories of Operation Smile’s patients who had been kept away from school because of their cleft. 

“I was so touched by the life these patients pass through with such conditions,” said the student volunteer from Rwanda, recounting his experience serving on a 2023 surgical training rotation at Kibungo Referral Hospital. “Some shared their stories. Some had dropped out of the schools because of how they were treated by their fellow students, but the good thing is that they were going to go back to their schools with smiles back on their faces.”

“From that time, I decided to become a doctor as a career of my lifetime so I will get that chance of bringing not only smiles but also lives back to people,” he added.

Over four decades and in 40 countries around the world, Operation Smile has empowered thousands of student volunteers to make a direct impact in the lives of its patients born with cleft conditions — inspiring George and many others to pursue careers in medicine.  

“My passion is to help people in my community, and that is what Operation Smile does,” said George, a student volunteer from Kagarama Secondary School and leader within Operation Smile Students Club Rwanda. 

In July 2023, George was selected to join the student team representing Rwanda at Operation Smile’s annual International Student Leadership Conference (ISLC), hosted that year in Lima, Peru. For more than 30 years, ISLC has brought together hundreds of Operation Smile high school and university volunteers from multiple countries for a week of guest speakers and workshops. This immersive experience equips students with the skills necessary to serve as an effective advocate for Operation Smile’s patients. 

When someone is passionate about something, George said, they’re willing and excited to do the work (even if that means days of travel to attend a conference 7,000 miles away from home and on another continent).  

George said one of the lessons he took away from ISLC 2023 was “to be a leader, no matter the age, no matter the situation.” The club leader said this lesson is useful to better support students in his country, especially as he works to try and start new clubs. 

Ultimately, ISLC opened his eyes to the needs of people born with cleft conditions, in his country and beyond. 

“I discovered that all over the world there are people who really need help, as it was discovered by the co-founders of Operation Smile in 1982,” said George, who got to speak with Operation Smile Co-Founder Kathy Magee after her presentation at ISLC. “Their work has motivated me.” 

For this future doctor, Operation Smile steered him to a career path where he can pursue his passion of making a positive impact on the lives of others — an impact he witnessed first-hand during the surgical training rotation he attended in August 2023. 

“The information I personally got from the patients is that they really appreciate your work that rebirths them again to the new world,” he said. 

(Operation Smile Student Programs Media Intern Promise Chipeta contributed reporting.)