Change Agents
Change Agents
Academy of Achievement
Dr. William Magee
16 minutes Posted Jun 18, 1999 at 1:00 pm.
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Show notes
Kathleen Magee and William Magee, M.D. are the
founders of Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization that
dispatches volunteer medical teams to developing countries to
perform free corrective surgery on disfigured children. In the
United States, many common birth defects are treated surgically
in the first years of a child's life, but in countries where the
most basic medical care may be inaccessible, disfigured children
have little hope for treatment and are often ostracized or
abandoned. In 1981, Dr. Magee joined his first volunteer mission
to the Philippines to operate on children suffering form cleft
lips and palates. For five days, the team world 16-hour shifts,
operating on nearly 150 children in three cities, but another 250
had to be turned away. Haunted by the thought of the children
left behind to live with their deformities, Dr. Magee and his
wife Kathleen began raising funds for a return trip and a
permanent organization. As of 2011, Operation Smile has treated
more than 160,000 children worldwide and currently has a presence
in more than 60 countries. Kathleen Magee serves as the
organization's President, Dr. Magee as its CEO. This podcast was
recorded during the Magees' presentation at the Academy of
Achievement's 1999 Summit in Washington, D.C.