Our Kuna family in dugout

The little boy with the cleft lip is in the bow of the dugout canoe (cayuca), and his mother is in the stern. They are leaving our boat after spending some time on board to sell us their molas (a Kuna textile handicraft).

Kunas on board trading molas

The family is displaying their molas to us shortly after arriving on board. Our boy with the cleft lip is in the red shirt, and his name we found out later, is Abdias Velasquez.

Trading Done

Now that the mola transactions are complete, it is time to relax with some lemonade before departure. Our little boy with the cleft lip is in the center of the photo in the red shirt.

Final goodbye photo

One last shot of the family before they head off to trade with other sailors. The sailor at the left of the photo and the one at the center are those who began this project to find this boy again, and get him the help he needed.

A closeup of Abdias when we met him

This shot shows Abdias' cleft lip. The family was on board our sailboat at the time to do some mola trading. Photo was taken on September 17, 2008.

Finally - At the surgical mission!

A year and a half after meeting him, Abidias is finally at the Operation Smile surgical mission in the city of Davîd, Panama. This shot is a pre-operation photo, with his Operation Smile ID. He is noticeably older than when we met him. Kids at that age grow up fast!
The surgery was successfully performed by Dr. Luis Daniel Crespo, with anesthesiologists Dr. Sergio Silva and Dr. Mariela Quintero on April 21, 2010, in the city of David, Panama.

A close-up before the surgery

This was taken by Operation Smile just before the surgery, showing what the surgeons will soon correct. The surgery was successfully performed by Dr. Luis Daniel Crespo, with anesthesiologists Dr. Sergio Silva and Dr. Mariela Quintero on April 19, 2010, in the city of David, Panama.
Thanks so much, doctors!
So far, we have not received any "post-operation" photos, but will share them when we receive them!