Katmandu, Nepal

It took us 31 hours of non-stop travel to get here – but it was worth it.

We came to meet our partners who are doing extraordinary work saving children suffering from club foot and burns. It was one of the most inspiring trips I’ve ever taken.

The view from the plane was breathtaking – as is the poverty. About 30 million people live in Nepal with an average income per capita of less than $2 a day. That’s average — our patients live on much less. Nepal is one of the world’s poorest countries. On the first day, we saw slums as bad as anything I’ve ever seen in Haiti, Calcutta, or Somalia.

Row after row of shacks surrounded by dirt, dust, and rubble. Half-naked children wandering around. Wild dogs roving. A polluted, clogged river. Smoke rises from smoldering heaps of trash. The stench was overwhelming. And so many flies you had to keep your mouth shut when you walked.

Katmandu Nepal trip photos with surgical charity specializing in cleft lip and cleft palate, Smile Train and Co-Founder Brian Mullaney.