Antigua, Guatemala
Back to Guatemala. Beginning in 2013, Dr. Kolstad made Antigua his primary mission location. After traveling to Africa, South America, and the Philippines, he found Guatemala to be the place where he felt most at home. The organization he most enjoyed working with was HUGS, which provided exceptional support and compassionate care for both patients and volunteers.
A quick note about Help Us Give Smiles. This organization truly represents the spirit of charity. Nearly everyone involved with HUGS served as a volunteer. Dr. Kolstad and the other physicians paid for their own flights, hotels, surgical supplies, and many of the additional expenses associated with each mission trip. HUGS operates without expensive marketing campaigns or heavy administrative overhead. As a result, nearly every donated dollar goes directly to the children and the surgical missions intended to help them.
This was the first mission to treat both microtia and cleft deformities together. Traditionally, these conditions are managed by separate teams during different mission trips. With HUGS, however, there was a unique collaboration between facial plastic surgeons, craniofacial surgeons, and plastic surgeons working side by side. Every volunteer shared the same purpose: to support the children and their families with compassionate, coordinated care.
