We are going back to Naga!
February 21-26, 2027
A smile worth remembering; this is why we return.
Providing life-changing cleft lip and palate surgery, strengthening healthcare partnerships, and creating brighter futures—one child at a time.
Some Places Become Part of Your Story.
In 2027, Uplift Internationale is returning to Naga City.
We are returning to the families who opened their hearts to us.
We are returning to the healthcare professionals who stood beside us.
And we are returning with the same belief that has guided Uplift Internationale since 1989:
Every child deserves access to compassionate, life-changing care.
From February 21–26, 2027, our volunteer medical team will gather at Naga City General Hospital for Operation Taghoy—a surgical mission focused on children and families affected by cleft lip and palate.
But this mission is about more than surgery.
It is about partnership.
It is about education.
It is about dignity.
It is about hope.
And most importantly—
It is about giving children the opportunity to face their futures with greater confidence.
A RETURN TO NAGA. A NEW CHAPTER OF IMPACT.
Our return to Naga represents the kind of medical mission Uplift Internationale believes in: one built on partnership rather than simply providing care and leaving.
Naga City General Hospital was established by the City of Naga to expand access to quality and affordable healthcare, particularly for underserved communities. The hospital’s mission includes collaboration with healthcare professionals and providing opportunities for healthcare education and training.
That vision aligns closely with ours.
During Operation Taghoy 2027, our international volunteers will work alongside Filipino healthcare professionals to provide specialized cleft care while sharing knowledge, strengthening relationships, and supporting the continued development of local healthcare capacity.
Because the true measure of a mission isn’t only what happens while we’re there.
It’s what continues after we leave.
Join the team today!
Every child deserves a chance to smile.
For a child born with a cleft lip or palate, the challenges can extend far beyond appearance.
Cleft conditions can affect eating, speech, hearing, dental health, social interaction, education, and self-confidence. For families with limited financial resources or access to specialized care, obtaining treatment can seem impossible.
A surgical procedure may take only hours.
But its impact can last a lifetime.
It can mean a child eating more easily.
A child speaking with greater confidence.
A child entering school without the burden of an untreated cleft.
A parent seeing their child’s smile transformed.
And a family leaving the hospital with something priceless:
HOPE FOR WHAT COMES NEXT.
MORE THAN SURGERY
TREAT.
TEACH.
TRANSFORM.
Operation Taghoy is built around three principles:
TREAT.
Our multidisciplinary volunteer team provides specialized cleft lip and palate surgical care to children who may otherwise have limited access to treatment.
Patient & Family Support
Treat every child and family with compassion, dignity, respect, and cultural sensitivity.
TEACH.
We believe knowledge is one of the most powerful gifts we can leave behind.
Our surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, dentists, speech professionals, and other healthcare volunteers work alongside local professionals through education, collaboration, lectures, demonstrations, and appropriate clinical learning opportunities.
The goal isn’t simply to perform procedures.
It is to share knowledge and strengthen the team that will continue caring for patients long after our mission ends.
TRANSFORM.
A successful medical mission should create an impact that lasts beyond the week.
Through partnership, education, and knowledge transfer, we work to strengthen local healthcare capacity and create relationships that continue to grow from one mission to the next.
We don’t simply bring care to a community.
We build partnerships within it.
OUR 2027 MISSION GOAL
HELP US CHANGE MORE LIVES IN NAGA
In 2027, Uplift Internationale will return to Naga with an ambitious goal:
Provide life-changing cleft care while strengthening the healthcare professionals who will continue serving the community.
MISSION GOALS
Surgical Care
Provide cleft lip and palate evaluations and surgery for children who qualify for treatment.
Education & Training
Share specialized knowledge and skills with Filipino healthcare professionals through collaboration, lectures, demonstrations, and training.
Multidisciplinary Care
Bring together surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, dentists, speech professionals, students, and other healthcare volunteers to support comprehensive patient care.
Sustainable Partnership
Strengthen relationships with Naga City General Hospital and local healthcare professionals so the impact of Operation Taghoy extends beyond our time in Naga.
MEET THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE MISSION
A MEDICAL MISSION TAKES A TEAM.
Behind every surgery is an entire community of people working together.
Behind every surgery is an entire community of people working together.
SURGEONS
Providing specialized cleft lip and palate surgical care while sharing knowledge and experience with local colleagues.
ANESTHESIOLOGISTS & CRNAs
Providing safe, compassionate anesthesia care and collaborating with local anesthesia professionals.
NURSES
Supporting patients before, during, and after surgery while sharing knowledge and strengthening perioperative nursing practices.
DENTAL & SPEECH PROFESSIONALS
Supporting the broader needs of children affected by cleft conditions and helping build awareness of the long-term care these patients may require.
STUDENTS & HEALTHCARE LEARNERS
Learning from experienced professionals while experiencing the power of global healthcare partnership.
NON-MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS
Helping with patient flow, logistics, organization, hospitality, communications, fundraising, and the countless details that make a mission possible.
LOCAL HEALTHCARE PARTNERS
Our Filipino colleagues are at the heart of the mission. They provide invaluable knowledge of the community, culture, healthcare system, and patients we serve.
This isn’t “us” helping “them.”
This is all of us working together.
YOUR PLACE IS ON THIS MISSION
You don’t have to be a surgeon to change a life.
You don’t have to work in healthcare to make an impact.
You simply have to be willing to help.
FIRST-TIME VOLUNTEERS ARE WELCOME!
Whether you are an experienced medical professional, a student beginning your healthcare journey, or a non-medical volunteer who wants to serve, there is a place for you on the Uplift Internationale team.
Our missions bring together people from different professions, backgrounds, and experiences who share one common goal: To make a difference.
Ready to join us?
APPLY TO VOLUNTEER
SPONSOR A SURGERY
GIVE A CHILD A NEW SMILE
WHY WE RETURN
We return because the work matters.
We return because relationships matter.
We return because children deserve access to care regardless of where they were born or their family’s ability to pay.
We return because local healthcare professionals deserve partners who are willing to share knowledge and learn alongside them.
And we return because every time we witness a child’s transformation, we are reminded why Uplift Internationale exists.
**We go where we are needed.
We serve with humility.
We teach by sharing.
We learn by listening.
And we leave hope behind.**
THE JOURNEY STARTS WITH YOU
Operation Taghoy 2027 begins long before our team arrives in Naga.
It begins with a donor who decides to give.
A volunteer who submits an application.
A sponsor who believes in our mission.
A healthcare professional who says, “I’ll come.”
A supporter who shares our story.
A community that chooses to stand with a child they’ve never met.
That’s how change begins.
One person.
One gift.
One decision.
One child at a time.
WILL YOU JOIN US?
OPERATION TAGHOY 2027
February 21–26, 2027
Naga City General Hospital
Naga City, Philippines
Help us bring life-changing cleft care, education, partnership, and hope back to Naga.
Follow the Journey
Follow Uplift Internationale as we prepare for Operation Taghoy 2027 and share stories from the children, families, volunteers, donors, and healthcare professionals who make this mission possible.
Facebook: Uplift Internationale
Instagram: @upliftinternationale
Follow. Share. Give. Volunteer.
Together, we can lift more lives.
