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Jewel Ahmed was taking preparations to sell his landed asset, his last straw, for surgery on the cleft lip of his three-year-old son.
A car driver at Golapganj upazila, Mr Ahmed came to know about free treatment at Sylhet Women's Medical College and Hospital (SWMCH) by a panel of surgeons from the USA.
The man saw a ray of hope. He was also amazed to know about the full free medicine and other services along with surgery costs.
His son went through the surgery on January 31.
Talking to the FE, Mr Ahmed said it was hard for him to carry the costs unless he could found this voluntary initiative.
"I contacted private clinics that would charge more than Tk 50,000 except associated costs and medicines for such surgery."
After the birth of his son, many relatives and near ones suggested Mr Ahmed opt for reconstructive surgery which could give his son a new life.
One in 700 babies is born with a cleft lip and palate disorder globally. Clefts cause difficulties in eating, breathing, hearing and speaking.
Middle-aged woman Lutfa Begum came from Zakiganj seeing a Facebook post on the similar surgery.
While talking to the FE, she could not hold back tears of joy, showing her 18-year-old daughter at post-operative unit at SWMCH.
"I was financially insolvent enough to avail treatment of such an expert panel. Now, my family can plan for a better future and search a groom for her."
The wife of an expatriate, Ms Lutfa, mother of five daughters, beamed with joy for the first time since her daughter born with the disorder.
Both Mr Ahmed and Ms Lutfa are among the overwhelmed parents of 69 patients who have received reconstructive surgery by a panel of US expert surgeons, anesthetists and nurses.
At SWMCH, the FE also talked to Sultana Begum with her one-year-old son, Kholaza Begum from Chhatak with her 15-month-old daughter, Hena Begum of Gwainghat with her seven-month-old daughter Samiha.
All the surgery was done last month, from January 23 to 31, by a 29-member mission of Rotaplast, a California-based non-governmental organisation.
The mission comprising medical and non-medical experts came to Bangladesh with the fund support of US oil-gas giant Chevron Bangladesh in collaboration with Rotaplast International, The Rotary Club of Jalalabad and the SWMCH.
In Bangladesh, Chevron has been managing community development programmes since 2006.
The team also provided surgical intervention, ambulatory support through speech pathology and orthodontic care.
The mission, gathered from six countries, under the umbrella of Rotaplast.
SWMCH director Dr GM Monirul Islam said, "We have ensured the environment to work smoothly so that marginal group of people can avail this free-of-cost treatment."
According to Wallace Han Jen Chang, a plastic surgery professor at the University of Washington, the Rotaplast mission supports countries having limited access to such surgical intervention, less medical expertise and unable to afford critical surgeries like cleft lip, palate disorder, burn victims.
Local plastic surgeon group's support is imperative to complete the surgeries successfully, he says.
Debra Reily, one of the surgeons in the mission, said the income level of a country was not a major factor while expertise level of physicians usually prompts their missions to extend support.
She said physical conditions and fitness were the main indicators to select the patients for surgery.
A total of 200 patients enrolled for surgical interventions. Of them, the mission picked 69 based on their types of complexities.
Paula Fillari, lead PACU (post-anesthesia care unit) nurse who earlier visited Bangladesh with the mission, said the problem of cleft lips and palate deformities persists all over the world and there is no age-limit to go through such surgery.
Dr Kenneth Jacob Funk, Mission Director, said parents are the real heroes - who brought their children and entrusted their precious gifts to the Rotaplast team.
Chevron Bangladesh director (corporate affairs) Muhammad Imrul Kabir said: "These reconstructive surgeries will truly change lives for the better, providing patients with an opportunity to lead normal lives and to reach their full potential."
"Chevron Bangladesh is proud to support this life-changing program through our social investment initiatives."
Chevron is the largest American investor in Bangladesh. It operates three fields: Bibiyana, Jalalabad and Moulvibazar and produces over 50 per cent of the country's gas demand and over 80 per cent of condensate here.
It has invested more than $3.9 billion of foreign direct investment, including over $560 million in contracts, with local suppliers and contractors in the last 12 years.