Violetta Bulabos sits cradling her youngest child in a crowded medical facility on a small island in the Philippines. After hours of travel, she and her eldest daughter have brought her three youngest children to a neighboring island in hopes of not one life changing surgery, but three. Nurses buzz by, strange smells fill the air and she can hear the sounds of children crying down the hall. She rocks rhythmically back and forth, humming quietly, as she gently wipes a tear from the eye of her toddler’s swollen, beautifully repaired face. Any mother knows the anguish experienced when seeing their child in pain, and Violetta is no exception. Yet despite the hardships she and her family have endured, a knowing smile crosses Violetta’s face. She knows that her children will now have a chance at a better life.
