Dear friends and colleagues,



Please find attached a press release ( in Arabic) about a free Operation Smile's International Medical Mission visiting Cairo from 23 to 30 October in the medical centre of El Mokaweloon El Arab. A team of credentialed medical professionals from around the world will be here, with all the required equipments, to treat children during a week period. for a parallel event ( Race the planet) please read Below.



Kindly publish or circulate the message, it is a way to help make a child smile properly.



Best Regards,

Dalia



Dalia Abdel Salam

Journalist Al Ahram Hebdo

volunteer Operation Smile Egypt

Mobile 0101484879






RacingThePlanet





Operation Smile Egypt will be conducting its inaugural mission to Cairo, Egypt October 23-30, 2008. RacingthePlanet will be sponsoring this mission which coincides with their Sahara Race 2008. Beginning October 26, 2008, 150 competitors from 30 countries will be competing in the seven-day, 250-kilometer footrace, combining a rugged physical challenge with a rich international and cultural experience. Each individual must also carry his or her own gear, food and clothing in a backpack. The Sahara Race, first run in September 2005, is one of the four races in RacingthePlanet' s '4 Deserts' racing series, a unique worldwide endurance series.



On Friday, October 24, Operation Smile Egypt is honored to host all competitors and volunteers in joining Operation Smile volunteers as they provide free physical examinations for children and young adults suffering from cleft lips and/or cleft palates. The athletes will spend time at the hospital with the patients and families - during what promises to be a pivotal and inspiring day - before beginning their seven-day journey into the White Sands. The local impact of the Operation Smile medical mission on the patients and families in the Cairo region, coupled with high interest in the Sahara Race 2008, will lend a ceremonious atmosphere to the start of the race.

RacingThePlanet commenced operations from its base in Hong Kong in 2002. The first race under its banner was the Gobi March held in September 2003 near Dunhuang, China with 42 competitors. In addition to the Gobi March and the Sahara Race, the other 2 races in the '4 Deserts' racing series, include the Atacama Crossing in Chile, the Last Desert in Antarctica. Though in different places in the world, all of the races in the '4 Deserts' racing series follow a similar format.

For more information visit the Racing the Planet Website.



Dalia Abdel Salam El Dessouky
Coordinator for Northern Africa
African Network of Environmental Journalists
(ANEJ-NA)-AEIN- UNEP-ROA
Head of Environment Sector
Al Ahram Hebdo Newspaper.Egypt
Tel: +20-2-27703- 223
Fax:+20-2-27703- 314
Cell:+20-10- 1484-879
Email:daliasallam@ yahoo.fr
Website: http://hebdo. ahram.org. eg
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