A career in photography and videography has rewarded Alan Huestis with travel, access to high-profile sporting events and chances to meet celebrities from Hollywood, Calif., to Washington, D.C.

But nothing, says the Bend man, compares to his volunteer work.

For the past 10 years, Huestis has traveled with his cameras to places such as Honduras, Colombia and the Philippines to document the charitable work of Operation Smile, a Norfolk, Va.-based nonprofit that performs corrective surgery on children with cleft palates and lips.

This year, Huestis, 52, has already been to Peru, and on May 20, hell visit again. Huestis is shooting a documentary film about Operation Smile and, in particular, the incredible story of the Zavala family.

Leonardo Zavala, 8, was born with a cleft lip. His brother Cesar, 12, was born without an upper lip or cartilage in his nose. The boys father long ago deserted the family, said Huestis, and their mother, Sara Zavala Hinostroza, attempted to smuggle drugs to South Africa in a desperate attempt to pay for surgery for her children.

Her plan failed. She was caught and sent to prison, and the boys were left in the care of their grandparents. The boys futures seemed bleak, likely doomed to lives spent ashamed and sequestered indoors, away from cruel taunts and curious glares.

Operation Smile

The majority of Operation Smile surgeries are for cleft lips and palates. A cleft lip is a birth defect formed when the left and right sides of the upper lip dont grow together. A cleft palate is similar, formed when the roof of the mouth doesnt close. According to the Cleft Palate Foundation, approximately one in 700 children in the U.S. is born with a cleft deformity.

In the U.S., clefts are often surgically corrected within a few months of birth, said International Communications Manager for Operation Smile Leila Hemaidan. In developing nations, the costly corrective procedure is often out of reach for most and as a result, it can bear a devastating emotional toll on a family. According to Hemaidan, the incident rate for cleft deformities in developing countries is closer to one in every 500 births.

What is so shocking for all these children out there, said Hemaidan, is the way society reacts to (them). A cleft lip is really an unfortunate thing to look at it. In this country, we have people running out to get Botox for crows feet.

Take that one step further for things like cleft lips, and its a tough, tough deal to have your kids go out in world like that and hear comments. They become more and more isolated because what they hear out in the world is pretty ugly. In Cesars case, its just a lot more severe.

Through satellite offices in each country it operates, Operation Smile invites prospective surgery candidates to an initial screening. Blood tests are performed and medical histories are evaluated in order to winnow the candidates to a manageable number. Huestis said a two-week-long mission averages 150 surgeries.

What can be heartbreaking about the screenings, said Huestis, is the number of people who show up with other disfigurements, or the families who have traveled extraordinary distances to see their child have their dignity replaced.

Many people are turned away. The Zavala family was turned away on more than one occasion, partly due to the complexity of Cesars deformity.

The majority of time, you cant do something that complicated on a mission, said Hemaidan.

However, the Zavalas story was overwhelming. The Operation Smile office in Lima kept tabs on the family and in 2002, the first year Huestis visited Peru, Leonardo was selected for and received corrective surgery. Doctors operated on Cesar, too, even though his deformity was beyond the missions mandate.

They took him on as special case, said Huestis.

The initial surgery took four hours. The missions medical staff knew Cesar would require additional surgeries, most of which would have to be performed when he was an adolescent.

But as Cesar neared the time for surgery, nothing happened. Cesars situation was outside of Operation Smiles established logistical realm, said Huestis, and as a result, Cesar had moved to the back burner. An Operation Smile coordinator familiar with Cesars story, Alison E. Smith, started getting fussy and enlisted Huestis help. Calls were made and plans were hatched but nothing came to fruition. Finally, said Huestis, Smith offered to pay for Cesars needed surgery out of her own pocket.

The volunteers, said Huestis, had become emotionally attached to Cesar.

When Huestis was first reached for this story in December, he was hoping press coverage might help build support for a favorable outcome. Earlier this year, however, Operation Smile agreed to perform Cesars surgery. Dr. Luis Bermudez, a craniofacial plastic surgeon from Colombia who studied under Operation Smile founder Dr. Bill Magee, will fly to Peru for the May 23 surgery in Lima.

Its unbelievable. Unbelievable, said Huestis. (Cesars) been such a patient young man.

Huestis, who Cesar calls Dr. Alan, played a big part in concentrating attention on Cesar, said Smith.

Since May 2006, Alan has worked to make this second surgery a reality, Smith said. We are all looking forward to May 23, when Cesar, a very special young man, will receive the surgery that will finally allow him to face the world without ridicule and shame.

A father figure

Having worked with Operation Smile for a decade, Huestis is accustomed to emotion from the joy of parents seeing their children after surgery to the despair a family feels when a child isnt selected for a life-changing surgery. Perhaps it was inevitable, but Huestis has latched onto Cesar and the Zavala family.

Fluent in Spanish, Huestis calls the family often and has sent money for the boys educations. Hes become a father figure to them.

The boys mother, who is out of prison, called Huestis a bella persona, or beautiful person. She said Huestis brings gifts when he visits, has helped with the boys educations and has been more than generous.

Im very thankful how he helps us, said Hinostroza through a translator.

Huestis grew up in Southern California and earned degrees in Spanish and broadcast journalism from Utah State University.

Since 1981, Huestis has worked as a professional photographer, producing both still images and videos. He also worked a stint for a CBS affiliate and got to shoot an NFL championship game, the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and an interview with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Three years ago, Huestis decided to trade Logan, Utah, for Bend, attracted to the areas natural beauty and affordability. Huestis bases his business, Studio 404, out of his southwest Bend home he shares with his daughter, Lauren, a senior at Summit High School.

Huestis said his desire to give back is partly inspired by his father, a surgeon who spent his retirement helping others.

It was kind of learned from my father if you have a talent, share it with the world, said Huestis. Make an impact, dont sit and complain.

His first trip for Operation Smile was to the Philippines in 1996, at the invitation of his then-boss. Huestis photographed the trip and was forever changed.

I had never been so satisfied with something, said Huestis. Id have kids come into the recovery room, and the tears, its just overwhelming. A mom came up to me, kissing and hugging me Im just a photographer and she said, No, you are all angels.

Huestis has since stayed active with the organization. Hes been on 10 missions, and his photography has graced the nonprofits annual reports as well as its marketing material.

Huestis is also working on a separate documentary for the group that will celebrate its 30th anniversary in November.

For now, however, hes gearing up for his trip to Lima. He needs to shoot some additional material, or B-roll, for his docu-mentary about Cesar, and will film the surgery and the familys post-operation reaction.

Huestis will also return to Lima in the summer in order to get shots of Cesar after his surgical wounds heal.

When Huestis is finished with the documentary which he will edit from his home studio he would like to pitch it to the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel or a major media outlet.

I know that those who see Cesars story will be touched by what Operation Smile has done for not only Cesar, but his brother Leonardo and his family, wrote Huestis in an e-mail to The Bulletin.

No doubt, the Zavala family feels the same way.