Although the life span of this blog is very short, it has covered some very worthy causes. However, Smile Train is what gave me the idea of the once per month donation page. There are pictures well worth a few coins from your pocket.
Unlike many charities that do many different things, The Smile Train mission is focused on solving a single problem: cleft lip and palate.
Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where there are millions of children who are suffering with unrepaired clefts. Most cannot eat or speak properly. Aren’t allowed to attend school or hold a job. And face very difficult lives filled with shame and isolation, pain and heartache.
The good news is every single child with a cleft can be helped with surgery that costs as little as $250 and takes as little as 45 minutes.
This is Smile Train's mission:
-To provide free cleft surgery for millions of poor children in developing countries.
-To provide free cleft-related training for doctors and medical professionals.
Until there are no more children who need help and we have completely
eradicated the problem of clefts.
Meet some of the kiddies that need our help:
Meet Shiva (Before Smile Train)
Shivarudrayya (Shiva) was born with a severe cleft lip and palate in a very poor, rural area of Northern India. His father is a laborer who earns about 50 cents a day. But that’s when he can get work, which is usually only 10-15 days a month.
Shiva’s parents were in shock when Shiva was born with a massive cleft. They thought it was a curse and they blamed themselves. Local folklore states that clefts occur when a pregnant woman uses a knife during an eclipse.
Even worse, they did not know that clefts can be repaired until they came across an advertisement in the local newspaper that a neighbor read to them (they are both illiterate) about a Smile Train clinic in the nearby town.
Shiva was operated on by one of Smile Train’s best partners, Dr. K. Gopal Krishnan and his all-Indian medical team, at SDM College of Dental Sciences & Hospital in Dharwad, India. Since he was operated on when he was so young, Shiva was saved from many years of pain and heartbreak. And he will never develop the kind of speech impediment that is often impossible to correct in children who have their clefts repaired much later in life. He may never know how truly lucky he is.
Meet Shiva NOW!
Meet Angelica (Before Smile Train)
For Angelica Joy (AJ) Fabroa, getting the operation needed to fix her cleft lip was a challenge. The youngest of four children, AJ was born in the Philippines into a poor, hardworking and loving family.
When AJ was born, her father started crying at the sight of her cleft lip. He and his wife were devastated, but neither of them lost hope because they knew her cleft could be treated. Knowing that AJ would have trouble feeding, they placed her in the care of a local mission that treated children with clefts. However, because AJ had been underweight since birth and had a weak body, the local mission evaluated her and would not operate.
When AJ and her parents returned a second time, again she could not pass the physical due to her low body weight and they were told to hospitalize her. AJ’s parents could never afford to pay for the cost of a hospital stay and so they began searching for another alternative.
Soon after, a local council official visited their small community and told AJ’s parents about The Smile Train Cleft Care Program run in conjunction with the Philippine Band of Mercy. In a matter of weeks, AJ finally received the surgery to repair her deformity.
Today, little AJ is a healthy and happy two-year-old, who can eat normally and is starting to talk. Because of the determination of her family and The Smile Train, the Fabroa family can all smile together!
Meet Angelica NOW!
Click here for some more amazing stories.
What is also impressive about Smile Train is how much money goes directly from your wallet to the medical procedures per child. Take a look at Smile Train's financials.
Watch some videos of supporters and those who need our help.
What Makes The Smile Train Different:
-Focused on a single problem: cleft lip and palate.
-Teach a man to fish: we empower local doctors in developing countries.
-The lowest cost per surgery of any cleft charity.
-Best safety and quality record amongst cleft charities.
We bring your donations to the poorest countries on earth which magnifies the impact
Please help these cute kiddos.
Thank you.
