Smile Train Stories

Kabul, Afghanistan — He’ll probably never win the Nobel Peace Prize or grace the cover of TIME Magazine, but Dr. Said Aolfat Hashimi is a hero in the truest sense of the word. A plastic surgeon with the talent to live the high life anywhere in the world, he chose to stay in his native Afghanistan and provide free surgery to the impoverished.

In a country that has known far too much violence and bloodshed, Dr. Hashimi and his team at CURE International Hospital, Kabul are creating smiles, sustainability, and the hope for a better future. A partner since 2006, Dr. Hashimi’s team has provided over 2,000 free cleft surgeries. This past quarter was their best ever, as they provided over 180 free cleft surgeries.

Dr. Hashimi has also begun to train another plastic surgeon. His training has been going exceptionally well and expectations are high that he will soon be an official Smile Train partner surgeon. Together, they are driving our programs in Afghanistan and providing hope to children, their families, and a nation.

Check out this video of Dr. Hashimi discussing clefts and how surgery impacts the lives of our patients and their families.

Shandong Province, China -

I once read a saying in a magazine: defective children are angels from Heaven. Because God favors them too much, signs are made on their body so that they can be found at any time.“
- Smile Train Patient, Li Dungang

Li Dungang after his Smile Train cleft lip surgery

Li Dungang received Smile Train surgery on June 12, 2006 at Affiliated Hospital of Qingdao University Medical College: a secondary cleft lip surgery at the age of 23. A hardworking student, from a family of poor, rural farmers, Li Dungang was lucky that his parents were able to save enough money to provide him with his primary cleft lip surgery as a child. However, as he grew older, his face changed and the scarring on his lip became more visible, leading to taunting and humiliation. Li Dungang found comfort in his studies, determined to forge his own path,

I knew that as far as a rural child was concerned, to do well in school was the only way to notch up a success…I knew that I had to make a greater effort than others if I wanted to go to college: it was a common occurrence to get up to study at two or three o’clock in the morning. Only by this way could I change my destiny.”

All of the studying paid off and Li Dungang was accepted into college. He struggled to pay his way through school living primarily off of a month’s supply of rice pancakes that his mother would make for him on his routine visits home. As he celebrated his acceptance into China University of Political Science and Law, tragedy struck and his mother fell seriously ill requiring him to send what little money he earned on the side back to his parents for her medical bills rather than towards his education. Li Dungang returned home to visit his sick mother and visited our Smile Train partner once more to follow up on his previous surgery.

Li Dungang now

While he was there, he explained his situation and how he feared he would have to drop out of school in order to help his parents through the even more difficult times. The staff introduced him to the new Smile Grant program and he received a small grant that he could use to help his family while he returned to school. Smile Train staff also nominated him for a scholarship through the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation. He was awarded the scholarship to cover the rest of his education and graduated with a degree in law. With the guidance of Smile Train Senior Vice President and Managing Director of Regional Programs Dr. Shell Xue, Li Dungang was able to secure a job at a Shandong Province Court where he is now thriving and taking every opportunity to help those in need.

In my life, I try to help people around me who are in trouble. I smile at strangers as much as possible, it brings me and them a sun-like warmness and sedateness. Life is a mirror, when you smile in front of it, it will also smile and the same for when you cry. It all depends on your attitude towards life.”

Varanasi, India - Pinki Sonkar, star of the Academy Award® winning film Smile Pinki, traveled with her father for days to receive free cleft lip surgery. After five years of suffering and ostracization, Pinki was given a new life by Dr. Subodh Singh thanks to Smile Train donors. Pinki traveld to Hollywood alongside, her father, Dr. Subodh , and the film’s director Megan Mylan to win the Oscar for Best Documentary Short. While many girls and boys dream of winning famous movie awards, Pinki only dreamed of going to school and living a normal life. Who says dreams can’t come true?

Pinki’s life has changed dramatically since her surgery: she’s enrolled in school, making friends, and even learning English. Please take a few minutes and watch this clip to see the power a simple surgery can have on an entire family.

We also recently received a surprise visit from the other star of the film, Ghutaru Chauhan. Ghutaru returned to G.S. Memorial Hospital where he recieved his free cleft palate surgery years ago in order to meet with one of the new speech pathologists. Ghutaru is taking his studies on wholeheartedly and even has a tutor to make sure he is caught up with other kids his age. Ghutaru’s cleft palate caused great difficulty with his speech and, like many children who have their cleft palates repaired, he has had to retrain himself to speak properly. He met again with Dr. Subodh and his team as part of a Smile Train pilot initiative for speech pathology, which we hope to be able to bring to all of our partner hospitals. With the help of the speech pathologists, his tutor will be incorporating speech lessons into Ghutaru’s daily activities so that he will be speaking crisply and sharply with ease, like a normal child. When he was asked what he wanted to be when he grows up, Ghutaru didn’t hesitate – he looked right at Dr. Subodh and said, “a doctor.”

For those that haven’t seen the film, request your free copy of Smile Pinki today!

Every day, with the help of our donors, Smile Train creates news smiles and success stories for more than 300 children just like Pinki and Ghutaru.