Smile Train Stories

Curitiba, Brazil — A note from the mother of one of our patients that was given to and translated by our partner CAIF/AFISSUR after the excellent care her son received during his free cleft surgery and follow ups.

Lucas is my first child. I got prenatal care in the Public Health System and the ultrasound did not show any problems, so I expected Lucas to be a normal baby. I was really shocked when he was born with a cleft lip and palate. Due to his cleft, he spent eight days in the hospital. At the beginning due to our shock over his cleft and the problems he had nursing, everything was very difficult for me and my family.

“For a long time, I felt guilty for Lucas’ cleft lip and palate. I assumed it was because of the way I acted during the time I was pregnant. However, after arriving at CAIF/AFISSUR, I was welcomed by a team of professionals and heard about Smile Train’s free cleft surgery program.

“With the help of this team and Smile Train, Lucas is getting high quality treatment and he can have a normal life just like other children his age. I don’t have enough words to thank CAIF/AFISSUR and Smile Train.”

Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo — Smile Train’s goal is to make sure that every child born with a cleft in the world has the opportunity to live a full and productive life, and the only way to accomplish this is through teamwork. Smile Train supporters provide us with the funds which we distribute to our network of partner hospitals, surgeons and hospital staff who work together in and out of the OR to give children new lives. Nowhere is this more evident than in our first operations in the Republic of the Congo.

Earlier this month, three of our best partners in Africa, Jooko Cleft Association (Senegal), AMREF (East Africa), and Sourire a la Vie (Cote d’Ivoire), visited the Republic of the Congo to provide free cleft lip and palate surgery and provide advanced training to a local surgeon and medical team. This mission was organized by Ms. Julienne Johnson of the Congolese organization FELBO. At Albert Leyono Clinic in Brazzaville, the team performed 50 life changing free cleft surgeries in 5 days and worked with the Clinic’s staff to start the training process to become a full time Smile Train partner.

In honor of their exceptional teamwork and the hope that Albert Leyono Clinic will one day become an official partner, we put together this poster featuring their patient, one-year-old Mesange Nsona. Visit Smile Train’s Facebook page to set the full sized version as your Facebook timeline cover and show you’re a part of the Smile Train team.

Lahore, Pakistan — Last week, Smile Train proudly welcomed our newest partner hospital, Arif Memorial Teaching Hospital. Led by Prof. Muhammad Afzal Sheikh and Dr. Farrukh Mahmood, the Arif Memorial team kicked off the start of our partnership in grand fashion: performing 40 free cleft surgeries in their first 3 days!

This remarkable start shows the team’s skills, dedication and commitment to helping children with cleft and the need for our programs in the area. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with Arif Memorial to provide free cleft lip and palate surgery and related care to desperate children.

Sullana, Peru — Whenever a child undergoes surgery, his or her parents are often nervous and a little scared — who wouldn’t be? For 5-year-old Florcita, who was born with a cleft lip and palate, her parents were so frightened about what could happen to her during surgery that they didn’t search for help to have her cleft repaired.

Fortunately, Florcita’s aunt had her own soft palate repaired by Smile Train and when she was discharged she went straight to Florcita. She convinced her family that there was nothing to worry about and that free cleft surgery would change Florcita’s life forever.

Florcita’s father quickly brought her to see Dr. Navarro and his team who went over Smile Train’s established safety protocols and checklists to alleviate his fears. Florcita’s cleft lip surgery went smoothly and when her lip heals she’ll be showing off a bright new smile. Extremely happy, her father praised the team and hopes that Florcita will be able to have her cleft palate repaired soon too as she starts her new life.

Kigali, Rwanda — Smile Train’s STOP Clefts initiative recently concluded it’s first phase of activities in Rwanda. STOP Clefts is a program to jump start potential new local partner hospitals in countries and regions that do not have a local team already using established Smile Train partners in bordering countries/regions.

The team provided 146 free cleft surgeries.

In conjunction with the University Teaching Hospital and the Ministry of Health’s public health specialist Dr. Bonaventure Nzeyima, one of Smile Train’s partners in Kenya, Help a Child Face Tomorrow provided training to local doctors and 146 free cleft surgeries.

Deeply religious, when Euginie and her husband’s baby girl was born with a cleft lip, they named her Patience — believing that patience in their faith would make her whole. Their strength and fortitude was rewarded as 6-month-old Patience received free cleft lip surgery at University Teaching Hospital.

While Patience was spared a life of ridicule and torment, Sitefano Niyibizi endured for 60 years before he could get his cleft lip repaired. He lost hope long ago since he never had the money to travel to the city and see a doctor. When he learned about the university’s bus collecting patients in his village, Sitefano dropped everything and hopped on board.. After his cleft surgery, he told the team “If I die today, I will die happy. Thank you for this gift.”

Check out more pictures at our STOP Clefts Rwanda facebook gallery.

Chandigarh, India — Movies and TV shows often joke about husbands forgetting their wedding anniversaries and trying to make up for it at the last minute, but at Smile Train partner Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, at least one couple will never forget.

Last year, when the PGIMER staff finished screening a 6-month-old boy with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, they happily told the parents that the surgery was set for the next day. When the parents told them that the next day happened to be their anniversary, the staff offered to reschedule. However, the parents insisted that the best anniversary present would be the chance for a normal life for their son. The surgery went ahead as planned and both his cleft lip and palate were fully repaired. Rather than exchanging gifts or a special dinner, they spent their anniversary in the children’s ward at their baby’s side.

They returned to the hospital on their anniversary again this year with a gift for the hospital staff — a smiling one-and-a-half-year-old.

Derhadun, India — After a long day’s work, Mr. Amarjeet Singh Narwal finally lay asleep on a cold, peaceful night. Around 3a.m., he was startled awake by a strange wailing outside. He threw on a coat and opened the door, where he found an infant wrapped in a dirty, tattered piece of cloth. He cradled the baby in his arms, assuming that the boy’s parents had abandoned their son at his door due to his cleft lip and palate.

Amarjeet and his wife brought Krishna, as they named him, to Jankalayan Samiti, a local NGO, to see if they could help. The group provided the Narwals with food and clothes for the baby. The difficulty of feeding little Krishna left him underweight and suffering from a repeated cough and fever. Despite the help they received, when they learned that Krishna would also suffer from speech difficulties on top of his deformity, they feared that his young life and future would be full of despair and torment.

One day, the Himalayan Institute’s Smile Train team reached Panipat for a health camp. The members of Jankalyan Samiti contacted the team about the Narwals and Krishna’s treatment in great detail, providing a ray of hope. Amarjeet soon brought his 5-month-old son to Smile Train partner Himalayan Hospital (known locally as Jolly Grant Hospital). Further examinations at the hospital revealed along with a cleft lip and palate, Krishna also suffered from malnutrition and a skin infection. Seeing Krishna’s condition, the Smile Train team started the necessary antibiotic treatment and taught the Narwals proper feeding techniques, basic health care, and nutrition.

The results of the treatment were fantastic and Krishna was soon ready for his free surgery. To top it all off, surgeon Dr. Sanjay Dvivedi convinced the management of the Himalayan Institute to financially support Krishna after his treatment. Dr. Dvivedi repaired Krishna’s cleft lip and nose free of charge, giving him a bright new smile. Krishna was soon discharged from the hospital with his relieved family and has been scheduled for free cleft palate surgery when he is 9 months old. Thanks to the expert Smile Train team at Himalayan Institute, the Narwals can look forward to a bright future for their new son.

Patna, Bihar, India — Everyday, thanks to our donors, Smile Train is able to change the lives of over 300 patients and their families. The translated stories below come directly from the parents of recent patients at Smile Train partner Rabia Basri Hospitals Pvt. Ltd.. Thank you to everyone who helps make changes like these happen everyday.

Kundan as told by his father:

We were shocked at the birth of my son Kundan. Our grief was made worse because my mother refused to see him as her grandson. She said that he was the product of my past sins. As he got older, the kids in my village refused to play with him, saying that he was a dirty, evil boy. Kundan slowly started realizing that he was not like other kids. My wife and eventually my mother had accepted this as our fate. When we came to know about Smile Train and Rabia Basri Hospital, Patna, I decided to save money to get him to the hospital. There was stiff resistance in the family as it was presumed that God created him like this for a reason. I was adamant and refused to accept that he should suffer for things he hadn’t done. My wife and mother are very happy now. It is a new beginning for my son and I promise to send him to school and help give him a respectable position in society.”

Seema as told by her mother:

We are a very poor family. When my daughter Seema was born, instead of being happy, we were filled with sorrow after seeing her cleft lip. Sometimes, I started thinking of abandoning her to some ashram or at temple. I was worried about how she would get married or have a family when she grew up. My agony was further aggravated by village folks with the comments like these kinds of children bring bad fortune to the family. But being her mother, I couldn’t bare to do it and decided to look after her and kept on praying about her well-being. One fine day, a field officer from Rabia Basri Hospital came to our village and found us. I was very happy that God has listened to me. After the operation, I am very happy that my daughter will lead a normal life. Thank you all who made it possible.”

Sid Kumar as told by his father, Rajnish Kumar:

When my son was born ,I was working in Gujarat. My father had a sweet shop in our village. When he got the news of the birth of my son he was so happy that he distributed all of the candy in the shop to everyone who was passing through that road. We he came to know the deformity of cleft lip in my son, he almost fainted. I was given the news of Sid’s birth but his cleft lip was kept secret from me. When I saved enough money to return home to see my son for the first time, I was shocked. Meanwhile, there was a camp of Rabia Basri hospital and Smile Train in Gopalganj that a neighbor knew of. I got the information and brought my son for the operation right away. After the operation, our family life has totally changed. I pray my son becomes a doctor so that he can also help those in need.”