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Journey of Smiles: Yeonilda
Yeonilda Lopez, 8, before and after her Smile Train surgery. She had traveled over 14 hours with her father from her indigenous community in a remote part of Colombia for surgery. Bogotá, Colombia—In...
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Smile of the Week: Adil Raza
Adil Raza, five years old, proudly displays his Smile Train backpack, which he returned to claim four years after his Smile Train surgery. Siliguri, India—Our Smile of the Week, Adil Raza, recieved his...
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After Surgery, Teased No More
Lahore, Pakistan—When five-year-old Hussain’s mother first looked at him when he was born she got faint, overwhelmed with intense grief. She had finally given birth to a son after two daughters, but...
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Smile Train Surgeons and a Beauty Queen Deliver Smiles in Vietnam
Little Corn Maize before and after his Smile Train surgery.Hanoi, Vietnam—Nine-month-old Do Tran Gia Bao, affectionately known as Corn Maize by his family, was born in Hanoi, Vietnam. His parents were...
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Finding More Than One Way To Help
Madi Bennett (right) and January recently reunited after January’s Smile Train surgery. During her volunteer work in the Philippines, Madi found January and another little girl living with unrepaired...
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Cleft Surgery Finds Akhtar
Mohammed Akhtar, left, waves good bye with his father and brothers to the staff from Smile Train partner hospital Bakhtawar Amin Memorial Trust Hospital after their visit to his home. Multan,...
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Xinrui’s Smile is so Bright it Lights Up the Holidays
Beijing, China—Xinrui is a two-year-old girl from Bei Gao Li Village, a rural part of China’s Hebei province. When you see her bright smile today you would never know that she was born with both a...
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A Brother’s Love
Naveed Khan, 14, before and after his Smile Train surgery in Pakistan. Naveed deferred his chance for cleft surgery to his sister when a generous landlord offered to help the young boy. Luckily, the...
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Lau Jean’s Story
Lau Jean, 54, before and after his Smile Train surgery. Tokombéré, Cameroon—Rejected, insulted, despised, alienated, and thought of as a witch. Such was the fate of Mr. Lau Jean. Smile Train met Jean,...
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A Change of Heart
Six-year-old Harouna from Niger, before and after his Smile Train surgery that not only transformed his life, but his father’s as well. Bouza, Niger—Harouna Mahamadou is a beautiful six-year-old boy...
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55 Years of Waiting Because of Superstitions
Amritsar, Punjab, India — 55 years is a long time to wait for any surgery, let alone for one that could repair your cleft. Mohan Singh knows that all too well. When he was born with a cleft lip,...
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The Most Rewarding Vacation
Sikkim, India — Most people dread the prospect of having work interrupt their vacations, but not Smile Train partner Dr. Parthapratim Gupta. He prefers to make miracles happen while he’s on vacation....
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Courage to Face the World: Elphas Sifuna
Nairobi, Kenya — When Dr. Sylvia Noah met Elphas Sifuna, she met a boy who hid behind an over-sized hat and a large, brown trench coat with a popped collar to cover his mouth. As Dr. Noah spoke to his...
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Smile Train’s 750,000th Surgery – Jhoanna Galut
Quezon City, Philippines — Yesterday, Smile Train announced our 750,000th free cleft surgery since our founding in 1999. Jhoanna Galut was chosen to represent this amazing “smilestone.” This is her...
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82 Years Young and Happier Than Ever
Tarma, Peru — We recently received this update from our partners at CIRPLAST, Dr. Carlos Navarro and his wife Elvira, about Emilia Solorzano de Estrella who underwent free cleft lip surgery at the age...
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One Big Happy Family
Bujumbura, Burundi— As part of our STOP Clefts Burundi program, our partner Surgical Centre Smile Train Mbarara traveled from Uganda to host a free cleft surgery camp and help develop a local medical...
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Smile Train Car Delivers More Than Just Patients
Karnataka, India — Most children come to Smile Train for cleft surgery at around six years old — after they have already developed poor speaking habits trying to make themselves understood, and have...
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Words of Thanks from Chhengy’s Father
Phnom Penh, Cambodia — Chhengy Hor was born with a cleft lip and palate in April of 2011. She was lucky to be born into a loving family that was determined to take care of her no matter what. In a few...
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Changing Families’ Lives In Colombia
Cali, Colombia — Smile Train staff member Maryan Newbury recently visited our partner Gracia a Dios Un Niño Sonrie Foundation. While examining best practices for cleft surgery and administration to...
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Sometimes It’s Hard
Kigali, Rwanda — Smile Train Program Manager, East Africa, Dr. Esther Nyambura Njoroge sent us this very touching account of a mother and her a newborn daughter who came in for free cleft surgery....
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Elijah’s New Life
Detroit, Michigan — As many babies with unrepaired clefts in developing countries are abandoned, our partner hospitals work closely with orphanages. After cleft surgery, these children are later...
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Smile Train Cleft Choir Pilot Speech Program Underway
New York, NY — Smile Train Vice President of Programs in charge of Latin America, Pamela Wren, gives an update on a unique and promising pilot speech therapy program, Cleft Choirs. Help Us Win a Grant...
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A Smile for All Seasons
Southern Mindanao, Philippines — Erica Palomo was born on October 14th, 2009. Her mother Ana and her father Ramon were overjoyed at the birth of their little girl, but their joy quickly turned into...
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Donors Visit Smile Train Partner In Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia — recently Smile Train supporters Dieter and Martha Faber were in Mongolia and were able to visit one of our partner hospitals. While they were there, they met with Smile Train...
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Smile Train’s Newest Partner From Bolivia
Pamela Wren, Smile Train’s Latin America Director, welcomes Dr. Raul Caceres (left) and his staff to Smile Train. New York, NY — Although Dr. Raul Caceres, a plastic surgeon and director of Smile...
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Paying It Forward: Angieleca’s Story
Quezon City, Philippines — The story below was submitted by former Smile Train patient Angieleca Hayahay. When she was young, she had her cleft repaired by Philippine Band of Mercy (PBM). Becoming a...
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Increasing Patient Safety in Africa: Training Nurses in Post-Operative Care
Nurses at Smile Train partner Gertude’s Children’s Hospital in Kenya, implement the skills they learned in the post-operative care training course Kampala, Uganda — At Smile Train, patient safety is...
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A Life She Never Would Have Dreamed
João Pessoa, Brazil — Born in a poor seaside community, Jandira da Silva grew up self–conscious and insecure. So much so that she didn’t like spending time with other people — all because she was born...
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Three Days Later, Atiku’s Father Can’t Help But Smile
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia — Atiku, a five-year-old girl from Ethiopia has lived with her cleft, and the suffering it caused, all of her short life. Her mother abandoned the family because of her cleft....
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A New Life Ahead
Sunyani, Ghana — Smile Train partner surgeon Dr Kofi Amponsah of Regional Hospital Sunyani sent us this touching account of one of his patients, two-year-old Kwame Antwi. Kwame’s life started on a sad...
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A Gift for Amuthan
Dr. Panchavarnam, a caretaker from Karumathur Clariton Mercy Home, and Amuthan after his free, life-changing cleft surgery. Dr. Panchavarnam and Amuthan before his cleft surgery. Madurai, India—While...
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Smile Train partner Amin Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Hospital...
Dr. Mughese Amin (center) celebrates his hospital’s 1,000th Smile Train with his staff and lucky patient Abdullah, being held by his father, Abdur Rehman. Bahawalpur, Pakistan—Smile Train partner...
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Mohd Returns Home
Little Mohd happy at home with his mother (Mummy) and father. Mohd before Jodhpur, India–Little Mohd Waris was brought to Raj Dadiji Hospital in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India with a bilateral cleft lip and...
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A Very Special Thank You
Seattle, WA — On April 18th, the 3rd and 5th grade students at St. Mark Catholic School gathered together for a very special event — they had a live Skype conference with former Smile Train patients...
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Smile Train and Me, a Surgeon’s Story
Dr. Li Kezhu, a plastic surgeon from Smile Train partner hospital 1st Hospital of China Medical University, poses with a happy 12-year-old patient who is about to leave the hospital after her...
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Gamby Hospital Cleft Week April 24-30, 2013
Smile Train Patient Tesfaye Manaye before her free cleft surgery Bahar Dar, Ethiopia — Smile Train’s Program Manager of East Africa, Dr. Esther Njoroge, reports from the field. Meeting with cleft...
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Pleasant Hill Elementary School Mini Marathon for Smile Train
Columbia, SC — Thomas Cronin, Physical Education Teacher, Pleasant Hill Elementary and Mini Marathon Event Director shares how his students are creating smiles around the world. Our deepest thanks to...
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The Worth of a Smile
Maharashtra, India — For many of our donors in the United States $250 is a generous amount of money. But in the United States, it is often difficult to realize just what $250 can do. What the cost of...
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Patricio’s Second Chance
Patricio, seen here at two years of age, had his cleft lip repaired at Smile Train partner hospital Centro Estatal de Atencion para Labio y Paladar Hendido de Aguascalientes a year ago. His cleft...
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A Message From Wang Li, Smile Train’s First Patient
Beijing, China — we recently received a message from our first patient, Wang Li, and a cute picture of her son. Since her free cleft lip surgery so many years ago, Wang Li has grown up to marry the...
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An Engaging Smile
Agra, India—Growing up in a Noorpur, India, a small village in the northern part of the country, 40-year-old Madhuri learned to accept her cleft lip as her parents could never afford the simple...
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This Little Boy’s Smile Will Steal Your Heart
Peshawar, Pakistan—When Muhammad Abdullah was born a little over a year ago his parents’ joy over the birth of their first child was quickly replaced by fear and worry. The newborn baby had arrived...
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A Long Awaited Smile
Multan, Pakistan—Imagine providing for a family of three living on under seven dollars a day. Unfortunately, this is reality for young Muhammad Zaeem and his family. Muhammad is an only child living...
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A True Journey of Smiles
Bosawas Jungle, Nicaragua—It’s not every day a man is willing to travel almost 175 hours, by air, land, and water, to make sure a patient receives cleft care, but that is exactly what Smile Train...
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New Year, Fresh Start: Lucas Oliveira Success Story
As a child, one of the hardest parts about having a cleft is looking different from everyone around you and finding acceptance. It’s not uncommon for children who attend school with clefts to be...
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Li Suhai: An Improbable College Dream
Li Suhai after his follow up nose revision surgery Henan, China – In his own words, 22 year old Li Suhai talks about the obstacles he had to overcome while growing up with a cleft in order to attend...
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Welcome Home Zachary: An Adoption Story
Allison, mother of Zachary, a Smile Train cleft patient, tells us in her own words how much his surgery has impacted both of their lives. This month, Zachary is turning FIVE! As it was certainly a...
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Two Generations of Uncertainty
When Lackson Koliesa was born, his mother Joyce was devastated when she saw that he had a cleft lip. Joyce learned from an early age how kids and adults treated people who look differently and she knew...
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Peggy Kamphausen: “I Uphold My Parents’ Legacy by Donating To Smile Train”
Smile Train supporter Peggy Kamphausen recently shared a heartwarming story of how her now late mother, at 94 years old, wanted to get a job to help a special Smile Train patient. Below is the story in...
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Disappeared From the Face of the Earth
Goizom Danza Maleguidjeo’s name translates to “disappeared from the face of the Earth” in her native language in Cameroon. Unfortunately for Goizom, this is not far off from how she spent her...
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