Seeing my kids smile brings me such joy. I love seeing both of them smiling and laughing. My heart feels full with love for them when I see them happy and smiling. A smile is so powerful. It conveys feelings, strength, friendliness, happiness – it has the power to brighten a day. Moods are lifted when someone smiles.
What if you couldn’t clearly see your child’s smile? Or, what if you child was so downhearted that they rarely smiled at all? This is what often happens when a child is born with a cleft lip and palate.
Millions of children all over the world live with the shame of a cleft lip and palate. They have difficulty speaking, eating and even breathing. Thankfully, this world has Smile Train. Smile Train is an international children’s charity with a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate.
The cleft repair surgery needed by these children is a simple one (45 minutes and $250 in some cases) and the amazing positive effects are almost instantaneous. What I love about Smile Train is that they train local doctors in 85+ developing countries how to do the surgery for free.
Here is what patients, who see their smile for the first time, have to say:
“I feel happier and more self confident, and even brag about it.” – Monserrat Reyna Barcenas, Mexico
A parent, Natsir , says this of the surgery:
“After surgery, now my children are highly motivated. They are very active. I think that now they have their future back. They have their smile back. They can smile like other children.“
As a result of Smile Train’s efficiency and the support of their donors and partners around the world, Smile Train has transformed the lives of more than one million children by giving them the power of a smile — that’s roughly 340 surgeries a day and 127,000 every year!
Smile Train has a sustainable approach to a single, solvable problem: cleft lip and palate. Smile Train’s model provides training and funding to empower local doctors in developing countries provide 100%- free cleft repair surgery in their communities. Join us and change the world with the power of a smile.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Smile Train. The opinions and text are all mine.