Operation Smile provides free reconstructive surgery to children and young adults suffering from facial deformities. Clefts are the 3rd most common birth defect worldwide and it is estimated that a baby is born every 2½ minutes with a cleft which can affect their ability to breathe, eat, drink and speak. We are supporting Operation Smile projects in Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay.
Since its foundation in 1982, Operation Smile has grown to be one of the largest volunteering organisations of it’s kind. Working with a team of more than 5,000 medical volunteers in 51 countries, Operation Smile has changed the lives of over 120,000 children.
Partnering with local hospitals, Operation Smile provides all the medical equipment and supplies needed to ensure that every patient receives the same standard of care as they would in the western world. Operation Smile also provides free training and education programmes to local experts to ensure their work continues all year-round.
Partnering with local hospitals, Operation Smile provides all the medical equipment and supplies needed to ensure that every patient receives the same standard of care as they would in the western world. Operation Smile also provides free training and education programmes to local experts to ensure their work continues all year-round.
Here in Europe, most cleft cases are repaired in the first year of a child’s life, however in the developing world, families are often too poor and many do not even know treatment is available for them. Over 75% of cleft cases in the developing world go untreated, often resulting in children living a lifetime of isolation, unable to go to school, make friends and distanced from their communities and all because of a facial deformity that can be repaired in as little as 45 minutes and for only £150.