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Patient StoriesLives transformed in as little as 45 minutes. Children who are born with cleft lip or cleft palate are faced with challenges many of us cannot ever imagine. Many have difficulty eating, speaking or even smiling and in some parts of the world, they are hidden away, kept from socialising, attending school or playing an active role in their community. Operation Smile reverses this in less than an hour. Our volunteers work tirelessly to help these children have a bright and hopeful future. Throughout the world, more than 160,000 children have experienced this transformation, and a few of their stories are told. 
Roderigo
Rogerio is one of five siblings, and the second child in his family to be born with a cleft lip or cleft palate in Brazil. 
Francisco
Francisco was born into poverty with a cleft lip and cleft palate. His family struggled to understand their child’s condition. 
Lucas
Lucas' father was also born with cleft lip and didn't want his son to endure the lifetime of shame and rejection that he knew firsthand. 
Maria
Abandoned by both her parents, Maria faced incomprehensible pain during her first five years of life in Brazil. 
Marceline
Eleven-year-old Marceline is a bright girl with beautiful eyes. But to others in her village, she's an outcast and cursed because of her cleft lip. 
Guo
3-year-old Guo, who had a cleft lip operation in 2009 and a palate repair in 2010, returned to Lincang in 2011 with his mother for his final surgery. 
Fernanda Oliva
Fernanda Oliva cannot hear her name or the sound of laughter - she was born deaf. Fernanda was also born with a cleft lip that marred her sweet smile. 
Sebastian
When Sebastian's mother Daniela got pregnant, she was ecstatic. But her joy turned to shock when her baby was born with a cleft lip and cleft palate. Daniela was wracked with guilt. 
Lisha
To her heartbroken mother, Lisha's facial deformity was a terrible curse. She knew how her girl would suffer. That she would be an outcast ' and probably never marry. 
Karen Nicol
Karen Nicol was the apple of her father's eye. But when others looked at his baby girl, they only saw the cleft lip and cleft palate she was born with. 
Fu Yan
The cleft lip Fu Yun was born with made eating and speaking difficult. Other children laughed at her and made her cry. 
Abdukerim
Fowz loved her son, but knew she could never afford the surgery to mend his smile. She worried that he would be bound to a life of shame and isolation. 
Adel
Adel's speech was so hindered by his cleft palate; his mother was worried his teacher would not be allowed to start school. 
Ammulu
Ammulu was born with a severe facial deformity that made eating and drinking difficult. 
Angel
Thanks to friends like you, Angel received a new smile and was spared the taunts and rejection that facial deformities bring. Now his future looks bright and filled with opportunity. 
Arnoldo
One of 160 children healed on a medical project in Barinas, Venezuela. 
Bikash
Bikash, 12, lives on a tea plantation in India. He lost both his parents to an unknown fever. 
Binh
Unable to afford surgery, Binh's parents were distraught. Then they heard about Operation Smile’s new Comprehensive Care Centre in Hue, Vietnam. 
Brigid
It took a village - and a world of compassion - to bring life-changing surgery to this Kenyan girl. 
Brittany
Brittany was treated in 2007 on a medical project in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. 
Bryan
Bryan had trouble eating and drinking and his family were too poor to help him. 
Cam Ly
Four-year-old Cam Ly has a beautiful face that shines with joy and hope. But it wasn’t always so. 
Chadleen
As a little girl Chadleen dreamed of being a singer, but she couldn't even speak because of her cleft palate. 
Daisy
Now this beautiful little girl can’t keep from smiling, and has a new future with endless possibilities. 
Danila
Danila was born beautiful and perfect - except for a jagged tear in her upper lip that became the central focus of her life. 
Davanyan
Though she’ll never remember the volunteer medical team that repaired her cleft lip, Davanyan’s beautiful smile will be a lifelong reminder. 
David
David's mother worried he wouldn't live because he had trouble eating and drinking. 
Delwin
When Operation Smile came to Managua, Nicaragua, Delwin's mother Elizabeth knew it might be their only chance. 
Demetria
Demetria says that Operation Smile changed her life most by giving her the same opportunity as others -- enabling her to attend school. 
Divith
Divith's mother knew his future would be painful, but felt helpless to save him. 
Eimy
When Eimy was born, she had a terrible cleft lip and cleft palate that went all the way up into both nostrils. 
Estella
The medical care provided by Operation Smile volunteers has given Estella much more than a new smile. She now has a chance to lead a happy life and realise her fill potential! 
Fatima
This sweet baby girl was born with severe clefts in her lip and palate that made eating and drinking difficult. 
Freilin
Freilin's mother earnt under £125 per year and simply couldn't afford the surgery her little boy needed 
Germayony
Germayony's mother was devastated when she was born and so worried about her little girl's future 
Grace
Grace has five brothers and sisters and is the youngest and only one of her siblings born with a cleft lip. When Grace was born, her mother was blamed for her deformity. 
Guillermo
Life can be hard enough in Nicaragua - free surgery made one easier 
Hinabom
Hinabom was a quiet two year old who had travelled far on foot with her mother and her grandmother in search of a new smile. Now she and her entire family are smiling with joy! 
Ibrahim
Because of Ibrahim's deformity, he grew up with no friends and his parents suffered from terrible guilt. 
Jacqueline
Jacqueline is a beautiful 12-year-old girl with a sweet personality. But she was born with a cleft lip that made every day of her life torture. 
Jamila
Born with a cleft lip, Jamila’s appearance was initially a shock to her mother. 
Jempson
Due to extreme poverty, Jempson never had any chance of getting surgery for the cleft lip he was born with. 
Jenier
From the day he was born with a severe cleft lip, Jenier was always sick. His parents worried about his health. 
Jhuma
For 13 years, Jhuma lived with shame and humiliation as other children teased her cruelly. 
John
John was a street child from Thika, a town near to Nairobi, where an Operation Smile Medical Project was taking place. 
Jonatan
Jonatan was two years old when he embarked on the trip that would change his life forever. He only had one wish in his young life -- to have his cleft lip repaired. 
Juan
Juan's mother Leida worried constantly about his future. So when he was just nine months old, she brought him to Operation Smile’s Care Centre in Bogota. 
Keo
The 81-year-old mother of four, and grandmother of more than 20, left her home in Gi Khana village in Treang province with the hopes of finally restoring her smile. 
Kiran
Kiran's family were ostracsed, her mother was blamed for her cleft for cutting fish whilst pregnant 
Kupaw
As Kupaw grew older, he became increasingly self-conscious about his facial deformity. 
Lipi
This precious girl endured ridicule and stares from others for 7 years. 
Lokhi
Lokhi, a wonderfully outgoing 15 year boy, arrived for surgery with his father. Lokhi is one of six children from a remote village and has lived with a very wide cleft lip all of his life. 
Maiquin
Maiquin lived with his facial deformity for three years because his parents couldn’t afford the surgeries he desperately needed. 
Maria Vitoria & Maria Vivian
The mother of these twins knew she had to do something when her baby girls were born. Both had severe cleft lips and cleft palates, marring their sweet faces. 
Milciades
Born with a double cleft in his upper lip, Milciades seemed destined for a sad, painful life. Luckily, his mother learned of the Operation Smile project in Asuncion, Paraguay. 
Min Zhu
Delivering hope to a whole family in China 
Ming
Ming didn’t want to go to school because other children refused to let him play with them. But now with his radiant smile, he looks forward to starting school. 
Miraya
Three-year-old Miraya travelled 14 hours by bus with her mother to Santa Cruz, Bolivia, hoping to be selected for reconstructive surgery to correct her cleft lip. 
Molyny
When Molyny was just 29 days old, she was abandoned by her family. 
Naepupew
Being part of the Karen Hilltribe in Myanmar had already given this sweet girl the lowest social status in a desperately poor country. 
Narathon
Narathon's parents had been to the hospital three times & were told there was nothing they could do. Then his mum heard that Operation Smile was coming to Mae Sot, Thailand. 
Neil
Neil was born with a rare deformity called Encephalocele in the Philippines. Operation Smile Australia changed his life - and gave him a chance for a bright future. 
Ngan
In Vietnamese, Ngan's name means "star," though she wasn’t able to smile brightly as she was born with a cleft lip and gaping hole in her palate. 
Nhan
Nhan was born with a cleft lip. His parents were distraught and worried that their son would be an outcast. 
Nosantui
It took a village - and a world of compassion - to bring life-changing surgery to this Kenyan girl. 
Omar
Called “rabbit” by the other children, 11-year-old Omar was sad and embarrassed about his cleft lip. 
Pelón, Eberto and Mariano
Pelón, Eberto and Mariano were brought by an elderly community leader from a very small town. The boys were nervous to leave their homes, but all three received new smiles. 
Priccila
Now, Priccila can lead a normal life. And her mother, Karina, is so thankful to Operation Smile. 
Rahul
Born into severe poverty with a cleft lip and cleft palate, Rahul could have been doomed to suffer a lifetime of rejection, scorn and isolation. 
Realyn
Realyn was lucky she didn't have to grow up marred by the terrible facial deformity with which she was born. 
Soline
Born into severe poverty with a cleft lip, Soline struggled constantly with shame and self-consciousness. 
Svetlana
When Svetlana’s mum saw on TV that Operation Smile were coming to Novosibirsk, Russia, she knew this was her daughter’s chance. 
Tatyana
When Thailer’s mother first set eyes on her child, she was filled with happiness…and then shock. 
Thailer
When Thailer’s mother first set eyes on her child, she was filled with happiness…and then shock. 
Thais
Born with a cleft lip and a cleft palate, Thais' parents knew nothing of such facial deformities. 
Thanh
Reclaiming his birth name – and future – after surgery in Vietnam 
Thu
Thu was just a baby when she came to the Operation Smile medical project in Vung Tau, Vietnam with her mom. 
Tuan
Tuan’s parents are loving but poor -- too poor to afford the 45-minute surgery needed to fix their son’s cleft lip and save him from a lifetime of pain and isolation. |
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