Imagine if your child was born with a health condition that made it difficult for him to eat, speak, drink, live or smile. A condition that resulted in your child being shunned and mocked.
Now imagine having to travel hundreds of miles to receive free surgery to correct your child’s condition. For many families around the world – they don’t have to imagine. It’s their reality. Right now, at least half-a-million people are living with an untreated cleft lip or cleft palate.
On Giving Tuesday, November 27, Operation Smile asks you to help to break the barriers of care many patients face as they try to reach an Operation Smile medical mission site.
Those barriers to care not only include transportation, but access to safe surgery, accommodations while their loved ones undergo surgery, and meals. These are just a few of the heart-breaking barriers some of the families face when traveling to a medical mission.
It’s not uncommon for a sibling to accompany their brother or sister to a medical mission so their parents don’t miss a day’s work and pay. Our patients' stories make it clear that help is needed to make sure that they can access the most comprehensive care that they so desperately need.
It takes as little as 45 minutes to repair a cleft lip or cleft palate. These surgeries are life-changing and life-saving. You can help give them a chance to go to school, make friends and have a bright future.
This Giving Tuesday give the gift of new smiles and help restore the health and dignity of children who need it most. Go to https://www.operationsmile.org to help us help more families break the barriers of care.
About Operation Smile
Operation Smile is an international medical charity that has provided hundreds of thousands of free surgeries for children and young adults in developing countries who are born with cleft lip, cleft palate or other facial deformities. It is one of the oldest and largest volunteer-based organizations dedicated to improving the health and lives of children worldwide through access to surgical care. Since 1982, Operation Smile has developed expertise in mobilizing volunteer medical teams to conduct surgical missions in resource-poor environments while adhering to the highest standards of care and safety. Operation Smile helps to fill the gap in providing access to safe, well-timed surgeries by partnering with hospitals, governments and ministries of health, training local medical personnel, and donating much-needed supplies and equipment to surgical sites around the world. Founded and based in Virginia, U.S., Operation Smile has extended its global reach to more than 60 countries through its network of credentialed surgeons, pediatricians, doctors, nurses, and student volunteers.
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