Operation Smile

Photo: Courtesy of Operation Smile

Operation Smile is a surgical volunteer-based nonprofit organization founded by Dr. Bill Magee and his wife, Kathy Magee, in 1982 with the mission to help patients all over the world born with cleft conditions.

Its partnerships and thousands of volunteers have successfully improved the lives and health of patients by providing them with the proper assistance to better breathing, speaking and eating habits.

A cleft condition is a gap in the mouth that was not able to close properly during the early stages of pregnancy. This can create an opening in the lip or in the roof of the mouth, named the palate. It is estimated that one in every 500 to 750 children is born with a cleft condition; that is, one child every three minutes.

It can be treated with surgery managed by a pediatrician and a reconstructive plastic surgeon that work together to repair a child’s smile 3 months after its birth, in the case of cleft lip, and 12 to 18 months if it suffers from a cleft palate.

In low- and middle-income countries where economic resources are insufficient or there is a lack of access to specialized medical staff, Operation Smile seeks these families to provide them with the necessary care. They supply many services to improve their patients' overall health that include surgery, dentistry, nutrition since a cleft condition might cause malnourishment, orthodontics, speech therapists and psychological care throughout their treatment.

The organization is aided by more than 6,000 volunteers from over 60 countries, placing it among the biggest volunteer-based nonprofit operations in the world. Operation Smile supplies medical equipment and deploys qualified medical volunteers according to the country. Most of their volunteers, 85% to be exact, are healthcare professionals from the low- and middle-income nations they help, and the majority are trained by the organization itself.

If you wish to donate, please visit the following link.

Bibliography

Operation Smile. (n.d.). About Us. Operation Smile. Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://www.operationsmile.org/about-us