Smile Train

Science and innovation can help make quality cleft care safer and more accessible for children around the world. In Mbeya, Tanzania, Smile Train partner anesthesiologist Dr. Amos Zacharia Muzuka shares how power outages can pose a life-threatening challenge in the operating room. Through a partnership with Kids Operating Room and local medical teams, Smile Train is helping harness solar energy to provide reliable power for surgery while reducing environmental impact. In recognition of International Week of Science and Peace, discover how science, collaboration, and sustainable innovation are helping strengthen surgical care and save lives. Watch the video to learn more about this story and the power of innovation in advancing cleft care. #InternationalWeekOfScienceAndPeace #SmileTrain #KidsOperatingRoom #CleftCare #GlobalHealth #cleftlip #cleftpalate

From her first surgery to finding her confidence, Ashley’s journey is a testament to a mother’s love and a brighter future. Growing up in the Philippines, Ashley faced challenges early in life, including difficulty feeding as a baby. Her mother prayed for help, and through Smile Train’s local network, Ashley received the cleft surgery she needed. Today, Ashley loves science, playing with her neighbors, and caring for her little sister. Even when she experienced bullying at school, she chose to work harder and keep moving forward. Her mother dreams of seeing Ashley finish her studies and pursue whatever future she chooses. With the support of her family and access to cleft care, Ashley can continue building her confidence and working toward her dreams. Thank you to our local partners for helping children like Ashley access the care they need, close to home. #SmileTrain #CleftCare #Philippines

Comprehensive cleft care takes a team. From surgeons and nutritionists to speech-language pathologists and ENT specialists, Smile Train supports local medical professionals in providing care that goes beyond surgery. Since our founding, more than 100,000 medical professionals have been trained, helping strengthen cleft care for patients around the world. #SmileTrain #CleftCare

When Lissette first held her daughter, Astrid, she felt scared and uncertain about what the future would hold. Finding Smile Train partner Misión Caritas Felices in Lima, Peru, changed everything, giving her peace of mind and a clear path to care for her daughter. Today, Astrid loves going to school, playing with friends, and helping at home. With more care ahead, her family looks forward to all the possibilities her future holds. #SmileTrain #CleftCare #cleftlip #cleftpalate

Beyond the Smile, there are endless possibilities. At Spotlight 2026, Ganga Hospital brought children together to celebrate their confidence, creativity, and talents through a fashion show and theatre performance. Each child had the opportunity to express themselves, work together, and shine in the spotlight. Smile Train is proud to support local partners who help children with clefts build confidence and discover all that they can achieve. #SmileTrain #CleftCare

For Destiny, being able to hear meant being able to connect with the world around her. When she was a toddler, her grandmother Juliana learned that Destiny was struggling not only to speak, but to hear. At Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), a Smile Train partner, specially trained medical professionals provided the hearing assessments and care she needed as part of her comprehensive cleft care. Today, Destiny can hear and speak, and spends her time singing, dancing, and smiling with friends. Smile Train supports local medical professionals with the training and resources they need to provide comprehensive cleft care, including hearing care, to children in their communities. Learn more about the role of hearing health in cleft care: smiletrain.org #CleftCare #HearingHealth #CleftAwareness #SmileTrain

Strong local health systems start with skilled, confident healthcare professionals. Through the Smile Train–PAPRAS Cleft Training Program, surgeons like Dr. Jonas have strengthened their cleft surgical skills and gained greater confidence in providing cleft lip and palate repairs. By supporting hands-on training and professional development, Smile Train helps equip local healthcare professionals to provide quality cleft care in their own communities. Learn more about how Smile Train supports local healthcare professionals and strengthens cleft care around the world. #SmileTrain #CleftCare #CleftSurgery #HealthcareTraining #GlobalHealth #PAPRAS

Big smiles. Exciting innovation. One final voting push! Smile Train’s Immersive Clinical Simulation Training Platform is a finalist in the 6th Annual Anthem Awards, recognizing social impact work around the world. Help us bring home the Community Voice Award! Vote for Smile Train by October 29 at 11:59 p.m. PT, then share this post to spread the word. @AnthemAwards Vote now: celebrate.anthemawards.com/P… #smiletrain #nationbuilder #anthemawards #cleftlip # cleftplate

When local experts are equipped to lead, comprehensive cleft care becomes possible. Dr. Tarek, an ENT and longtime Smile Train partner in Egypt, saw this firsthand when he joined a multidisciplinary cleft team. By bringing ENT expertise into comprehensive cleft care, he helped address a need that is often overlooked: hearing health. His experience points to three important lessons for strengthening local health systems: 1. Train beyond the operating room. Building local expertise in ENT and audiology expands the range of care available to children with clefts. 2. Break down specialty silos. Multidisciplinary teams allow professionals to work together to address interconnected needs like hearing, speech, and cleft care. 3. Invest in locally led solutions. When local professionals have the training, resources, and support they need, specialized care can become more accessible within the communities where patients live. Innovation in global health is not always about creating something new. Sometimes, it means strengthening the people, partnerships, and systems already in place so they can provide more comprehensive care. This National Audiology Awareness Month, we’re highlighting why hearing care is cleft care. #NationalAudiologyAwarenessMonth #CleftCare

Cleft care goes beyond physical health. Stigma, bullying, communication challenges, and treatment-related stress can affect the mental and emotional well-being of people with clefts. That’s why long-term, personalized psychosocial support is an important part of comprehensive cleft care. From counseling and caregiver support to peer groups and community programs, psychosocial care can help children and families navigate their cleft journeys with the support they need, when they need it. From January 2020 through August 2026, Smile Train has supported psychosocial services for nearly 10,000 people with clefts and their family members across 18 countries. Learn more about how clefts can affect mental health and why personalized support matters at every stage of the care journey. Read our latest blog: smiletrain.org/blog/clefts-a… #CleftCare #smiletrain #MentalHealth

Your vote can make a difference! The Anthem Awards celebrate social impact work around the world, and Smile Train’s Immersive Clinical Simulation Training Platform is among this year’s finalists! Help us win the Community Voice Award: vote, share, and invite a friend to join you. Search for Smile Train and vote by October 29 at 11:59 p.m. PT. @AnthemAwards @AnthemAwards Vote here: celebrate.anthemawards.com/P… #smiletrain #nationbuilder #anthemawards #cleftlip #cleftpalate

For children with clefts, feeding can sometimes come with additional challenges, making nutrition and feeding support an important part of comprehensive cleft care. In this video, Dr. Fernanda Bassan, a nutritionist from Brazil, shares about the impactful work she does to support children and families with their nutrition and feeding needs. Her work highlights how specialized knowledge and support can make a meaningful difference in a child’s cleft care journey. From specialized feeding support to training local healthcare professionals, investing in the right knowledge, tools, and care today can help children and families access the nutrition they need to grow and develop. This World Food Day, we’re highlighting the role of comprehensive cleft care in helping children access the support they need, while reflecting this year’s theme from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization: “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.” #WorldFoodDay #CleftCare #Nutrition #ComprehensiveCleftCare

We’re finalists—and you can help us take home the Community Voice Award! Smile Train’s Immersive Clinical Simulation Training Platform is a finalist in the 6th Annual Anthem Awards, celebrating social impact work around the world. Show your support for innovation in cleft care training: vote by October 29 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Vote here and search for Smile Train. @AnthemAwards @AnthemAwards Vote here: celebrate.anthemawards.com/P… #smiletrain #nationbuilder #anthemawards #cleftlip #cleftplate

For years, Sakib had no friends. He was bullied by classmates and people in his neighborhood because of his cleft. The constant teasing made him withdraw from others and lose interest in the games he once enjoyed. Then, Sakib received cleft surgery at Smile Train partner Comilla Trauma Center, completely free to his family thanks to Smile Train supporters. Today, Sakib loves playing cricket with his friends and is always the last one to leave the game. The confidence he once lost has come back, and his family is thrilled to see him happy and outgoing. This National Bullying Prevention Month, we’re sharing Sakib’s story to remind us that every child deserves to feel accepted, included, and confident in who they are. Learn more about how cleft care can help children like Sakib feel confident and supported: smiletrain.org/blog/sakib-sa… #NationalBullyingPreventionMonth #CleftCare #smiletrain

What does it take to build health systems that truly meet people where they are? For Dr. Mayuri Kalyanpad, it means local expertise, community, and care that recognizes the whole person. Mayuri received cleft care through a Smile Train-supported local partner in India. Today, she is a doctor pursuing a specialty in mental health care, with a goal of supporting children with clefts through the psychological challenges she knows firsthand. Her story highlights a broader global health challenge: surgery is only one part of comprehensive cleft care. Children may also need speech therapy, nutrition, psychosocial support, and other treatments, all delivered by skilled professionals who understand their communities. That’s why Smile Train invests in empowering local cleft teams and strengthening health systems, helping make comprehensive care more accessible and sustainable. From patient to doctor, Mayuri is helping show what local expertise can make possible. #CleftCare #ComprehensiveCleftCare #cleftlip #cleftpalate

Behind every number is a child, a family, and a future filled with possibility. At Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Smile Train partners recently provided cleft surgical care to 16 patients over two days—an incredible example of what can be achieved through skilled local leadership, collaboration, and a shared commitment to high-quality cleft care. Reflecting on the experience, Dr. Fatima shared: “The most meaningful part was knowing that beyond the numbers—16 patients in two days—were 16 children and families whose lives could be positively changed.” She added, “Cleft surgery is not just about closing a defect; it is about restoring smiles, function, dignity, and possibilities.” This initiative also reflects something central to Smile Train’s model: sustainable cleft care is strongest when it is locally led. Surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, coordinators, and multidisciplinary teams on the ground bring the expertise and dedication that make this work possible. As Dr. Fatima noted, “It highlights the expertise, commitment, and capacity of local teams to provide high-quality cleft care when given the right support and enabling environment.” We’re grateful to our partners at Lagos University Teaching Hospital and the dedicated healthcare professionals working together to strengthen locally led cleft care in Nigeria—not only for today, but for generations to come. #SmileTrain #Cleftlip #GlobalHealth #SustainableHealthcare #cleftpalate

For parents, a cleft diagnosis can come with questions, uncertainty, and many emotions. In this video, a mother shares her perspective on her child’s cleft care journey and the support that has helped her family along the way. Cleft care is about more than physical health. Psychosocial support can help children and families navigate the emotional and social challenges that may come with a cleft diagnosis, while providing support that is personalized to their needs at every stage of life. Read our latest blog to learn more about how clefts can affect mental health and why long-term, personalized care matters. ▶️ smiletrain.org/blog/clefts-a… #CleftCare #MentalHealth #smiletrain

Comprehensive cleft care goes beyond surgery. For children with clefts, access to ear and hearing care is an important part of supporting communication, learning, and participation in everyday life. Through Smile Train-supported programs, providers are expanding access to hearing assessments and ear tube surgeries while strengthening locally led cleft care systems. Watch the video to learn more about the role of hearing care in comprehensive cleft care. #NationalAudiologyAwarenessMonth #CleftCare #GlobalHealth @AcademyofAuD

What does quality cleft care look like? It goes beyond surgery. Comprehensive cleft care recognizes that patients may need support at different stages of their lives, from nutrition and speech therapy to follow-up care and emotional support. At Smile Train, we believe the future of cleft care must focus on the whole patient, not just the procedure. Because lasting impact means building access to care that supports every part of a patient’s journey. #smiletrain #cleftlip #cleftpalate #cleftcare

Tomorrow is World Smile Day! Join Smile Train and people around the world by sharing what makes you smile. Post your smile, tag @SmileTrain and use #SmileWall2026 to be part of the global conversation. #WorldSmileDay #WSD2026 #cleftlip #cleftpalate