India

Executive Summary

"We’re touching people’s lives. Every time you go to the hospital there are so many children with clefts. It’s amazing to see the kind of work our doctors are doing. I’ve spent a lot of time at the cleft centers and I’ve seen our doctors interacting with the patients and I’ve seen how involved they are with each one. It’s not only because they are a good surgeon that they’ve acquired their status, but also because they are Smile Train surgeons.

"Most of the Smile Train partner hospitals are either medical colleges, dental colleges, or some of them are large hospitals run by the private trusts. So the infrastructure and facilities available are extremely good. Most of the surgeons are very well-known and they have been doing commendable work in the field of cleft.

"Smile Train is a 24-hour job, it’s not that you go 9 to 5 or morning to evening, or that you say 'this is your day off.' We are available 24/7, 365 days a year to our partner hospitals, patients, everyone. Smile Train is at the back of our minds all the time, we’re living Smile Train."

— Leela Imam, Program Director, South India and Sri Lanka