The Smiles of Kalkaal Hospital

One of the most important advantages of Smile Train’s “teach a person to fish” model is how it makes consistent, high-quality cleft care possible even in areas of unrest and instability, like Somalia. Here are the incredible stories of just a few of the 1,500+ cleft heroes who have received transformative care from the fearless team at Kalkaal Hospital, a Smile Train partner in Mogadishu.

Adan became an orphan at an early age, forcing him to drop out of school and find work to support himself.

He faced relentless bullying and harassment because of his cleft. Most people did not even bother to call him Adan, instead using hurtful nicknames.

"Because of the constant taunting, I left my village in search of someone who would accept me for who I am. Thankfully, I found love and got married," Adan shares.

However, when Adan and his bride returned to his village to build a life together, the cruel treatment he faced every day of his life proved too much for her.

So she left him.

But Adan could not give up. He and his wife eventually reunited and settled in Mogadishu, where they were able to start anew, far from Adan’s tormentors, and find happiness together.

All the while, Adan continued to believe his cleft was untreatable.

That changed in his early 40s. During a hospital visit, the staff told him about a program at Kalkaal Hospital, where, thanks to Smile Train, he could receive cleft treatment 100% free.

Right away, Adan scheduled his surgery. It was “a decision that has since transformed my life,” he says.

“Now, I experience the liberation of moving around without the fear of discrimination, and I'm filled with gratitude for this fresh start.”

Ali, 21

Ali also faced intense cleft-related bullying. He loved school and he loved learning, but the taunts he faced from classmates drove him to stay home.

Then, when he was 18, his uncle told him about Kalkaal Hospital. “It was like a beacon of hope in the darkness,” says Ali.

“I knew deep down that I had to seize this opportunity, no matter the challenges that lay ahead.”

Ali made the difficult three-day journey to Mogadishu alone, arriving at Kalkaal both excited and nervous for his surgery.

Several days later, he emerged from the hospital with a new smile — and a newfound sense of confidence.

"I've never looked back since the surgery,” Ali says. “Here in Mogadishu, I found fulfillment working as a salesman in a local shop.”

Ali hopes to pursue his dreams of education when the time is right. For now, he is enjoying his day-to-day life and is so grateful to Smile Train donors for giving him hope and health.

Like Ali, Maryan loved school but could not bear to go because of constant bullying. Sadly, she encountered similar treatment everywhere she went. Even at home.

“I was bullied by my own siblings and neighbors,” Maryan recalls. “I found myself pulling away from social interactions, opting instead to spend my days focused on household chores. My parents believed that since my cleft lip wasn't impacting my health, surgery wasn't necessary. However, it deeply affected my self-esteem.”

One of Maryan’s relatives discovered Kalkaal Hospital in Mogadishu and convinced her parents of the benefits of cleft treatment. Maryan traveled to Kalkaal and received the cleft surgery that changed her life, thanks to Smile Train.

Today, Maryan lives in Mogadishu with her relatives. She no longer has to endure bullying — and she receives top grades in school!

"I feel like a new person," Maryan says with a smile. "I can finally go to school, and I am so happy."

Fadumo lived her entire life with a cleft. She often felt painfully self-conscious in public.

When she gave birth to Nasro, her seventh child, she was crushed to see her newborn baby girl also had a cleft.

“It felt like history repeating itself, only this time through my child,” she says.

"The thought of Nasro growing up with a cleft was agonizing. I could already feel the weight of the struggles she might endure."

Nasro was a shy young girl, preferring to stay inside and avoid the stares and laughter of other children.

"Nasro would question me about her different lips, and each time, it broke my heart a little more," Fadumo says.

Fadumo could barely afford medical consultations for Nasro. And as the time approached for Nasro to begin school, Fadumo feared the treatment her daughter might encounter.

Fortunately, hope was just around the corner. A neighbor told Fadumo about Kalkaal Hospital in Mogadishu, where cleft treatment was 100% free.

"When the doctors told me they could heal my cleft lip, too, it was like a miracle," Fadumo says.

Fadumo and Nasro received their cleft surgeries on the exact same day. For both mother and daughter, Smile Train-sponsored care proved to be a life-changing gift.

"I enrolled Nasro in school and seeing her thrive there fills me with indescribable joy," Fadumo says. "She plays freely with her peers, her cleft now just a distant memory."

Omar was the only one of his nine siblings to be born with a cleft.

His parents hid him away in their house, fearing the discrimination he would face in their community even as an infant.

"Feeding him was a struggle, and frequent hospital visits strained us financially," Fadumo, his mother, says.

However, when Omar was three months old, a neighbor heard about Kalkaal Hospital in Mogadishu and mentioned it to the family.

Almost immediately, Omar’s parents took him for cleft treatment, hoping to provide him with the best future possible. Omar received Smile Train-sponsored cleft surgery on his lip at three months, and on his palate at 11 months.

“After my son's surgery, I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders,” his mother, Fadumo, recalls.

Today, Omar is a smiley seven-year-old who loves to play with his friends. He does not remember ever having a cleft.