Smile Train Choirs

Even after surgery, children with clefts often need speech therapy to reach their full potential. But what’s even more healing than learning how to talk? Being encouraged to sing.

In Smile Train Choirs run by our partners in Nigeria, Brazil, Argentina, and Colombia, patients sing, dance, laugh, and make friends with other cleft-affected children, all while also improving their speech, public speaking, and self-confidence. Though every choir is unique, each provides a place where children and parents alike are welcomed and supported by peers who intimately understand their struggles.

Besides supporting children through a long process of recovery, the choirs serve an additional purpose. Their concerts give the broader public an opportunity to see children with clefts thrive, thereby reducing social stigma.

Smile Train Choirs began as part of our partners’ standard speech therapy treatments, but in just a few years, they have already forged bonds between children and families and inspired smiles around the world. In December 2020, in their biggest appearance yet, Smile Train UK showcased performances from Smile Train Choirs from across Latin America as part of its first virtual Christmas carol concert.