Everyone told Gyana to abandon her daughter when she was born with a cleft; her husband threatened to kill himself if she didn't. Afraid for both their lives, she took the child and fled.
When Cristina learned her son would have a cleft, she sought comfort and support, but found none, even from the local community. Until she met Dr. Dávalos. In the 10 years since, they've changed what it means to have a cleft in Ecuador, together.
Wendy was 17, single, and scared. She had just had a baby with a cleft, and any help seemed far, far away from her family's ranch in the remote Andes highlands. But Smile Train was there.
During the 2014 Ebola Crisis, Dr. Jerry Brown reshaped the landscape of healthcare in Liberia, landing him on the cover of Time as their Person of the Year. Now, with Smile Train's help, he plans to do the same for cleft surgery.
When Dr. Dau started as a Smile Train partner, he knew children with clefts were often abandoned or put in orphanages. As an orphan himself, he comes to work each day determined that no other child should experience that pain.