![Zawata with mother after free Smile Train cleft lip palate surgery.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/zawata-with-mother-after-free-cleft-lip-palate-surgery-indonesia.jpg?itok=yKvG9D-e)
Healing a Daughter's Smile and a Mother's Heart
![Oscar holding a picture of himself before free Smile Train cleft lip and plate surgery in Zambia.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-04/oscar-after-free-cleft-surgery-holding-before-picture-zambia.jpg?itok=u-8JmCUs)
Oscar is a Gift
How a mother found the strength to raise eight boys on her own and a son found the strength to smile.
![Dr. Amanda Malungo holding a cleft patient after his surgery.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-03/amanda-malungo-cleft-lip-cleft-palate-surgeon-zambia-holding-patient.jpg?itok=iM3or6IP)
This Woman — and Smile Train Partner — is Making History in Zambia
She's 36 years old, a mother of four, Zambia's first female plastic surgeon, and a Smile Train partner. Here's how she does it all.
![Elizabeth before cleft treatment](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-01/elizabeth-before.jpg?itok=yUVE6LD2)
A Banner Year for Elizabeth
Elizabeth's family tries to find the cleft surgery she desperately needs, in the middle of a lockdown.
![Aira smiling in school](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-01/aira-smiling-in-school.jpg?itok=Oy8xxlkC)
An Aira of Hope
When Aira started school, she struggled to speak up, was bullied, and had few friends. Now. after her cleft surgery, she's the star of the class!
![Samson's mom hold an image of Samson before cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/samson-holding-before.jpg?itok=QB0FEtXr)
Baby Samson’s Superhuman Strength
Aunt Rebecca did not trust that her sister would provide Samson with the special care he needed. So, she brought him back to the place he was born, the tiny-two room house he now shared with 13 relatives, all female.
![Andrea before her cleft lip surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/andrea-before-cleft-surgery.jpg?itok=TyxTVyr2)
Bravery And Courage Also Run In Her Family
Just when Jeann thought she had found a way to get her daughter with a cleft to a healthy weight, COVID-19 forced the entire island into lockdown.
![Kenzu with his family in a field](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/kenzu-in-field.jpg?itok=a0cLQn6p)
On the Other Side of Tears, a Smile
“Don’t worry, keep the faith, and tell others about Smile Train.”
![Saksham is holding an image of himself before cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-01/saksham-holding-before-super_0.jpg?itok=YBOFWnED)
Saksham: Hope Is Always Alive
A boy from India is starving and his parents don't know what to do.
![Maria before her cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-01/maria-before-surgery-super.jpg?itok=cIdu5sXn)
It’s Never Too Late to Dream
Maria has been waiting for cleft surgery since 1953. When the opportunity came, her son wanted her to pass.
![Ayubu before cleft lip surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/ayubu-before-cleft-lip-surgery.jpg?itok=9wYWba9j)
A Smile That Brightens And Enlightens
Ayubu's classmates harassed him relentlessly for years because of a local myth about clefts. When he was 10 years old, his mother heard there was hope at a hospital less than an hour away.