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.
It broke Dr. Meza's heart to see his patients with clefts struggle to eat, speak, sleep, or even feel good about themselves because of poor dental health. So he partnered with Smile Train to do something about it.
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.
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.
Kamse was excited for his first day of school, but, when the day finally came, he was taunted all day long. Kamse ran home and begged his grandfather never to make him go back.
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.