Nurse Celeste always tried to avoid working with the babies with clefts in her neonatal ward because she felt unable to meet their needs. Then her son was born with a cleft.
Saraswati's parents tried everything to feed their baby, but no matter what they tried, the milk still spilled out her cleft. She constantly screamed with hunger, and they didn't know how she'd make it. Then a friend told them about Smile Train.
Aldrian weighed just over 3 lb. when was born and couldn't feed because of his cleft. It fell to his grandmother to keep him alive and get him healthy enough for surgery.
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.