![Cleft Awareness Month 2021 #cleftproud](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-07/cleft-awareness-month-cleft-proud-2021.jpg?itok=buw1bbZh)
What My Cleft Taught Me
In honor of Cleft Awareness Month 2021, Smile Train's Cleft Community Advisory Council presents real-life stories of growing up with a cleft or being the mom to a child with a cleft from people who have been there.
![Nijha Diggs wearing scrubs and holding a Smile Train sign before observing a free cleft surgery.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-07/nijha-celebrates-in-smile-train-surgery-scrubs-in-kenya.jpg?itok=z8-u84V8)
How Nijha Makes the Stars Smile
Talking celebrities and staying grounded with Smile Train’s Senior Director of PR.
How Smile Train Helped Aaron Smile Even Before He Was Born
Our model of empowering local cleft teams makes all the difference for families like Aaron's.
![Smile Train supporter Randall Bolling](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/randall-bolling-st.jpg?itok=gKy4BA6h)
![St. Joseph College students](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-06/st-joe-smile-impact-society-on-stoop.jpg?itok=SQ1LGFNK)
St. Joseph’s College Students Go the Extra Mile for Smiles
One more way Smile Impact Society students turn their passions into smiles.
![Pam with Susie and a patient](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/pam-s-with-child-and-susie.jpg?itok=n3ThW6VW)
Pamela Sheeran on Smile Train’s Investment in Expanding Non-Surgical Cleft Care
![Students for Smiles logo](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/cla-state-fullerton-students-for-smiles-logo.jpg?itok=YQZTZDYl)
California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) Students Turn Crisis into Smiles
How one chapter of Smile Train’s Smile Impact Society made 2020 its most lucrative year yet.
![Iva as a girl before cleft surgery and now.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/iva-ballou-og.jpg?itok=Qc0JOgaA)
How Iva Found Joy in Her Cleft
![Daniel in first grade, after receiving cleft surgery in America.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-04/jasmine-c-50-50.jpg?itok=8zvVnM9Z)
Why My Son Says He Always Wanted a Cleft
How Jasmine went from fear and self-doubt upon receiving the news that her baby would have a cleft to raising a six-year-old who is #CleftProud.
![Anghelo hugs his mother after free cleft surgery in Peru](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-04/anghelo-with-mom-free-cleft-lip-palate-surgery-peru.jpg?itok=gX4sMVHu)
Anghelo Soars from the Lowest Valley to the Highest Peak
After experiencing some of the lowest depths imaginable, Anghelo and his family now celebrate their miraculous lives.
Milagros Finishes Strong
How Smile Train helped a girl who nearly didn't survive infancy grow to become queen of the rink.