![Akuya smiling while holding a picture of herself before cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2022-12/akuya-50.jpg?itok=87ES-4Qh)
“She Is Our Pride and What Gave Us Strength”
How a family from rural Togo overcame superstition and fear to get their daughter the care she needed
With Every Breath, Esvin Defies the Odds
His family thought a child like him could never make it. Then they encountered Smile Train
![Dr. Gergorie Akakpo-Numado](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2022-10/gregorie-akakpo-numado-headshot-free-cleft-lip-palate-surgery-togo-chu-smile-train.jpg?itok=FTqR2vLg)
Dr. Grégoire Akakpo-Numado: Smile Train’s Model is Life or Death for My Patients
![Mariane Goes](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2022-07/mariane-goes-cleft-week-natal-brazil-day-one.jpg?itok=9k1pkz-n)
Mariane Goes is Teaching the World to Fish
Meet our Director for Education and Training for Latin America and the Caribbean
![Florentina with Stefania and Elena](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2022-05/florentina-with-stefania-and-elena-free-cleft-lip-palate-surgery-romania-eastern-europe-smile-train.jpg?itok=LwYokaVb)
![Adelina and Ionut](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2022-01/ionut-with-mother-snuggle-after-free-cleft-lip-palate-surgery-romania.jpg?itok=35SO2kRQ)
Ionut: Separation, Isolation… Then a Smile
A mother manages cleft care through quarantine
![Auner smiling after free Smile Train cleft and lip surgery in Guatemala](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-07/auner-smiling-after-free-cleft-lip-palate-surgery-guatemala.jpg?itok=-TZYkg58)
Bringing Smiles to the Amazon with Yaçuri
![David's mom holds an image her son before cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/david-holds-before.jpg?itok=BWHeD1_B)
David’s Cleft Journey in His Mother’s Words
Magaly is the mother of David, age five, a Smile Train patient in Quito, Ecuador. She shared with us her son’s journey to cleft care and what Smile Train has meant for her entire family.
![Mirian sits in a dress with untreated cleft lip](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/mirian-sits-in-dress.jpg?itok=EsVtwYsk)
A Warrior at Heart
At one month old, Mirian weighed just four pounds. Five months later, with the support of our local partners, she had transformed into a happy, chubby baby.
![Smile Train Africa staff member Neilson](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/neilson-smile-train-africa.jpg?itok=DCRt8B57)
Ready to Meet the Challenge in Madagascar
Neilsen helped a mission organization that flew doctors into Madagascar to provide cleft care, but he knew local doctors were as capable as those flying in.