![Saber being held by his father after his Smile Train cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-09/saber-after-free-smile-train-cleft-surgery-egypt.jpg?itok=pdWio38F)
Saber’s Cleft Journey, in His Parents’ Words
![Smile Train patient Demaris from Kenya holds a picture of herself before her free cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-07/damaris-holding-photo-before-free-smile-train-cleft-lip-cleft-palate-surgery-kenya.jpg?itok=g5glTJIO)
Determined Damaris
Even when the whole world seemed against her, Damaris persisted. And won.
![Annointed with his mother, Favour, after his cleft surgery.](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/annointed-with-mother-after-free-cleft-lip-palate-surgery-nigeria.jpg?itok=uWuEc449)
Annointed for Greatness
The story of a cleft mother’s bravery, in her own words.
![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.
![A school-aged Meng with her mother after cleft lip and cleft palate surgery in Cambodia](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-03/meng-with-mother-after-cleft-lip-palate-surgery-cambodia.jpg?itok=iVVNLX0x)
A Daughter's Cleft; a Mother's Journey
A mother’s account of her child’s journey to cleft care in her own words.
![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.
![Sel holds his before surgery image](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-01/sel-holding-before-super.jpg?itok=c-aNVmt3)
Sel’s Family Refused To Leave Him Behind
Soan worried her son would be discriminated against his entire life.
![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.
![Habeeba's family holds image of her before cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/habeeba-family-hold-before-image.jpg?itok=wIzXMn7A)
A Father In Disbelief
When Habeeba was born, the doctor gasped and told her mother, Ahlam, he’d never seen a baby like her before.
![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.
![Samnang smiles in front of her school](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/samnang-smiles.jpg?itok=sJBvcAj_)
A Lucky Girl
When Samnang was born with a cleft, her parents felt overwhelmed. But a midwife reassured them that, thanks to Smile Train, they had nothing to fear.