![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.
![Smile Train supporter Randall Bolling](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/randall-bolling-st.jpg?itok=gKy4BA6h)
![Hector Daniel held by his family](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-06/hector-looks-forward.jpg?itok=ciFZXyX-)
We Are Smiles in El Salvador
When their son's life was changed forever, Héctor Rivas and Karen wanted to give the same relief to families across El Salvador.
![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.
![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.
![Livingstone with his friends after cleft lip and cleft palate surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/livingstone-with-friends-after-cleft-lip-cleft-palate-treatment.jpg?itok=zhxVMF1U)
Livingstone Clings to Life
Cleft surgery was only one piece of Livingstone's journey from malnourished baby to star of his village.
![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.