![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.
![Saksham is holding an image of himself before cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-01/saksham-holding-before-super_0.jpg?itok=YBOFWnED)
Saksham: Hope Is Always Alive
A boy from India is starving and his parents don't know what to do.
![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.
It Starts with a Smile: Wang Li
![Saraswati holds a Smile Train fan](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/saraswati-holds-smile-train-fan.jpg?itok=w5hqUR0-)
Nourishing Saraswati
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.
![Three siblings in India have cleft treatment](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/one-family-india-three-cleft-surgeries.jpg?itok=DQP2AbQE)
One Family Needs Three Smiles
Kamlesh learned to live with his cleft. His three children could not.
![Kamse living with an untreated cleft lip in Kenya](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/kamse-before-cleft-surgery.jpg?itok=sREJDK6G)
A Student Of Resiliency
Kamse was excited for his first day of school, but, when the day finally came, he was taunted all day long. Kamse ran home and begged his grandfather never to make him go back.
100,000 Smiles In Africa
When Zena's family thought they could never afford cleft treatment for their daughter, you gave them hope.
![Rawda in her mother's arms before cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-02/rawda-with-a-cleft-lip.jpg?itok=PVm7MTJE)
A Deafening Silence For Initissar
“We would sell everything we owned to get Rawda’s lip treated as soon as possible — nothing is going to stop us.”