Our Stories

Even knowing help is available isn’t always enough to remove the stigma of having a cleft.

How a mother found the strength to raise eight boys on her own and a son found the strength to smile.

Doha is ready for her next big challenge — building an infrastructure for sustainable, local cleft care in her native country as Smile Train’s first regional director for Morocco. 
 

Angelica was 15 years old, single, and had just given birth to a baby with a cleft. All she knew about clefts was how she had seen people with them harassed without mercy. But she promised to never give up on the little life before her. 

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.

"For me, it’s always the question of 'What if Smile Train hadn’t been there?'"

Monica has been through more than any child should, but today she shines bright.

Stella breastfed her seven other children without problems, but Maria’s clefts caused the milk to come out of her nose and made her choke.

Everyone told Gyana to abandon her daughter when she was born with a cleft; her husband threatened to kill himself if she didn't. Afraid for both their lives, she took the child and fled.