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.
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.
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.
When Valery was born, her parents cried at the sight of her cleft. Now, thanks to continuing treatment sponsored by Smile Train, Valery fills their lives with song and music.
When Cristina learned her son would have a cleft, she sought comfort and support, but found none, even from the local community. Until she met Dr. Dávalos. In the 10 years since, they've changed what it means to have a cleft in Ecuador, together.
Wendy was 17, single, and scared. She had just had a baby with a cleft, and any help seemed far, far away from her family's ranch in the remote Andes highlands. But Smile Train was there.
When Dr. Dau started as a Smile Train partner, he knew children with clefts were often abandoned or put in orphanages. As an orphan himself, he comes to work each day determined that no other child should experience that pain.
