Our Stories

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

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.

Nkunda had to hide in the bushes on his journey to school every day. Something needed to be done. 

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. 

After a rough beginning, Jenious' life is now filled with puppies, music, and kung-fu.

When Zena's family thought they could never afford cleft treatment for their daughter, you gave them hope.

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.