Our Stories

A cleft mother’s true story of faith, miracles, and Smile Train

In Ethiopia, Dr. Bethel and Smile Train are changing the narrative around malnutrition.

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

When their son's life was changed forever, Héctor Rivas and Karen wanted to give the same relief to families across El Salvador.

Cleft surgery was only one piece of Livingstone's journey from malnourished baby to star of his village.

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.

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.

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.