Every year 35,000 children in India are born with clefts. Without corrective surgery, these children are condemned to a lifetime of isolation and suffering. Many are even abandoned or killed at birth.
The tragedy is that a cleft can be completely corrected with a simple surgical procedure that could take as little as 45 minutes and cost as little as Rs.12,000.
Smile Train is the world's largest cleft lip and palate charity. Our overriding goal is make safe and quality treatment of cleft lip and palate accessible to the millions who cannot afford it.
There are an estimated 10 lakh untreated cases of clefts in India. The goal of Smile Train is to continue providing cleft surgeries across India – on an ever increasing scale – until we have completely eradicated the problem of clefts.
At a function to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Smile Train in India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam talks about the impact of Smile Train and the virtues of doctors. Watch >>
Smile Train ambassador, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, talks about the devastating effects of clefts and how a simple surgery can give someone a new life. Watch >>
Read the touching and inspiring stories of a children born into poverty and afflicted with clefts. And how Smile Train has transformed their lives. More >>
