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The irony 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. 8,000. That’s where The Smile Train comes in. “We are the world’s largest cleft lip and palate charity,” says the Pune Project Director Dr Shrirang Pandit. “Our overriding goal is make safe and quality treatment of cleft lip and palate accessible to the millions who cannot afford it. Since 2000, The Smile Train has sponsored over 80,000 safe, quality surgeries across India, totally free of cost,” he adds.
The Smile Train is unique because it works only with local doctors - training, helping and empowering them to become self-sufficient.There are an estimated 10 lakh untreated cases of clefts in India. “The goal of The Smile Train is to continue providing cleft surgeries across India - on an ever increasing scale - until we have completely eradicated the problem of clefts,” says Pandit who recently conducted three cleft surgeries free of cost at the Poona Hospital on January. These three surgeries will contribute to Dr Pandits 2000 free cleft surgeries under the Smile Train initiative in Pune.
Clefts are a major problem in developing countries where millions of children are suffering with unrepaired clefts. The Smile Train aims not just to put smiles on the faces of kids that have never known one, but to give them a second chance at life. The Smile Train was founded in 1999 and began with one surgery in China performed by a local medical team. In seven years it has grown into the largest cleft organization in the world with hundreds of partners and programs in 72 countries. Since March 2000 Smile Train has provided free cleft surgery for 227,756 children.
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