OPERATION SMILE

Operation Smile is a volunteer-based global medical charity that provides free surgery to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial differences in children and young adults.

We are active in over 60 countries around the world.

Annually, over 6,000 volunteer medical professionals including credentialed surgeons, pediatricians, doctors, nurses, child-life specialists and many others, selflessly give their expertise to help patients and ensure the highest standard of care in all that they do.

In high-income countries like Canada, surgery to fix cleft conditions is common and is usually done before a child is 18 months old.

In low and middle-income countries, where we conduct our missions, it can take years to receive treatment. Children and their families face enormous hurdles that prevent them from getting the surgical care they need. Many people have to travel great distances for care and most simply have no money to pay for surgery or healing medications.

Sometimes people just don’t know that help is available. Sometimes there is simply no care to access.