A Non-Profit for Children Born with a
Cleft Lip or PalateEvery 3 minutes, a child is born somewhere in the world with a cleft lip or cleft palate.
Get Involved
Give hope to a waiting child, give the gift of a smile.
The Gift of a Smile
A child’s cleft lip or cleft palate can be repaired for as little as R5500 and in as few as 45 minutes, but your gift is more than a surgery. All of our supporters give renewed hope to children and families around the world.
Get Involved
At this point we are looking for skilled and dedicated medical and non-medical professionals to complement our global cause, by changing lives one smile at a time…
The Future
Our Vision
At Operation Smile, we envision a future where health and dignity are improved through safe surgery. We dream of a world where no child suffers from lack of access to safe surgery.
Huge Footprint
Global Presence
With 38 years of expertise, we continue to provide life-saving reconstructive cleft surgeries and increase our overall surgical safety, quality and capacity worldwide.
A child born with a cleft may suffer from: hunger and thirst, difficulty with speech, social isolation and bullying. Help us to give the gift of a smile.
Get Involved
How You can Help
A child’s cleft lip or cleft palate can be repaired for as little as R5500 and in as few as 45 minutes, but your gift is more than a surgery. All of our supporters give renewed hope to children and families around the world.
The Gift of a Smile
Featured Cases
After 48 Years, A New Future
Domingos has an indomitable spirit with a physique to match: calloused hands, muscled arms and shoulders that look like they could carry the weight of the world. In a sense, they have. Domingos carried the weight of living with an untreated cleft lip for 48 years....
Braving the World Together
Noemia and her mother, Bendita. Photo: Zeke du Plessis. Children like Noemia possess a special form of bravery. It’s a courage that can often be concealed by shyness and vulnerability. This courage endures teasing and mockery with a sense of dignity that many struggle...
A Life-Changing Journey for Two Sisters
When we first met Vaviroa and Nambina on our medical mission to Tamatave, Madagascar, the six- and two-year-old sisters shyly hid behind their parents and barely said a word. Years of bullying taught these young girls that the world didn’t want to see their smiles....