We bring hope to children with no access to safe surgery
ABOUT OPERATION SMILE
Responding to the need
Operation Smile South Africa is part of a global, volunteer-based non-profit that provides the highest quality care for cleft patients living in areas where safe surgery and cleft care may be available or accessible.
Founded in America in 1982, the organisation has spread to over 40 countries and provided more than 500 000 free surgeries. And yet the need remains. Especially in Africa, where so many children would otherwise not receive the surgery and supplementary care they need.
Thanks to our generous donors and partners, we work alongside regional and local government departments to provide medical training, education and mentorship to surgical teams in state hospitals.
Our community-focused patient recruitment efforts locate children in need of cleft surgery in rural areas; we arrange transport and accommodation to enable children and their care-givers to attend our surgical programmes – where they are thoroughly assessed by our team of volunteer doctors, nurses, surgeons, paediatric anaesthetists, dental surgeons, speech therapists and other medical professionals.
South African context
It takes a village to raise a child, they say. In South Africa, our ‘village’ of local medical professionals, hospitals, universities, government and other NGOs work with Operation Smile to create the most effective solutions for children and adults born with cleft conditions.
Compared to most other African countries, South Africa’s public health care system is advanced. Still, many hospitals are chronically under-resourced and overburdened.
Especially in remote, rural areas, access to specialist medical services is challenging. As a result, children born with cleft conditions might have to wait years for surgery. In the meantime, these little ones may struggle to eat or speak. Or be bullied or shunned by the community.
We are committed to finding the best solutions for these children. From short term medical programmes to research, education and training, everything we do has the same goal: to provide the most effective surgical and comprehensive care to cleft patients in South and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Since 2006, we’ve provided direct help to hundreds of patients with cleft lip and/or palate in South Africa, and beyond.
Beyond South Africa’s borders
Operation Smile South Africa has helped set up seven other Operation Smile foundations in sub Saharan Africa, enabling the organisation to reach hundreds more children in need.
Apart from surgical interventions, we also provide education and training in the field, and undertake research into the cause of cleft conditions.
All this is made possible through our network of over a hundred medical and non-medical volunteers. And our generous supporters, who are moved every day to partner with us to make a difference in the lives of children they’ve never met.
OUR PROGRAMMES
What we do
Patient Outreach & Cleft Awareness
In South Africa, our patrient outreach programmes focus on rural and under-served communities – because, this is where access to cleft care is most challenging.
We go out into these communities to raise awareness, dispel myths and explain that there is hope for those born with cleft conditions.
Surgical Programmes
Conducting surgical programmes in far flung locations remains at the heart of our work. But in South Africa, we more commonly run our surgical programmes in local hospitals over the weekends. It’s a win-win situation. Facilities that often stand empty after hours are fully utilised – and we are able to greatly reduce patient backlogs.
Comprehensive Care
Sometimes, a simple surgical procedure is all a patient needs. Other times, patients and their families need ongoing care and support, including speech therapy, dental care or orthodontics.
Parents may also need support. Through the support group, Cleft Friends, families are able to share experiences and learn from one another.
Research Programmes
Research is crucial because we still don’t know exactly what causes cleft conditions. More than this, research also needs to focus on finding new ways of delivering surgical care to those who have difficulty getting the help they need.
We have to listen to patients and understand the challenges they face, so we can break down those obstacles.
Training & Education
Training and education is at the heart of everything we do. Ideas and knowledge are constantly shared among our medical specialists from diverse backgrounds and levels of expertise.
We also train and educate community health care workers and volunteers, who go out among the people to spread awareness and hope.
Operation Smile South Africa is part of an international network bringing hope and health across the globe
Active in
COUNTRIES
More than
FREE SURGERIES
Operating for
YEARS
More than
VOLUNTEERS
GRATEFUL THANKS TO
Our partners
We could not do the work we do without the support of our generous corporate sponsors and partnerships with government and other NGOs.
If you would like to partner with Operation Smile South Africa to help transform the lives of children born with cleft lip or cleft palate, please contact us. Whether you want to build your brand or get your colleagues and staff involved in valuable team building, we have a dedicated team to support you.
