Mandela Day (this coming Saturday) reminds us that we can all make a difference.
Whether we give of our time, our skills or our wealth, helping someone in need really is ‘in our hands’.
And right now, a child like Andile* needs our help. Yours and mine.
Sometimes, having hope in your heart is the only thing that keeps you going. But hope is often laced with fear – because it’s a fragile thing, easily dashed. These are the emotions you see on the face of 41-year-old Marie Kalume, as she waits to hear if Operation Smile can help her little girl.
From 5–7 June 2026, Operation Smile South Africa hosted a Speech Therapy and Psycho-social Support Camp at Mthatha, in the Eastern Cape.
Aimed at addressing the critical gap in comprehensive cleft care for children and families living in rural communities, the camp provided speech therapy and psycho social support to 24 patients.
On 30 June 2026, the old MySchool programme and card will be discontinued. If you haven’t yet switched to the new MyDifference app and selected Operation Smile South Africa as your beneficiary, your everyday Woolworths shopping will no longer help provide life-changing surgery for children born with cleft conditions.
On 29 May, 50 Operation Smile volunteer health professionals from across the country converged at Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital in Johannesburg for a weekend of life-changing cleft surgery.
From the first day of health screenings – where 54 young patients were thoroughly examined and 40 cleared for surgery – to the joyful moments in the recovery ward, our hearts overflowed with pride and gratitude for the privilege of being part of this life-changing work.