During March 2024, adventurers David Grier and Andrew Stuart (above) ran 160 kms along the coastline in Accra, Ghana to raise funds for cleft surgery. Starting at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, the run took place over four days, and finished at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
It’s the latest in a series of runs which have taken Grier and Stuart about 30 000km in total, through China, Madagascar, India, Cuba, Thailand, North Korea and Portugal.
Grier, 63, says it’s the memories from surgical programmes that have sustained him on these adventures.
“When I’m out there and I’m struggling to take the next step, I just think of what that next step means, how it’s going to change a life. It’s a big driver for me,” he says.
“I’ve had the privilege of going on a surgical programme, meeting a child before surgery, seeing the child come out of theatre, meeting the parents, then seeing that child unleashed back into life. I’ve also seen the effects on families who have been ostracised and pulled apart because of how their child looks.
“That’s why Operation Smile has been so important in my life, and such a worthwhile and worthy cause to support.”
Cleft incidence in Ghana
Around one in every 1000 babies born in Africa has a cleft lip or palate. In Ghana, the ratio is higher … one in every 760. Without intervention, one in ten of these babies will die before their first birthday. Those that survive are often malnourished. They also struggle with speech difficulties, and are frequently ostracised because of their appearance.
Yet, a relatively quick operation results in a life-changing smile. The Cipla Foundation initiative, Miles for Smiles, through Operation Smile, strives to ensure that every child with a cleft lip or palate has access to world class surgical care.
Miles for Smiles
CEO of Cipla Africa, Paul Miller, said: “Our philosophy is to do well while doing good. We are exploring opportunities to make a positive impact for people in local communities.
“A smile is a promise of peace, and the first sign of love,” he said. “A smile is the most inexpensive gift and yet the most valuable. It’s an unspoken language – learnt by none and understood by all. That’s why Cipla wants to help ensure that no child is (c)left behind.”
No strangers to epic undertakings, David and Andrew ran roughly 4 200 kms along the entire length of The Great Wall of China in 2018, also to raise funds for much-needed cleft surgeries.
Click for more information about Miles for Smiles.
Speech surgical programme
At the beginning of March, a speech surgical programme was held at the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra. Supported by a team of local and international volunteers, Operation Smile Ghana screened 65 patients, performed 28 surgeries and fabricated 10 obturators/speech appliances, with the goal of enhancing the speech of patients who had previously received cleft palate surgery.
Pictured above are Marius van der Walt (dentist), Dirk Lazarus and Paul Skoll (plastic surgeons) and Roslyn Lentin (speech therapist).
