Going for a world record for children with cleft palates

Iconic screen legend Marilyn Monroe once said: “A smile is the best makeup that anyone can wear.” But what if you are a little boy or girl born with a cleft lip or palate (CLP)?

When one-year-old Lungile, of Mpumalanga, first went to Operation Smile in 2015, she was a withdrawn little girl because of her appearance.

“People used to ask what was wrong with Lungile. We told them that she was born like this but when they asked, it still made us feel bad,” her 17-year old brother Tebogo, told Operation Smile.

Medical experts estimate that three out of every 500 to 750 babies born daily around the globe have this congenital disorder, which leaves them with an opening or split in the upper lip or palate.

The defect can be easily remedied with a 45-minute surgery that costs as little as R5 500, but there still remains a lack of funding and medical resources available, especially for children in impoverished communities.

Now a local businesswoman and former beauty queen, Lynné de Jager, will embark on an ambitious project in the hopes of drawing greater attention to the plight of CLP children while raising funds for their surgeries. The ex-Mrs South Africa and beauty-range owner wants to break the current Guinness
world record held by former 7de Laan actress Bertha le Roux Wahl to apply lipstick to the most women in 60 minutes.

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“I not only want us as South Africans to be part of a world-record event but to also do something meaningful for the children of Operation Smile whose lives we will change with the proceeds.”

Operation Smile, which relies heavily on funding, is driven by the belief that every CLP child deserves exceptional surgical care.

“We believe all children deserve to be treated as if they were our own. That’s what drives each and every one of us and our global network of medical professionals who donate hundreds of thousands of hours toward the care of children around the world each year,” reads the organisation’s mission statement.

De Jager’s record attempt, which will take place at Brooklyn Mall in Pretoria on Sunday 28, July, will be a lead-up to International Lipstick Day the following day.

“I am used to working under pressure. This event will definitely challenge my abilities, but I am ready. I can do it.” For De Jager’s challenge to work, she needs to break the current record of 535, set in 2012.

According to strict Guinness guidelines, De Jager has to apply lipstick to both the top and bottom lips of each woman.

“Anyone is welcome to participate in the challenge and will be asked to donate R100, part of which will assist Operation Smile in giving underprivileged children born with a cleft lip or cleft palate safe and effective surgery,” says De Jager.

Operation Smile has already provided over 340 000 surgeries to CLP children and young adults in developing countries.

“We have supported nearly 60 medical missions on the African continent, provided free surgery to over 7 500 individuals in sub-Saharan Africa and over 340 children and adults within South Africa,” says Yasmina Follentine, development coordinator for Operation Smile SA.

It’s this dedication that has changed the lives of children like Lungile who, thanks to the surgery, is no longer the withdrawn little girl who first came to the organisation in 2015.

“Lungile loves to dance hip hop, listen to Rihanna and play her brother’s musical instruments,” says her mother Olga.

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