Smile Foundation continues to change lives one smile at a time

Wednesday, 19 April 2023, was a day of hope for baby Remogo Lehihi and ten other children who underwent life-changing surgeries at Tshepong Hospital in Klerksdorp thanks to the Smile Foundation and its partners and sponsors.

As part of the first Smile Week in Klerksdorp, five-month-old baby Remogo went for the first phase of healing surgeries for her bilateral cleft lip and cleft palate, a deformity she was born with. Plastic surgeon Dr. Shashi Agarwal explained that this is the first of three surgeries for little Remogo. A cleft lip and palate occurs when the facial structures that develop in an unborn baby don’t fully close, resulting in a separation or cleft of the upper lip, palate or both. In collaboration with the Smile foundation’s partner hospitals and donors, Smile Weeks are held across the country throughout the year to help children in need of plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Baby Remogo struggled with breastfeeding as she could not suck and swallow breast milk from her mother because of her deformity, causing a lot of stress to her parents. Not being able to find a cleft bottle in their area added to their difficulties. They were forced to travel a long distance before they eventually found one. The most immediate concern for a baby with a cleft palate is good nutrition.

This week is the beginning of a hopeful and happy journey for Remogo and the other little ones who will be undergoing remedial surgeries for a life-changing experience of having normal structured facial features.

On 11 April 2023 The Beacon of Smiles Award was presented to the CEO of Smile Foundation, Ms Kim Robertson Smith and her team, for their unwavering dedication and commitment to changing lives through surgical interventions, emotional support, and education for children with craniofacial abnormalities, cleft lip and palate, and reconstructive surgeries for burn survivors in South Africa,

Smile Foundation has illuminated the path of hope for over 5,000 children and their families, creating lasting impact in their lives and in their communities. The organisation has continued to grow exponentially, performing an impressive 1066 surgeries in the span of the last twelve months, while also ensuring holistic care for both patients and caregivers.

North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha has welcomed the initiative and committed his Department to support the Smile Foundation’s effort to bring smiles to the little ones. “We will work together with Smile Foundation to perform more remedial surgeries for bilateral cleft lip and cleft palate as part of broadening access to this life-changing procedure for the children,” said MEC Sambatha.

“Our heartfelt gratitude and admiration goes out to every one of the medical professionals at the Klerksdorp Tshepong Hospital, the administration, sponsors, volunteers and colleagues who have gone above and beyond to sacrifice their time to change lives of very special children and make miracles happen. The sad reality is that people tend to avoid what looks different from the norm. Because of this, children with physical differences are often made to feel isolated from other children as well as their communities.

Corrective life-changing surgeries will take place during this Smile Week and the lives of these children and their families will change forever,” said Kim Robertson Smith.