This weekend, 25 children will have their smiles restored thanks to life-changing reconstructive surgeries for children with cleft lip and palate conditions.
This is part of a joint effort done by Operation Smile South Africa and the Mpumalanga Department of Health, who, through the support of Woolworths’ My School, My Village My Planet, are committed to restoring joy to the young lives of 25 children.
The upcoming surgery programme will take place from Friday, 25 July until Sunday, 27 July at the Rob Ferreira Hospital in Mbombela with the support of a team of 40 medical volunteers from throughout South Africa.
“We are enormously proud to be partnering with MyDifference and the Mpumalanga Department of Health to bring hope and healing to more children and families living with unrepaired cleft conditions,” says Sarah Scarth, Executive Director at Operation Smile South Africa.
Scarth explains that without this intervention, children with clefts in the province may have had to wait years to receive this surgery.
From as far back as 2011, Operation Smile has provided reconstructive surgery and comprehensive care for approximately 500 people with cleft lip and cleft palate across South Africa.
Since its establishment in South Africa in 2006, Operation Smile has built a network of over 150 active volunteers, comprising cleft surgeons, nurses, anaesthetists, pediatricians, dentists, speech therapists, psychologists, biomedical staff and more. They have travelled across South Africa and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa to perform thousands of life-changing surgeries.
A key focus of the organisation is skills transfer, achieved through education and training for healthcare workers, both as part of and beyond the surgical programmes.
“Our long-term goal is to build sustainability, so that this specialised cleft care can happen in the public health system – whether we are there or not,” says Scarth. With that in mind, Operation Smile South Africa leans on some of the country’s most experienced medical professionals to upskill more junior medical staff.
Rob Ferreira Hospital Steps in with Essential Dental Care
Dental support will be an additional feature of the upcoming Mbombela surgical programme, with the Rob Ferreira Hospital Oral Health team, supported by Operation Smile, giving up their weekend to raise awareness about clefts and offer basic dental treatments like fillings, scale and polishes, extractions, dental restorations, fissure sealants and pulpotomies (root canals on baby teeth), so that local children don’t need to miss school due to dental problems.
“Dental care is a vital part of the overall treatment plan for people with cleft conditions,” adds Scarth. “Most people born with a cleft – and certainly all those born with a cleft palate – need dental treatment, because the whole jaw is affected. The more support we can provide, the more we can improve quality of life.”
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