Adahara knew she was lucky to receive all the cleft treatment she needed from an early age. She's training to become a Smile Train partner because she knows not every child with a cleft is so lucky.
Smile Train and the entire cleft community mourn the loss of Dr. Hirji S. Adenwalla, a truly heroic Smile Maker who treated thousands of children in need at Jubilee Mission Hospital in the southern Indian city of Thrissur from 1958 until his death May 27, 2020 at age 90.
When it came time to choose a medical school, Andrea Astudillo of Cuenca, Ecuador joined her older brother, Cristian Astudillo Carrera, at a teaching hospital in Guadalajara, Mexico.
When Cristina learned her son would have a cleft, she sought comfort and support, but found none, even from the local community. Until she met Dr. Dávalos. In the 10 years since, they've changed what it means to have a cleft in Ecuador, together.