Free Cleft Surgery for 400 Poor Children in India

Derhadun, India — After a long day's work, Mr. Amarjeet Singh Narwal finally lay asleep on a cold, peaceful night. Around 3a.m., he was startled awake by a strange wailing outside. He threw on a coat and opened the door, where he found an infant wrapped in a dirty, tattered piece of cloth. He cradled the baby in his arms, assuming that the boy's parents had abandoned their son at his door due to his cleft lip and palate.

Amarjeet and his wife brought Krishna, as they named him, to Jankalayan Samiti, a local NGO, to see if they could help. The group provided the Narwals with food and clothes for the baby. The difficulty of feeding little Krishna left him underweight and suffering from a repeated cough and fever. Despite the help they received, when they learned that Krishna would also suffer from speech difficulties on top of his deformity, they feared that his young life and future would be full of despair and torment.

One day, the Himalayan Institute’s Smile Train team reached Panipat for a health camp. The members of Jankalyan Samiti contacted the team about the Narwals and Krishna's treatment in great detail, providing a ray of hope. Amarjeet soon brought his 5-month-old son to Smile Train partner Himalayan Hospital (known locally as Jolly Grant Hospital). Further examinations at the hospital revealed along with a cleft lip and palate, Krishna also suffered from malnutrition and a skin infection. Seeing Krishna’s condition, the Smile Train team started the necessary antibiotic treatment and taught the Narwals proper feeding techniques, basic health care, and nutrition.

The results of the treatment were fantastic and Krishna was soon ready for his free surgery. To top it all off, surgeon Dr. Sanjay Dvivedi convinced the management of the Himalayan Institute to financially support Krishna after his treatment. Dr. Dvivedi repaired Krishna’s cleft lip and nose free of charge, giving him a bright new smile. Krishna was soon discharged from the hospital with his relieved family and has been scheduled for free cleft palate surgery when he is 9 months old. Thanks to the expert Smile Train team at Himalayan Institute, the Narwals can look forward to a bright future for their new son.

Varanasi, India - Paul Peabody, acclaimed violinist with the New York City Ballet and part of the Grammy winning orchestra that scored "Titanic," just returned from an unforgettable journey providing the gift of music throughout India. A long time Smile Train supporter, Paul enjoyed his second tour of Smile Train India partner hospitals, playing fiddle for patients, families, doctors, and staff.

He spent most of his five weeks alongside Smile Train partners Dr. Sunil Richardson, Dr. Jyostna Murthy, and Dr. Subodh Singh. Paul comforted patients with a myriad of music from classical to traditional Hindi songs, but the requests really came pouring in when staff would find out that he played an integral role in the music for "Titanic." Paul primarily rotated between the waiting room and the recovery room to calm the fears of patients and parents before surgery and use the healing powers of music to aid in their recovery. Towards the end of his trip, Paul was even asked to play for the doctors inside the OR.

"When Dr. Sunil Richardson asked if I would play [in the OR], I gave a stricken look and I made him promise me that there was no way that my sounds could interfere at all with anyone's concentration! He told me that many surgeons actually play classical music to help them concentrate. In the OR everything worked like clockwork: extremely peaceful."

Children who had never heard, let alone seen, a violin before, found themselves glued to their seats as the music washed over them. Whether it was playing Hindi folk songs to comfort crying patients, or playing some of the pop songs he worked on for Michael Jackson and Madonna, Paul's talents, enthusiasm, and kindness revered him to everyone he met.

His visit coincided with India's Independence Day, August 15, where he joined in the celebration by playing for and assisting in Dr. Singh's tree planting, Green Independence Day Initiative. Paul has recently returned to New York and is already getting ready to plan his trip next year.

Recently, one of Smile Train’s oldest and highest performing partner hospitals, G. S. Memorial Plastic Surgery Hospital in Varanasi, India, reached a new milestone — 20,000 Smile Train sponsored free cleft surgeries. Under the leadership of Dr. Subodh Kumar Singh, G. S. Memorial is one of the largest cleft centers in the world and has been a Smile Train partner since April 2004. Dr. Subodh and his staff are also featured in the 2008 Academy Award®-winning Documentary, Smile Pinki.

The 20,000th patient, Baby, is an 8-month-old girl born with both a cleft lip and palate. She was originally screened by Dr. Subodh at a camp in Daltonganj, Jharkhand when she was 13 days old, but was not fit for her surgery scheduled in December. She returned this summer for her surgery and became G.S. Memorial’s 20,000th patient.