Healthy lives for children with cleft in Ecuador

Ovidio's Healthy Smile Journey

In 2018, GSF volunteers met Ovidio in Ecuador. Like many infants with cleft, he was underweight. Cleft lip or palate can prevent an infant from feeding properly, increasing the risk of malnourishment. Donations from GSF supporters provide special bottles and enriched formula so that our patients can grow and thrive.

GSF helped Ovidio's parents ensure that he could get the nutrition he needed and in six months, he returned for cleft lip surgery. A year later, he came back for cleft palate surgery. Now we see him every year for evaluation and dental care. He graduated from Kindergarten this spring and we expect to begin speech therapy soon.

Update from March Outreach

In March 2023, the GSF team of expert volunteers spent 2 weeks in Guayaquil, Ecuador for the first of two outreach cleft programs in the country this year. GSF's programs take place at Hospital León Becerra, a nonprofit children’s hospital in Guayaquil that serves a low-income population.

At the beginning of this program, our team evaluated more than 270 patients for surgical readiness. Ultimately, our team performed 192 surgical procedures for 70 patients, Some patients who did not undergo surgery this time are scheduled to receive care in September 2023.

Thank you for your support and making more stories like Ovidio's possible.

Links:

• More information about GSF Outreach

• Full Ecuador Update (PDF)
  

We are less than a month away from our first outreach program of 2023 to Ecuador!

In 2022, we expanded our Ecuador programs to two weeks in an effort to care for the number of patients waiting for care. Global Smile Foundation (GSF) has become the largest provider of cleft care in the country and maintains a year-round cleft center managed by our Global Smile Foundation-Ecuador team.

Your support makes healthy lives possible for our patients and their families! Untreated cleft increased a child's risk of malnutrition, poor health, and social isolation. Due to discrimination against their child or their child's health, many parents keep their children at home and are unable to work. When our patients receive care, they are better able to thrive and their families can gain financial stability and integrate into their communities.

We are truly grateful for your contributions. Thank you.

Saray's Story

When Saray born with cleft lip and palate in July 2021, her parents were shocked by her cleft. In underserved areas, prenatal care is limited and many parents only learn that their babies have cleft after they are born.

In addition, Saray had trouble feeding properly, like many infants born with cleft, and her parents were worried about how to help their daughter. Having a cleft lip and palate prevents an infant from creating the suction necessary for bottles or breastfeeding.

Luckily, Saray's parents found information about cleft online and learned about GSF through the Prefectura (local government) in Guayaquil. In September 2022, Saray underwent surgery to repair her cleft lip. She is scheduled to return in 2023 for a cleft palate surgery.

Saray's mother said that she is grateful to all of the volunteers for helping her daughter, and hopes she will one day be a volunteer to help other patients and families.