100 Smiles in 100 Days

At Mission Smile’s Guwahati Comprehensive Cleft Care Centre (GC4) were regularly visited by parents who accompany their kids born with cleft lip and/or palate deformities. We offer free medical evaluation, advice treatment, guide needy beneficiaries through our nutrition program and conduct free cleft rectification surgeries to the selected candidates. Moreover, we conduct follow-up (review) camps to track the progress of the surgery recipients. In a word, at GC4 we provide Comprehensive Cleft Care to patients from Assam and other adjoining North Eastern states.

Emma (name changed), a 5-year-old baby girl from Sonapur in Assam, who was born with a cleft lip. A very cheerful and sweet baby, she is the youngest of her 5 elder siblings. While enquiring about her parent’s background we came to know that Emma’s mother got married at the age of 14 (an under-age marriage). But that’s not all, due to mounting social obligations; she was forced to marry a man who was almost 25 years older to her! Now, in a family of seven members, both the parents had to work hard to earn their daily bread. Emma’s father works as a manual labour while her mother is a vegetable vendor.

When Emma was born, her mother was inconsolable after seeing her baby’s cleft deformity. She had never seen a cleft child before! Her initial discomfort about Emma’s cleft deformity affected the mother-child bond, but gradually love took over fear, and she accepted her baby’s condition. Misfortune showed up yet again when the lactating mother was diagnosed with scabies and hence was not allowed to feed her new-born! But like it is said “time heals and makes a person stronger”, after her recovery, Emma’s mother became determined to get her daughter treated. She brought Emma to Guwahati Medical College and from there she was referred to GC4. Emma was selected for cleft rectification surgery but her surgery date was deferred as she was diagnosed with scabies.

Finally, after recovery from scabies, Emma was successfully operated on our Comprehensive Cleft Care Centre in Guwahati. It was perhaps the brightest day for Emma and her mother. The little angel embraced her ‘New Smile’!

We thank our team of doctors and medical/ non-medical volunteers as well as our donors and supporters whose contribution and determination to ‘do good’ helped us in gifting little Emma with a smile to last for her lifetime!

We want to help more children like Emma through this campaign by making it on-going.

So, we appeal to you to start a recurring donation to help fund ongoing post-surgery treatment for cleft children.

Amount does not matter; your participation does - for these children who need prolonged care and treatment even after their successful cleft surgeries.

Here’s the link to our project page: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/make-a-smile-gift/ to make a recurring investment in the futures of these kids.

Our goal is to raise 50 recurring donations in next 30 days and each one counts..............

Thank you for being there for Emma throughout.

Anupam Sarkar | Sr. Manager - Partnerships
M: +91-9007883789 | E: anupam.sarkar@missionsmile.org
Website: www.missionsmile.org

Links:

• 100 SMILES IN 5 DAYS -14TH INTL. CLEFT SURGERY MISSION AT GC4
• DIFFICULT CASES WEEK 2018 @ GC4: GIVING THEM A SECOND CHANCE
• COLOMBIA MISSION APR 2018: EXTENDING GLOBAL SOLIDARITY

Dear Smile Givers

I am glad that the 100 Smiles in 100 Days campaign is going beyond its suggestive target of 100 Smiles to bring the Gift of Smile to even more number of children. Thanks for supporting and sharing ,we had received disbursements of slightly over $ 1000 in March and April as additional support from new donors.

We used your donation to support the surgery of Ann (Name Changed) , 1 year and 10 months old baby girl who was born with a major cleft (If you are from a medical background - Tessier 4 Cleft). This severe form of cleft not only affects the lip and palate but changes the entire symmetry of the face and at times impairing vision, hearing etc. of the child.

We came to know about Ann from one of our cleft awareness camp near their village. Their village, Mondalgiri, is a kilometre away from Sunderban Tiger Reserve (home to Royal Bengal Tiger). It is an economically backward region with agriculture and fishing being the primary sources of income of the people. Her surgery would have been impossible for her father to provide for who is a daily wage earner. His meagre means supports a family of five hence providing corrective surgery for his daughter was a distant dream.

Ann’s condition had huge impact on her psychologically as she avoids playing outside and frequently sick due to infections. Words fall short to express the pain that Ann had to go through in her life without the surgery. The non acceptance by her grandparents, the cruel name calling all this could end with her surgery.

So tears welled in the eyes of her parents when we told them that the entire cost of surgery, stay and travel for them and their daughter will be provided free of cost. And, what a transformation has it been!

And when she came with her parents after a week of her surgery; the shine in her eyes truly expressed how much the surgery meant for her. Please see her pic attached.

Thank you so much for helping Ann with her surgery.

As you would see in the pictures in her pre and post surgery pictures attached below, you would find that the huge change that your donations has brought, makes all this worth it.

We know that she would need a few more surgeries to recover to the maximum possible extent. And, we are determined to do whatever necessary to help her recuperate fully- be it medicines, speech therapy, nutrition, and provide further corrective surgeries.

We want to help more children like Ann through this campaign by making it on-going.

So, we appeal to you to start a recurring donation to help fund ongoing post-surgery treatment for cleft children.

Amount does not matter; your participation does - for these children who need prolonged care and treatment even after their successful cleft surgeries.

Here’s the link to our project page: https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/make-a-smile-gift/ to make a recurring investment in the futures of these kids.

Our goal is to raise 50 recurring donations in next 30 days and each one counts..............

Thank you for being there for Ann through out.

Anupam Sarkar | Manager - Partnerships
M: +91-9007883789 | E: anupam.sarkar@missionsmile.org
Website: www.missionsmile.org

 (PS: If you start your recurring donation, and likewise we receive 49 more in next one month, I promise to personally visit Ann’s home again to give her a bouquet of soft toys [for her summer vacations] as a token of your love for her that you have expressed through your recurring donation. And, yes, I will be posting the photos in our next report. Please feel free to share the project with your friends and until we talk again. Bye & Thanks again)

Links:

• Ann's Transformation
• Tamina's Cleft To Smile Journey

Dear Smile Givers,

Please accept our immense gratitude for the over whelming response that this campaign has received.

We are humbled to receive over 300 Donations from across the world to help us in providing needed Cleft surgeries to 100 needy children born with Cleft. All your contributions – small and big- helped us collect a total of USD 35,000. Thank you so much for it.

We have utilised the donation for supporting surgeries at our centre and bringing smiles to 100 of children. Without your support, these children and their parents could not have afforded the much needed surgery and care. They received not only the surgery but also other related care- the stay and travel for the family, Ward Medicines, Discharge Medicines, speech and dental check up- totally free of cost because of your support.

You would be glad to know that 83% of the children whom you helped were under 5 years old. Surgery at younger age tends to have better results. 42% of the operated children were girls. All the children had safe and corrective surgeries, thanks to your support.

This campaign has successfully completed and all donations received would be grouped together and operated letter. Congratulations that we all have been able to complete our mission of 100 Smiles.

We have started another campaign here to raise funds for the purchase of vital medical equipments. These critical medical equipments could make a difference in life and death of a patient. By donating in this campaign your gift will be instrumental in bringing Smiles to many children for many years. Visit the campaign page to know more.

https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/equipments4smiles/

Please whole heartedly support our second campaign to meet the pressing need of the hour.

Thank you so much.

Best

Anupam Sarkar | Manager - Partnerships

M: +91-9007883789 | E: anupam.sarkar@missionsmile.org

Mission Smile, DPSC Plot no X-1, 2 ,& 3

Block EP, Sector 5, Salt Lake,

Kolkata-700091, www.missionsmile.org  

Links:

• Fund Critical Medical Equipments for safe surgery

• Surgery Changes lives forever - Asif's Story (PDF)
  
• Graphical Analysis of Surgeries (PDF)
  
• 100 Smiles in 100 Days Final Surgery Report (PDF)
  

Dear Smile Giver

Few months back, when we approached you for supporting our 100 SMILES IN 100 DAYS campaign of Mission Smile to provide safe and corrective surgeries, we were amazed by the wonderful response and generous support that you made. Against our goal to raise $ 5000 we have raised $ 32,000.

Thank you again for your generosity and support.

Over the last 30 days, we have used your donation judiciously to partly support the surgeries at our centre in Guwahati. And by 30^th November, with the support raised from the campaign, we were able to provide the Gift of Smile to 84 infants, children and adults. They now look forward to lead a better life and towards a brighter future because of the generosity and warmth with which you all came ahead to support this drive.

Looking at how these surgeries were spread, around 70% (69.7% to be precise), of the surgical intervention, were provided to children under the age of 5 which the best time to provide the surgery, as the surgery results are better and the child does not remember the pain of growing with Cleft. In fact, the impact is much deeper physiologically, as the child feeding challenges and speaking problems gets reduced considerably.

In terms of geographical distribution of these surgeries, all of these were provided at our Guwahati Comprehensive Cleft care Centre which is operated and managed by Mission Smile staffs. It is a centre of excellence in comprehensive cleft care in India, which provides apart from the surgery, the entire comprehensive treatment like - speech, dental, nutrition, child life etc.- all under one roof. It provides all the necessary care and treatment that a cleft child needs to fully recuperate from his/her painful condition.

The transformation that these surgeries brought have been heart touching. The ripple effect that your donation has made not only transforms the lives of the children but also of their parents and the communities they live in.

Please find in our attachment the wonderful transformation of two infants – Sohona and Brian (Name changed). You have been able to give hope and transform not only their lives but also 82 others.

Both of them will be visiting us again during for the remaining surgery of their palate and will grow up and will not even remember the pain of being born with Cleft.

We believe this is the beauty of the work and cause that you are supporting, the change that you bring, makes a huge impact to the child to grow to his/her fullest potential and its positive ripple effect spreads in the family and community. The before and after photos of 5 more children have been attached to show the huge change that these surgeries bring.

Hence, we would appeal to you for your continued support towards this positive change that you have brought and generously support our ongoing campaigns on the platform. 

We are currently raising funds to replace critical medical equipments visit the campaign page to know more https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/equipments4smiles/

Thank you so much.

Best

Anupam Sarkar | Manager - Partnerships

M: +91-9007883789 | E: anupam.sarkar@missionsmile.org

Mission Smile

DPSC Plot no X-1, 2 ,& 3, Block EP, Sector 5, Salt Lake,

Kolkata-700091, India - www.missionsmile.org 

Links:

• http://www.missionsmile.org

• Pain Passes Beauty Remain (PDF)
  
• Third Time Lucky (PDF)
  
• 100 Smiles in 100 Days Interim Surgery Report (PDF)