For over 35 years, Operation Smile has worked to provide safe surgeries in all parts of the world and educate hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. They partner with trained doctors, governments, hospitals and other organizations to give patients the quickest and most efficient surgeries. They have even visited over 60 countries, seeking support and volunteers from everywhere they encounter. Their work as an organization has impacted and is still impacting families all around the world.
Operation Smile mainly focuses on correcting cleft lips, cleft palettes, and other facial deformities. Children and adults with this condition face problems with speaking, eating, and drinking. In addition, they are constantly battling for social acceptance in a world that can’t stop judging.
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William P. Magee, Jr., his wife, Kathleen, and a few of their friends went on a medical mission to the Philippines to fix cleft lips and cleft palettes. When they arrived, they didn’t expect to find so many families in need, holding out their children in despair. Over 300 families came to meet them, seeking surgery for their loved ones, but William and his team only had the supplies to treat about 40 people. They felt compelled to come back, not only to help the poor population in the Philippines but all of the other desperate humans out there that lack health care. It was in that moment that the Magees realized how difficult it was for someone to grow up in a world where they are not socially welcomed. Because of their motivation and inspirational story, Operation Smile was created so that everyone can feel beautiful.
“Every child that has a facial deformity is our responsibility, If we don’t take care of that child, there’s no guarantee that anyone else will.” (Kathleen Magee, Co-founder of Operation Smile, United