SMILE FOUNDATION
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Smile foundation is a non-profit foundation that was initiated in 2002 when a girl that suffered from a rare medical condition causing facial nerve paralysis. Her mother sought help from our Chief Patron, the late honorable Nelson Mandela, who made a call that would help secure surgery for the young child as well as countless other children to come. His belief that the future of our nation is in the hands of our children has and continues to be a driving motivation for the Smile Foundation. Since then, the Smile Foundation has helped over 5363 disadvantaged children with facial abnormalities, such as Cleft Lip and Palate, Moebius syndrome (facial paralysis) and burns, receive corrective plastic and reconstructive surgery. VISSION We help children live a life inspired by confidence and possibility no matter the circumstances. MISSION We transform the lives of children affected by facial abnormalities and severe burns through the best possible surgical and psychological care. CONTACT US TELEPHONE +27 10 753 3034 WEBSITE EMAIL ADDRESS Ground floor Westwood block 57 6th Road Hyde park  DO JOIN US ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES Instagram https://www.instagram.com/smil.efoundation29/ Twitter https://twitter.com/SmileFound74644 Facebook https://web.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550753122762 YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyqWK09w8DFs0n60IGU4TOw OUR SUCCESSFUL STORIES Tshakholo Sekotoana Tshakholo was born with a unilateral cleft lip. He was the first baby in Mafeteng village in Lesotho to be born with this condition, which made life very difficult for his mom. He was 18 months old when she sought help from the Queen Mamohato Memorial Hospital in Maseru. The kind doctors there referred them to Universitas Hospital in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and we travelled for a very long time to get there. His mom was afraid of what was going to happen, but the surgeons, speech therapist, clinical psychologist and an interpreter all worked together with Letitia Jordaan, the Smile Foundation co-ordinator, to give his mom all the information she needed. Tshakholo’s surgery he looked a little different because his front teeth stuck out when he smiled. But now he looks beautiful! And his mom thinks so too. She cried so much after his operation. Tshakholo cried too, but not because he was sore his doctors made sure he had no pain just because he wanted to eat his favourite porridge!. Icido Junior Lawrence When he was just a year old, hot water from the kettle spilled onto his body. His head, face, chest and back all got burned by the boiling water. Doctors tried to help by performing skin grafts on the affected areas. When Icido turned four, he took part in a Smile Week, where doctors put a tissue expander under his skin. This let them ‘grow’ new skin to replace his scarred skin. His mom was very happy with the operation, and now they can’t wait to see how he will look when his new skin is all healed! Dineo  Fourteen-year-old Dineo’s first surgery was in 2012 at the age of 5. Dineo’s transformation over the years has been nothing short of inspirational. And while the physical transformation of her surgeries has been remarkable, the impact on her confidence and self-esteem has been even more profound. Dineo has flourished with each surgery and we are in awe of her courage and perseverance.”Dineo’s grandmother Anna, who is her primary caregiver after her mother passed away when she was only 3-years-old, says despite the adversity her granddaughter has had to endure, she has turned into a kind and strong young lady. Nickey  7 Year old Nickey was born in Bloemfontein. Her teacher at school asked if anyone could help with her speech as no-one could understand her. She received a post pharyngeal flap during Universitas Academic Hospital Smile Week. Her surgery went very well and her speech had already improved straight after the surgery.A pharyngeal flap is a surgical procedure to correct or enhance the quality of a child’s speech. Muscle tissue is transferred from the back of the throat or pharynx to the palate in order to narrow the nasal opening. This enables a child to have a more normal sounding voice and increase his/her communication skills. SMILE FOUNDATION EVENTS Smile Spin-a-thon  Join us as we host a Smile Spin-a-thon at Fourways Mall Main Promotions Court on 17 September 2023. Come with your family and friends let us enjoy other's company. it's going to be lit! R200.00 per person. See post for more details. Ironman Team  You are welcome to join on Smile Foundation Ironman Team as we Make Your Race Count. See poster for more details PRESS RELEASE DATE : 09 SEPTEMBER 2023 TO : ALL MEDIA FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE The Smile Foundation is celebrating turning 22 by bringing more than just smiles to children as they venture into burn reconstructive surgeries. In celebrating this milestone, the foundation which performs life saving surgeries on its little patients has also changed its look. The CEO at Smile Foundation Kim Robertson Smith said the foundation’s aim has always been to perform magic and change children's lives.
“The reason why we focus on young children is because before a child who is born with a facial deformity reaches the age of 5 or 6 they do not know they are different,” she said.
“And that’s where Smile wants to position themselves, where we come in as the magicians, assisting the kids to live their life as normal as possible, because we all know the teasing usually happens when they reach school.”
Robertson said that is why they encourage parents to get their kids referred when they are young enough to get surgeries done. “We love seeing them smile, we love seeing you smile, because the truth is a whole family is affected with a child with a facial deformity.”
Over the past 21 years, Smile has operated on more than 4 000 children and plans to reach even more in the coming years.
Robertson added: “While Smile Foundation still exclusively assists children with critical surgeries, we are changing our focus from being solely facial anomaly surgery to include burn reconstructive surgery, given the vast number of children affected by burns due to illegal connections or hot water falling on them.
“Practical and psychological parental support in both case has become an imperative for which we are also deepening our commitment.
“These aspects are reflected in our new mission statement: to transform the lives of children affected by facial abnormalities and severe burns through the best possible surgical and psychological care.”
For media enquiries contact:
Mr Toni
Public relations practitioner
+27 10 753 3034
toni@smilefoundationsa.org END |
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