Speaking to OFM News, the Smile Foundation's Coordinator and former nurse, Letitia Jordaan, says that they are extremely thankful to Adcock Ingram who was the anchor sponsor for this week’s Smile Week.  

She says that doctors from all over the province work non-stop for seven days offering cleft lip, palate and other necessary plastic surgeries for little ones ranging from the age of nine months. 

Moira Gerszt, Chief Operating Officer of Smile Foundation, further adds that the foundation hosts two Smile Weeks biannually and does so across all eleven academic hospitals in the country since its establishment in 2003.

“Majority of these little ones are cleft lip and palate children, two burn procedures and two syndactyly operations. It takes eleven hours for all these surgeons, and Professor Corné Nel to do [surgeries] per day and they are very gracious in working with this model to help so many children in one week.”

Twenty-two patients were originally registered with one unregistered patient recently being added to the list. 

Gerszt says that Smile Week started out as the brainchild of the now medical director, Professor George Psaras, who saw the need for these types of surgeries to take place in paediatric patients.  She says “he thought that there were a lot of children that actually need surgeries and perhaps we can do many children in one week.”

She goes on to say that these children do not undergo any selection process at all but that specialised doctors and registrars actually inform the parents of the paediatric patients about the programme where the doctors recommend that patients become a part of the pro-bono surgery programme.

“Those little ones are very lucky during Smile Week, to have the psychological support and speech therapy, among other things,” adds Gerszt.

In a previous article, OFM News’ Olebogeng Motse mentions that the organisation has also introduced a support group for parents named “Cleft Friends”, which aims to encourage mothers and fathers to share their experiences about being caretakers of children with facial abnormalities, hoping to help other parents whose experiences may be similar.

Jordaan concludes by saying that in the Free State province, the first Smile Week of the year took place in February where a wonderful group of 22 paediatric patients received operations.

OFM News/Lee Simmons