35 Smiles in 35 Days - Here's how you can help Operation Smile SA

Operation Smile #35MilesIn35Days

Operation Smile is doing wonderful life affirming work! I love to hear about children getting their smiles! Ever since a friend got involved with Smiles for Kinshasha, I have been applauding the work that they do!

The new campaign #35SmilesIn35Days is in support of those suffering from cleft lip and palate conditions. It has also been created in support of the global campaign Until We Heal and celebration of Operation Smile 35th year.

See the campaign #35SmilesIn35Days video 

Sasol and Smile Foundation blankets' drive for children #Blankets4Coffee

Smile Foundation

I love and support the work that the Smile Foundation is doing by giving children back their smiles. Sasol has partnered with the Smile Foundation in a blanket drive for these children.

Sasol is calling on members of the public to donate blankets to its nationwide blanket drive with a customer reward of free coffee. 

The blanket contributions will be distributed to children undergoing facial surgeries as part of the Smile Foundation’s national surgical programme.

Sasol

“Corrective facial reconstructive surgery offers new hope for these children and their families. But it’s imperative the children receive the right care before and after their operations. In winter, that means staying warm while they make the often very long and difficult journey to the hospital, and keeping opportunistic infections at bay while they’re in recovery and return home after their surgeries. This blanket drive helps us address both those very important issues,” explains Hedley Lewis, Executive Director, Smile Foundation. 

Lewis adds that the Smile Foundation would be grateful for any blankets the public could spare, including new blankets. “Due to our multi-disciplinary approach to these paediatric surgeries, we support the children right through their recovery. As part of this, we take into consideration the opportunity for infections, and will be supplying the Smile patients with any new blankets that are donated,” he says.

What you can do! Blankets can be dropped off at all Sasol Delight stores in South Africa until 6 July 2016.


Share and encourage your friends and followers on Twitter with @SasolSA and #Blankets4Coffee.

Great excitement about a loose tooth!

Little Missy is extremely excited!

She has been telling me non-stop since picking her up today that her bottom front tooth ‎is loose. That is the same tooth that started to hurt yesterday and for which I had made an appointment at the dentist for tomorrow. 

I had to feel for 101 times that the tooth is getting more wiggly by the second! 

"I do not care‎ that your hand is dirty, Mom! Feel the tooth!"

I had to phone her dad immediately to tell him the news. 

But her Big Sister must not be told... She wants to surprise her with the gap in her mouth! (Be warned, Sister‎!)

Making smiles in Madagascar

Operation Smile. Madagascar Mission 2011. from Zute Lightfoot on Vimeo.
(Go to this link if it does not want to play: Operation Smile Madagascar Mission)

A friend of mine does volunteer work every year for Operation Smile. She helps with the filing of each and every case of a child that gets a smile being made during such a mission.
(See last year's guest post by her: Smiles for Kinshasha, by Karin D'Orville.)

It must be one of the most gratifying ways of doing volunteer work. Smiles are being "made" - children's faces and lives are changed in the time span of a day.
I can only imagine that it changes the whole family's lives who "suffers" with the child as well.

Karin notified me of the slideshow above which is about this year's  Mission to Madagascar. It gives a very insightful look into the way the missions operates and how it changes the lives of the children.

"Operation Smile provides free surgery to repair cleft lip, cleft palate and other facial deformities for children around the globe. Operation Smile was in Madagascar for 10 days, the team was made up of 70 medical professionals from around the world all of whom had volunteered their time."

I cringed when they showed the people that gets turned away...
To wait for another year for a change to be able to have that most important operation!
That must be so frustrating!


I think Operation Smile is doing a wonderful job!

Thanks to all the volunteers and monetary contributors!

Wordless Wednesday #95 - Play with Dad - hilarious!

Wordless Wednesday #72 - "Smile!" for the camera

Morning's first photo at day care #13

Sent via my BlackBerry from Vodacom - let your email find you!

Wordless Wednesday #8