SMILE TRAIN INDIA – BUSINESS CONNECT MAGAZINE IN INDIA
Serving the Communities, Changing the World One Smile at a Time
Cleft surgery has a powerful potential to transform lives. It doesn’t just change facial appearance but also offers new beginnings to individuals born with a cleft lip and/or palate. We would say it is not just a medical procedure but a life-altering intervention in a person’s life-impacting physical appearance and emotional well-being. We truly honor those who support and facilitate this cause, ergo, we are highlighting the profile of Smile Train India for this cover page.
As the name suggests, this non-profit organization has become the reason behind thousands of smiles after performing cleft surgeries at free of cost. The organization believes that cleft surgery not only restores essential body functions but is a gateway to transforming appearances and boosting confidence. Individuals with clefts find it hard to perform even simple tasks like eating or talking.
The way Smile Train India is impacting families and communities is truly applaudable. Every surgery supported by them has not just changed a child’s life but uplifted communities. Under their parasol, thousands of children and adults have been given the opportunity to live care-free lives without the stigma that revolves around their condition.
To dive into deeper aspects of the organization, we sat down with the Smile Train’s Senior Vice President and regional Director for Asia, Mamta Carroll. She walked us through Smile Train’s overall portfolio and the operational processes by which they are transforming countless precious lives.
The organizational profile
Today, Smile Train has a solid reputation for being the world’s largest cleft-focused organization dedicated to supporting free cleft surgery and comprehensive cleft care to children in need. The journey of the organization began in 2000 in India. By giving access to resources, funding, and training, the organization has equipped regional medical experts to provide safe, effective, and free cleft care throughout India. Today, it has a network spanning across 30 states and union territories that includes more than 125 treatment partner hospitals.
In addition to surgery support, Smile Train also offers non-surgical essential comprehensive cleft care treatment including speech therapy, orthodontics, nutritional support, and counseling to affected individuals. These services, which address the physical, emotional, and social requirements of children with clefts, are crucial to ensuring their holistic development.
The impact of Smile Train India is significant; more than 750,000 cleft surgeries have been supported to date. With programmatic expansion and with the help of innovation in healthcare, day by day, Smile Train India is expanding its reach by ensuring that cleft care is accessible to the most underserved populations. By empowering local healthcare systems, Smile Train is not just treating clefts but also building a lasting legacy of regional capacity building and sustainability in cleft care across India.
Addressing the challenges
Mamta shed light on the institution’s initial journey in India and the inspiration that led them to enter this landscape. Their research in 2000 disclosed that there is a startling proportion of patients with untreated clefts as the process was quite expensive and difficult to access. Many short-term surgical camps provided only transient, one-time fixes. Many children were left without regular follow-up care and with little access
to local knowledge as a result of this approach. The significant gap in safety and quality of cleft care services in India motivated Smile Train to enter India and support the underprivileged community.
Smile Train introduced its innovative approach, which aims to empower regional medical experts by providing them with extensive training and resources. Through the development of regional capacity and provision of essential medical infrastructure for safe surgery, Smile Train guaranteed that its partner hospitals could provide cleft care year-round, rather than simply during sporadic surgical trips. This approach to cleft care in India not only promotes long-term self-sufficiency but also promised prompt treatment and quality of care.
Be it leveraging the new-age technology with the help of national and state governments/ apex institutions or making awareness efforts to break the stigma surrounding the clefts, Smile Train India has established itself as a thought-leader in cleft care transforming lives every day.
Standing out from the crowd
We asked Mamta to share what makes Smile Train India stand out as an organization. To this, she responded, “We have become a global leader in the cleft care due to our unique, sustainable model focused on empowering local medical professionals rather than relying on temporary mission-based services.
By providing extensive training, resources, and ongoing support, Smile Train ensures that partner hospitals can offer free, highquality cleft treatment year-round. This approach not only addresses the immediate needs of children with clefts but also builds lasting capacity within local healthcare systems. We are always committed to comprehensive care—encompassing surgery, speech therapy, and nutritional support— ensuring the holistic recovery of each child or adult.”
The flagship initiatives
Mamta then shared how in the past 24 years, they have been spearheading the revolutionary cleft care. Under her tutelage, many pioneering initiatives unfolded focused on high-quality cleft treatment beyond any biases. The worthy mentions are as follows:
• Operating the country’s first and only toll-free cleft helpline – 1800 103 8301 – where cleft patients and parents of cleft-affected children can call for assistance.
• Working in close collaboration with the National Health Mission’s Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram at the national and state levels to educate the community and identify and accelerate the treatment process.
• In 2021, Smile Train launched India’s first Cleft Leadership Center (CLC) in Bengaluru. The CLC serves as the regional hub for cleft treatment, education, training, and research, presenting a holistic, team-centered model of care that encompasses surgery, speech therapy, nutritional support, orthodontics, and more.
• To drive early diagnosis and intervention for children with clefts, Smile Train in partnership with The Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies (FOGSI) of India launched a protocol for diagnosis and treatment of clefts.
• They have partnered with National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH) to further enhance safety standards and quality of surgical care being supported at Smile Train India’s partner treatment centers across the country.
• Smile Train and Simulare Medical combined forces at the global level, and through Simulare Medical, Smile Train is working to ensure that 3D-printed Simulare Cleft Lip and Palate simulators provide hyper-realistic models for cleft surgical training to young surgeons, leading to safer, higher-quality surgery for every patient anywhere in the world. • Smile Train has conducted a nationwide “Quality of Life and Impact Study” which enumerates the far-reaching impact of Smile Train’s work for cleft care in India.
• “Smile Pinki”, a documentary film on Smile Train beneficiary Pinki Sonkar’s journey from an untreated cleft to a smile, won the Oscar® in 2008.
Life-changing story of Devika
The ripple effect that Smile Train India has created extends the boundaries of physical healing. Mamta recounts the story of Devika whose life was changed by the organization’s support and compassionate care.
“Devika was born with a cleft in Titihari village in Basti district in Uttar Pradesh. She grew up struggling to eat due to her cleft and her father could not afford the cost of cleft surgery. She was always underweight. As a child, she found it difficult to make friends, as the other children in her community often bullied and mocked her because of her cleft. To shield her from the harsh comments, her parents would keep her mostly at home.
Luckily, through a neighbor, the family got to know about Smile Train-supported cleft surgery program at Savitri Hospital in Gorakhpur. The surgery marked a significant turning point. Seeing Devika’s transformation after the surgery brought immense joy and gratitude to her family. Post-surgery, Devika’s life took a dramatic turn.
The acceptance from her peers, who had once shunned her, greatly boosted her confidence. Now studying in 6th standard, she dreams of a career in the medical field that stemmed from the way we interacted and handled her overall situation,” conveyed the leading lady recalling the overall case of Devika.
The day Devika was healed was the day her whole family was revived with hope and a positive outlook on life. It is said that an act of kindness stimulates kindness in the heart of the distant viewer also. Imagine how many people learned to be compassionate and kind after receiving this precious aid from Smile Train India!!
The cherished milestones
“Smile Train is immensely proud of transforming two million+ lives globally, including 750,000+ in India alone, through free cleft surgery support and comprehensive care. Our sustainable model, empowering over 1,100 partner hospitals and thousands of local medical professionals, ensures that high-quality cleft treatment is accessible at the local levels. Our impact goes beyond numbers, creating lasting change in communities by building self-sufficiency in cleft care and restoring countless smiles and futures,” revealed Mamta concerning the milestone they have crossed so far.
How CSR can support cleft treatment?
To strengthen its impact, Smile Train is committed to providing free, high-quality cleft treatment while supporting capacity building in this field. For this, Mamta claims that corporate social responsibility plays a vital role. She further adds that CSR relationships provide essential financing that allows us to provide children in need with comprehensive cleft care and life-changing procedures.
CSR-driven programs can also lessen social stigma, promote early diagnosis and intervention, and increase public knowledge about clefts. Companies that partner with Smile Train not only help to save lives but also make a big difference in the development of longterm healthcare systems that guarantee all cleft patients have access to high-quality care.
Insights shared by Dr Jaideep Chauhan
Dr. Jaideep Chauhan is a well-accomplished Maxillofacial Surgeon and Smile Train Project Director at Care CHL Hospitals in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. His whole career is deeply committed to cleft care in India.
With over 35,000 babies born annually with cleft lip and palate conditions in the country, Dr. Chauhan plays a pivotal role in addressing both the medical and social challenges these children face. He emphasizes that while clefts can be completely treated with timely care, many children suffer due to a lack of awareness, affordability, and accessibility.
He also highlights the myths and social stigma surrounding clefts in India, which often prevent families from seeking treatment. Dr. Chauhan’s association with Smile Train India has allowed him to provide free cleft surgeries and comprehensive care, helping children regain their ability to eat, speak, breathe, and live confidently. His greatest achievement is witnessing the life-changing transformations in his patients, while his ongoing challenge is overcoming societal misconceptions and ensuring consistent, quality care.
Views shared by the MD and CEO of SBI Foundation
Mr. Sanjay Prakash, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of SBI Foundation highlighted the organization’s commitment to supporting initiatives that have a direct and transformative impact on people’s lives. He also proceeded to explain that Smile Train’s work deeply resonated with SBI Foundation, particularly due to the profound effect a single cleft surgery can have on a child’s life.
The “Forever Smiles” project, a collaboration between SBI Foundation and Smile Train India, extends beyond surgery to include comprehensive care such as speech therapy, pre-surgical infant orthopedics, and training for medical practitioners in 50 districts of Uttar Pradesh, ensuring long-term benefits.
What sets Smile Train apart, according to Mr. Prakash, is its sustainable model of empowering local doctors to perform cleft surgeries year-round, which not only provides immediate care but also strengthens healthcare systems in local communities. This unique approach of investing in local capacity creates a lasting and meaningful impact.
The futuristic roadmap
According to Mamta, Smile Train is highly optimistic about expanding its reach and increasing its impact in the coming year by helping even more underprivileged children in India.
Through state of the art workshops and training sessions, they will sharpen the abilities of regional healthcare providers to deliver highest quality treatment, broaden their network of partner hospitals, strengthen their comprehensive cleft care programs, and use partnerships to guarantee access to care even in the most remote areas. In order to reduce stigma and encourage early intervention, they also intend to step up their awareness activities to bring ground-level change.
The parting words from the dynamic leader
“True impact lies in sustainable partnerships that can empower communities. By aligning CSR initiatives with long-term goals, we can create lasting changes. Invest in programs that not only address immediate needs but also build local capacity, ensuring that every contribution leads to a better, brighter, and medically self-sufficient future.”
