By Lisa Crist | Director of Dev. & Marketing
Mila’s story starts in October 2020, when she was born with cleft lip and palate. Her family is from Syria, but they were living in Beirut having fled the violence and instability of their home.
Her parents brought their newborn to meet the Global Smile Foundation (GSF) and GSF MENA teams in November 2020. We had just resumed our humanitarian cleft outreach in Lebanon with new safety protocols in place for COVID-19.
Only one month old, Mila was not ready to undergo surgery and the team was concerned that she would gain enough weight by our next program date because infants with cleft often having difficulty feeding properly. Our volunteers gave Mila’s parents special bottles and showed them how to help their daughter use them.
By April 2021, Mila had grown enough to undergo cleft lip surgery. She returned in November 2021 for cleft palate surgery. In underserved areas that lack food security and healthcare access, it is critical to provide cleft care for children so that families do not face additional obstacles in meeting basic needs.
In 2022 and 2023, our team has continued to provide feeding assistance, dental care, and speech therapy for Mila. We love seeing how Mila is growing up with a happy and healthy smile! Thank you for making this possible.
Our next outreach program in Lebanon will be in November 2023. There are so many patients waiting for care, and we have a full schedule of surgeries and other cleft care services. Your gift will ensure that these patients will receive the same essential care as Mila.
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