Two Reasons to Smile

Born with a cleft lip and palate, Ida has now lived with the embarrassing birth defect for fifteen years. A cleft lip is a separation of the lip. The separation often includes the bones of the upper jaw and/or upper gum. A cleft palate is an opening in the roof of the mouth where the two sides of the palate did not join together as the baby develops in the womb. Ida’s family didn’t have money to fix the cleft lip and palate or for school tuition, and she didn’t have many friends to play with. Her future didn’t look promising. Who would want to marry her? A career was out of the question.

Then strangers came to Ida’s village last August. They were staff members from Operation Blessing’s Indonesian office and they were looking for children who needed help with school tuition. One day some of our staff met Ida at the home of one of the students that already had been awarded a scholarship. They decided to help Ida through the Set a Child Free program and within a few days she was brought to a lab for pre-surgery blood work. Arrangements were made for Ida’s free surgery at a hospital in Jakarta. On August 28th, the young girl had a successful surgery. Operation Blessing staff also arranged for transportation and accompanied Ida on three post operative examinations.

Thanks to our partners, Ida has two reasons to smile now. No only did she receive free surgery, but we awarded her a school tuition scholarship! “I’m glad for the operation,” said the grateful teen. “I had been waiting for a long time and finally, my face become normal. Thank you.”

Set a Child Free!
Become a Smile Partner and join us in setting young people like Ida free! Thousands of children are waiting. But we can't help them alone, we need you! Your gift of just $34 a month for 12 months -- or a special gift of $400 – will sponsor corrective surgery for a precious child.