Global Smile Foundation

Our mission is to provide comprehensive cleft care for patients born with cleft lip and palate in underserved communities throughout the world. Global Smile Foundation (GSF) is dedicated to making first-class cleft care accessible to all patients regardless of geographic or socioeconomic barriers. There is a pressing need for sustainable cleft care in developing countries where the consequences of those conditions are devastating, if left untreated. Fathers often leave the family, believing their child or their marriage, has been cursed; parents will abandon their infant in the hospital, unable to cope with the future the child will face. Children with cleft are generally ostracized from society, unable to go to school or make friends. As adults, patients with cleft lips or palates have little chance of making a living. Most patients keep from one to five family members home caring for them, rather than earning wages to support the household. For the past 31 years, GSF founders and volunteers have been committed to developing and implementing comprehensive outreach cleft care programs with a focus on quality care coupled with empowerment and sustainability initiatives for local healthcare providers. This has resulted in our patient population having the confidence and tools to be productive members of their societies. . With Global Smile Foundation, a healthy smile is just the beginning.