Beyond Smiles

35 years on, Operation Smile continues to transform children’s lives through reconstructive surgery and therapy

Ask anyone if they know about Operation Smile and the automatic answer will be “Oh, aren’t they the people who fix harelips in children?” While this is true, Operation Smile’s mission goes beyond the mere reconstruction of paediatric facial deformities. It would be more appropriate to say that the 35-year-old organisation is dedicated to improving children’s chances in life through reconstruction and relevant therapy.

“A child who can’t speak and isn’t eating because of a deformity isn’t going anywhere in life,” opines Operation Smile co-founder and president Kathleen Magee, who was recently in the country as part of its 35th anniversary.

This was the impetus behind the medical mission that brought her and her husband Dr William Magee, a paediatric plastic surgeon, to the Philippines in 1981. “We went to Naga in the Bicol region where we were met by 300 families who were advised that they could get free reconstructive surgery for their children. At the time, we could only take care of 40 cases but the number of patients who came was overwhelming. We promised to come back and finish the job.”