For the second consecutive year, the non-profit Smile Network International (SMI) sponsored a cleft lip and cleft palate surgery campaign in collaboration with Fundación Salud para Todos and hosted by Hospital Ribera Medical Center (RMC).
Since 2003, SMI has sponsored similar free surgical programs across Mexico and in more than a dozen other countries worldwide. During this year’s Chapala campaign, 31 reconstructive surgeries were performed on children and young people, ranging from five months to 19 years of age, from April 7 to 11. This was preceded by an evaluation of prospective patients on April 4.
SMI organized a volunteer team of doctors and nurses from the Mayo Clinic and Gillette Children’s Hospital in Minnesota to lead the medical procedures, successfully supported by the RMC staff and numerous local volunteers.
Patients and their immediate family members came from various parts of Mexico, including Baja California, Chihuahua, Estado de México, Guerrero, Michoacán, Nayarit, Querétaro, and Zacatecas, as well as from Chapala and other Jalisco communities such as Tizapán el Alto, Villa Corona, Sayula, Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, Poncitlán, Tlajomulco de Zúñiga, Tonalá, Tlaquepaque, and Tala.
Beyond the physical transformation of disfigured faces, Smile Network founder Kim Valentini emphasizes that the organization’s work represents a renewal of hope for the patients and their families. It opens pathways to better communication, social integration, life opportunities, and enhanced self-esteem for these young people.
During a festive appreciation celebration held on April 11 at Lakeside Little Theatre, Valentini extended her heartfelt thanks to all participants in this year’s SMI campaign. She noted that Chapala is an ideal venue for the program due to the generosity of local residents who provide housing, meals, financial support, and emotional encouragement for everyone involved.