Nathan Abbott: Following My Passion

Nathan is a Smile Train UK Ambassador whose goal is to advocate for and champion cleft-affected individuals in the UK and across the globe. In late 2022, Nathan visited Smile Train programmes in Kenya to see first-hand the impact of your donations to Smile Train.

I have been a Smile Train Ambassador for almost a decade. Over this time, I have shared my own cleft story through my movement, Freestyle 4 Smile. Through it, I have been incredibly fortunate to reach over 20,000,000 people in the UK alone.

Last year, I spent a great deal of time in Africa, so I thought it would be a great idea to partner with Smile Train UK on a Journey of Smiles to Kenya.

Tell Us About Your Trip

I had an action-packed day that started with waking up at 5:30am to be taken to LookUp TV for a morning interview. This interview touched on my cleft journey and the incredible work that Smile Train does in more than 75 countries. We also discussed the issues that children with clefts and their parents face.

Once we had finished at LookUp TV, I was fortunate to visit a young girl called Phyllis and her parents in their home. Phyllis was born with a bilateral cleft lip and palate, which has been successfully healed by local Smile Train partners. During my time at the house, Phyllis showed me a book filled with photos of herself growing up. I also saw the pain in her parents’ faces when I asked about the adversity they had experienced to get to where they are today.

After many hugs goodbye, I headed to Gertrude’s Children’s Hospital. Here, I was able to meet doctors and children with clefts and their parents. This visit was by far the most shocking of them all, as the doctors told me stories of children with clefts being left in the woods to die. But that background made seeing the happiness Smile Train creates by providing free comprehensive cleft care to these patients all the more incredible.

After my time at Gertrude’s, I met another young girl whose cleft had already been treated and her family. We sat in their home, shared stories, drank tea, and laughed together. It always surprises me how smiling and laughing transcends all language and cultural barriers.

What Did I Learn

Having spent the best part of a decade advocating for children with clefts, I have become very aware of many of the problems they face. However, I don’t think I ever knew the true severity of how some are treated.

The level of misinformation surrounding why children are born with clefts is scary. Most of the parents I spoke to believed their child was born with a cleft as a punishment or curse. And to hear that these parents are encouraged to kill their babies truly broke my heart.

Personally, I have always found it very confusing and emotionally draining to do these trips. As I sit opposite children who are less fortunate than myself, I think, That could easily have been me. I think of it as a lottery; I just happened to be born in a part of the world that receives free care, but this is far from what others receive.

Thanks to Smile Train, these parents and children get a newfound sense of hope, an unimaginable weight taken off their shoulders. The thing is, Smile Train doesn’t just treat clefts; they enable families to re-integrate into their communities and provide a completely new life full of opportunity. The quality of care is equally matched to what I would expect from the UK, and for that, I am eternally grateful for Smile Train’s work. This is why I will continue to support them forever.