Comprehensive Cleft Care Helps Akshara Find Her Voice

Manjunath and Mythri thought they were prepared to raise a child with a cleft. With the right care and lots of love, they believed their little girl could live a full and healthy life.  

They held strong to this belief even when baby Akshara’s cleft made eating and gaining weight an hourly struggle. Even when medical care felt like a luxury that wasn’t for them. Even when strangers on the streets didn’t try to conceal their hurtful comments and stares. 

Finding Hope at a Smile Train Cleft Leadership Center

Then, a glimmer of hope emerged. A doctor recommended Bhagwan Mahaveer Jain Hospital (BMJH), a Smile Train Cleft Leadership Center (CLC) right in their city, Bangalore.

Cleft Leadership Centers are at the forefront of cleft care, and represent one of Smile Train’s largest investments in building local medical capacity around the world. As regional hubs for cleft treatment, education, training, and research, they present a holistic, team-centred model of care that encompasses surgery and an array of vital non-surgical cleft treatments.  

At BMJH, Akshara could receive not only cleft surgery, but nutritional support, speech therapy, specialised orthodontics and dentistry, psychological counselling, and all the other cleft care she would ever need. All from local experts. All at no cost to her family — thanks to Smile Train’s donors.

Akshara’s Early Treatment and First Surgeries

Akshara’s journey at BMJH began shortly after she was born, when her team installed an orthopaedic device to better prepare her mouth for surgery.

It worked exactly as planned. She successfully received cleft lip surgery at six months old, then cleft palate surgery at one year.

Akshara then spent seven years in individualised speech therapy so she would avoid the nasal speech that makes so many other children with clefts too self-conscious to raise their voices with pride.  

Finding Family in a Time of Loss

To Akshara, the staff at BMJH is more than a cleft team. They are family.  

This never felt truer than after her father, Manjunath, passed away unexpectedly a few years ago.  

Already overworked, Mythri suddenly needed to balance her unbearable grief with trying to figure out how to be a single parent to two traumatised daughters. Everything in the women’s lives felt like it was crumbling.  

In that moment, BMJH showed up with open arms. It became a place of comfort, routine, and joy for Akshara through her turmoil. It gave Mythri the peace of mind of knowing that, no matter her financial situation, her daughter’s care would not be interrupted.

Today, this girl whose parents once feared to take her outside is a bold 11-year-old who dreams of becoming an actor and dancer.  

Her treatment journey is still ongoing: In June 2025, she received another surgery on her palate. No matter what her future brings, Smile Train and her team at BMJH will be there at her side.  

“Smile Train came to us like a guardian angel, helping us emerge from our distress”, said Mythri. “My daughter’s new life is truly a blessing from Smile Train. I am now determined to support Akshara’s dreams with all my strength to help her reach her fullest potential”.