International Women’s Day 2023
#EmbraceEquity
The theme for International Women’s Day 2023 is #EmbraceEquity.
Smile Train partners with community healthcare workers in 75+ countries to make free, safe, high-quality, and comprehensive cleft treatment available to all in need. This gives cleft-affected women and girls the opportunity to live healthy lives, go to school, and pursue their dreams. And women healthcare workers in traditionally marginalized regions unprecedented opportunities for learning and advancement in a field traditionally dominated by men.
That’s Embracing Equity. That’s Smile Train.
La Familia Contreras
You normally don’t think of a hospital as a family business. Yet in the heart of historic Oaxaca, Mexico, Dr Flor de Maria Contreras and her three daughters made history of their own by starting a cleft centre where world-class medical care meets the healing power of music, play, and, above all, family. At Fundación Contreras, the women ensure that patients who have been abandoned, bullied, and malnourished hear their healing refrain again and again: Yo creo en ti — I believe in you.
Dr Kiran Rahim
Kiran grew up keenly aware of how bombarded we are with messages about how women ought to look — and how toxic they can be. Now a paediatrician, Instagram influencer, and Smile Train UK Ambassador, she uses her platform to spread the message that instead of focusing on “beauty,” we should celebrate what she calls “BE-YOU-ty.”
Dr Sally Adel
Assistant lecturer of phonetics at Egypt’s Alexandria University Hospital. Cleft speech, swallowing, and feeding therapist. Nutritionist. Smile Train partner. Mother of three. The list of Dr Sally Adel’s roles is nearly as long as her list of accomplishments. We caught up with this trailblazing woman to discuss what having it all means to her, the double burden clefts place on women and girls, and so much more.
Dr Shruti Bijapur
In the heart of a city and a country with one of the world’s widest wealth gaps, Dr Shruti Bijapur is determined to provide free, high-quality orthodontics to some of the most vulnerable children on earth. In our in-depth interview, this outspoken advocate for the dignity of every face opens up about the necessity of empowering local experts like her and the role we all must play in breaking down structures of inequity.
Dr Nina Capo-Chichi
Dr Nina Capo Chichi, Smile Train’s Program Director for French-speaking West Africa, is a true renaissance woman. When she speaks, you owe it to yourself to listen.
Help Us Empower More Women Today
Your donation of any amount can help empower local medical professionals to transform lives and spread smiles around the world with 100%-free cleft treatment.