![Cleft Con logo](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-12/cleft-con-smile-train-title-50.jpg?itok=WZ7TieQK)
At Cleft Con 2021, Vulnerability is Strength
“It's amazing what your cleft journey will do to your life when you embrace it.”
Vivian Exemplifies Beauty Inside and Out
When Vivian started school, the kids laughed at her so much she didn't want to live. Then she met someone who told her she should become a model.
![doctors performing surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-12/oral-health-training-group%20%283%29_0.png?itok=VM2zhTdh)
Call for Proposals
Smile Train and Lifebox Launch Request for Proposals for Capnography Device
![Troy Reinhart wears a crown next to a pageant winner at Smile Train's old offices](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-12/troy-reinhart-miss-new-jersey-50.jpg?itok=FnoLn9xL)
Troy Reinhart: 20 Years Of Smiles
Our longest-tenured employee reflects on two decades of making smiles
![Damaris holds a photo of herself before surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-11/damaris-holding-photo-before-free-smile-train-cleft-lip-cleft-palate-surgery-kenya.jpg?itok=DymOCYlg)
Determined Damaris
Even when the whole world seemed against her, Damaris persisted. And won.
![livingstone in class holding before image](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2022-03/livingstone-with-friends-after-cleft-lip-cleft-palate-treatment.jpg?itok=FaFXg86e)
Livingstone Clings to Life
Cleft surgery was only one piece of Livingstone's journey from malnourished baby to star of his village.
![Cristian with dog](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/cristiang-w-dog.jpg?itok=zBHvC1e8)
Healing Heartbreak with a Smile (Dogs Help, Too)
Angelica was 15 years old, single, and had just given birth to a baby with a cleft. All she knew about clefts was how she had seen people with them harassed without mercy. But she promised to never give up on the little life before her.
![Kamse before cleft surgery](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/kamse-before-cleft-surgery.jpg?itok=gx6GwXd2)
A Student Of Resiliency
Kamse was excited for his first day of school, but, when the day finally came, he was taunted all day long. Kamse ran home and begged his grandfather never to make him go back.
![Charles with two kids](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/charles-with-kids.jpg?itok=PQxqcT3J)
![Elsie held by mom](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/elsie-with-mom.jpg?itok=RaXYziQV)
![Priya Desai Smile Train](/sites/default/files/styles/1_column_470_x_305/public/2021-05/priya-headshot.jpg?itok=x62XbDOi)
Staff Spotlight: Priya Desai
Priya Desai, Smile Train’s Director of Strategy and Evaluation talks about what motivated her to join Smile Train.